Prisoner's 'sudden and unexpected' death after 'brutal' attack at Hilton Hotel on Deansgate

An inmate died in his prison cell just months after he was jailed for a brutal attack on his then partner at a hotel in Manchester, a report has revealed. Ronnie Gaunt's death aged 38 was described as 'sudden and unexpected'.

He was jailed in November, 2019, for three years and six months after a drug-fuelled attack on his girlfriend at the Hilton Hotel on Deansgate in Manchester city centre.

He pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm and was jailed by a judge at Manchester Crown Court who heard he committed a 'brutal' attack on his then partner in a corridor of the hotel.

READ MORE: LIVE weather and traffic updates as Greater Manchester battered by heavy rain with Met Office warning in place

A father-of-five, he had taken the mother of two of his children to Manchester for her birthday, to stay at the hotel in the Beetham Tower and enjoy a night out in the city centre. She was left in hospital and covered in blood following the attack, and said she was 'absolutely petrified' of seeing Gaunt again.

The court heard the 'appalling' attack on the woman saw him punch and kick her to the head.

Gaunt, from Knowsley, Merseyside, died at HMP Risley in Warrington on April 16, 2020, reveals the now-published report by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, which investigates deaths in custody.

The report says an officer unlocked his cell at around 11.35am and he was found 'lying unresponsive' on his bed. The alarm was raised and a prison paramedic attended, but his death was confirmed.

The PPO report says: "The post-mortem report concluded that Mr Gaunt died of cardiac hypertrophy - where the heart muscles thicken, and the blood volume increases - with coronary artery atheroma, a form of heart disease.

"The clinical reviewer concluded that the clinical care Mr Gaunt received at HMP Risley was equivalent to that which he could have expected to receive in the community. She noted that Mr Gaunt had minimal contact with healthcare staff and his death was sudden and unexpected.

"We found no non-clinical issues of concern. Toxicology tests did not detect any drugs or alcohol in Mr Gaunt's blood and urine."

An inquest concluded he died from natural causes. Gaunt, adds the report, was the ninth prisoner to die at Risley since April, 2018. The prison, near Warrington, has capacity for 1,095 inmates.