'Suicidal Oakwood inmate' died five months before he was due for release
A paedophile prisoner at HMP Oakwood who was worried about debts and feared bullying died of a cardiac arrest in his cell, an inquest has heard.
Terence William Moule, aged 53, had written letters stating he felt suicidal over money worries and was worried about being attacked behind bars.
He had been taken off blood pressure tablets shortly before his death on July 12 last year.
Former pub worker Moule was jailed for four-and-a-half years in October 2014 after being found guilty of inciting a child under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity in Whitfield, Canterbury. He was due to be released in December.
A statement from Detective Sergeant Neil Poultney, from Lichfield Police, was read out at Cannock Coroner's Court. It said: "There was a suggestion in letters he had written he was worried about being in debt and was worried that he might be attacked."
The notes had not been posted, and officers found no other evidence to suggest he was being threatened.
Moule was found unresponsive by prison staff in his cell. He had also suffered burns from the hot pipes he was found slumped against.
Reading evidence from the prison's healthcare department, coroner's officer Andrew Heathcote said: "He had seen healthcare workers at the prison for assistance with his alcohol dependency.
"He had been recovering well but was also suffering from high blood pressure.
"He was put on medication but when another doctor saw him he was taken off his tablets. He had an ECG exam which was not showing anything abnormal. His cardiac arrest could not have been predicted."
Jeff Parker, head of healthcare at the prison said that Moule's cardiac arrest couldn't have been predicted.
He said: "Mr Moule had seen a doctor on June 30, a few days before his death. His blood pressure was 146 over 96. That did concern us that it was too high.
"Since I took over the role in April last year, all staff have been trained to carry out ECG's. Doctor's will always deliver the results.
"There was no history of any meetings with psychiatric nurses."
Andrew Haigh, senior coroner for South Staffordshire, said: "He may have been thinking about killing himself.
"Police are confident that there was no third party involvement in this death.
"His death couldn't have been predicted, and there was no unnatural element to his death. He was due to be released in December.
"His family remained in contact with him and were looking forward to his release."
He recorded a conclusion of natural causes.
