A jury has found a prisoner guilty of murdering his cellmate, whom he strangled at HMP Stoke Heath.
Neil Ashby, 49, died in July last year. At Stafford Crown Court, the 36-year-old defendant denied murder. He argued that he was not guilty by reason of insanity, and that he was instead guilty of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
The jury rejected that defence. After nine hours of deliberation, it returned a unanimous verdict of murder. Judge Avik Mukherjee said he would pass sentence on 17 November.
The morning of the killing
The defendant alerted staff by ringing the cell bell at 6.13am on 1 July. The court heard that he came out of the cell and told shocked officers: “I’ve killed my padmate.”
One prison officer described him as eerily nonchalant. Another, who went into the cell soon afterwards, said he seemed really cool and calm. Asked what he had done, he apologised to that officer and said he had killed him.
Mr Ashby’s body lay on his bed, the bottom bunk. The words “they killed us” were on his back, the court heard. There was further writing on the cell wall, in pen and in blood.
The defendant’s white shirt was bloodstained, and he had shallow cuts to one wrist. According to the post-mortem examination, pressure on the neck caused Mr Ashby’s death. The most likely cause was a neck hold or a broad, soft ligature.
Warnings in the weeks before
In the weeks before his death, Mr Ashby told other prisoners he was worried about his cellmate’s mental health. Despite those worries, he turned down offers to move cells.
Fellow prisoners told the court that Mr Ashby was quiet and decent, and called him a nice lad. They noticed the defendant becoming less sociable. He stayed in the cell and kept the curtains closed.
When his cellmate stopped leaving the cell, Mr Ashby collected his meals and brought them to him. He told others that the man had become scared of God, was having suicidal thoughts and kept him awake at night.
The day before Mr Ashby died, he told another prisoner what his cellmate had said to him: “I’m worried I’m going to strangle you, Neil.”
Sally Howes KC, prosecuting, told the jury that a week before the murder the defendant had asked a prison doctor to certify him as too sick to work. He cited severe post-traumatic stress disorder and paranoia. After his arrest, he described himself to a forensic psychologist as an angel turned into a demon.
HMP & YOI Stoke Heath is a category C prison for men in the West Midlands. At its most recent full inspection, in June 2026, inspectors rated safety as not sufficiently good and purposeful activity as poor. They judged respect and preparation for release reasonably good.
