Before Assistant Coroner Melanie Lee
St Pancras Coroner’s Court, Camley Street, N1C 4PP
Opens Wednesday 25 February 2026, expected to last 3 days
Colleen Madden, 31, died shortly after being released from prison, in temporary hotel accommodation provided by the London Borough of Camden in January 2025. Now an inquest will examine the circumstances surrounding her death.
In the year to March 2025, 622 people died after being released from prison, with the first 14 days proving especially critical, accounting for 10% of all such deaths.
Colleen was a much loved mother of two young girls, sister, daughter and friend.
Colleen was a vulnerable adult who had sustained a brain injury following a road traffic accident in September 2018. Between September 2024 and January 2025, she was released from prison on four occasions. The first three of those occasions resulted in recalls to prison after Colleen’s accommodation arrangements broke down and the Probation Service decided she could not be managed in the community.
Colleen was released from prison for a fourth time on 13 January 2025 following a 14-day recall and was placed in temporary hotel accommodation in Kings Cross, London. On 16 January 2025, police conducting a welfare check found Colleen in her hotel room where she was declared dead shortly after. The available medical evidence suggests that Colleen had died on the evening of 13 January.
The inquest will examine the circumstances surrounding Colleen’s death, in particular the arrangements that were made by the relevant state bodies to plan for her release, including in respect of accommodation, care and support.
ENDS
NOTES
For further information, interview requests and to note your interest, please contact Leila Hagmann on leilahagmann@inquest.org.uk.
The family is represented by INQUEST Lawyers Group members Catriona McGregor of Bhatt Murphy Solicitors and Sophie Walker of One Pump Court Chambers, and supported by INQUEST senior caseworker Selen Cavcav.
Other Interested persons represented are the Ministry of Justice, the London Borough of Camden, Sodexo, Central and North West London NHS Trust, the Forward Trust, and Irwin Mitchell Trust Corporation.
Colleen Madden
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Before Assistant Coroner Melanie Lee
St Pancras Coroner’s Court, Camley Street, N1C 4PP
Opens Wednesday 25 February 2026, expected to last 3 days
Colleen Madden, 31, died shortly after being released from prison, in temporary hotel accommodation provided by the London Borough of Camden in January 2025. Now an inquest will examine the circumstances surrounding her death.
In the year to March 2025, 622 people died after being released from prison, with the first 14 days proving especially critical, accounting for 10% of all such deaths.
Colleen was a much loved mother of two young girls, sister, daughter and friend.
Colleen was a vulnerable adult who had sustained a brain injury following a road traffic accident in September 2018. Between September 2024 and January 2025, she was released from prison on four occasions. The first three of those occasions resulted in recalls to prison after Colleen’s accommodation arrangements broke down and the Probation Service decided she could not be managed in the community.
Colleen was released from prison for a fourth time on 13 January 2025 following a 14-day recall and was placed in temporary hotel accommodation in Kings Cross, London. On 16 January 2025, police conducting a welfare check found Colleen in her hotel room where she was declared dead shortly after. The available medical evidence suggests that Colleen had died on the evening of 13 January.
The inquest will examine the circumstances surrounding Colleen’s death, in particular the arrangements that were made by the relevant state bodies to plan for her release, including in respect of accommodation, care and support.
ENDS
NOTES
For further information, interview requests and to note your interest, please contact Leila Hagmann on leilahagmann@inquest.org.uk.
The family is represented by INQUEST Lawyers Group members Catriona McGregor of Bhatt Murphy Solicitors and Sophie Walker of One Pump Court Chambers, and supported by INQUEST senior caseworker Selen Cavcav.
Other Interested persons represented are the Ministry of Justice, the London Borough of Camden, Sodexo, Central and North West London NHS Trust, the Forward Trust, and Irwin Mitchell Trust Corporation.
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