Before Assistant Coroner Jonathan Stevens
Bow Coroner’s Court, Bow Road, London, E3 3AA
Opens Monday 19 January, expected to last 2 weeks
Gareth Chumber-Kelly, 33, died a self-inflicted death only four days after being remanded to HMP Pentonville. Now an inquest will open to examine the care he received at the prison in the lead up to his death.
Since Gareth’s death, 10 people have died at Pentonville Prison. At least five of these deaths were self-inflicted.
Gareth was a hard-working and loving father of three from Enfield, London. Resourceful and clever from a young age, he saved up enough money aged 15 to take his mother and sister on holiday. His family remember him for his love of Indian food, cars, technology and music.
On 13 July 2023, Gareth was remanded to HMP Pentonville. He died on 17 July 2023 after applying a ligature in his cell.
The inquest will examine the care, treatment and supervision arrangements in place during Gareth’s imprisonment, the adequacy of information sharing between the organisations involved, and the response to the events of 17 July 2023.
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
For further information, a photo, and interview requests please contact leilahagmann@inquest.org.uk.
The family is represented by INQUEST Lawyers Group members Catriona McGregor, Anna Thomson and Catherine Shannon of Bhatt Murphy and Shanthi Sivakumaran of Doughty Street Chambers. They are supported by INQUEST Caseworker Kate Litman.
Other Interested persons represented are the Ministry of Justice, Practice Plus Group, North London NHS Foundation Trust, Together for Mental Wellbeing, Phoenix Futures, and North East London NHS Foundation Trust.
In Jully 2025, HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) issued an urgent notification for HMP Pentonville following an unannounced inspection that found: prisoners repeatedly illegally imprisoned beyond their release dates; wholly inadequate care for new prisoners; a high number of self-inflicted deaths; a failure to address deficiencies in internal processes; a widespread lack of support for prisoners at risk of self-harm; and squalid prison conditions.
In 2022, INQUEST published a report into the deaths of racialised people in prison between 2015-2022. The report uncovers new data and tells the stories of 22 racialised people and how they died preventable and premature deaths in prison. It evidences the role of institutional racism in the prison estate
Gareth Chumber-Kelly
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Before Assistant Coroner Jonathan Stevens
Bow Coroner’s Court, Bow Road, London, E3 3AA
Opens Monday 19 January, expected to last 2 weeks
Gareth Chumber-Kelly, 33, died a self-inflicted death only four days after being remanded to HMP Pentonville. Now an inquest will open to examine the care he received at the prison in the lead up to his death.
Since Gareth’s death, 10 people have died at Pentonville Prison. At least five of these deaths were self-inflicted.
Gareth was a hard-working and loving father of three from Enfield, London. Resourceful and clever from a young age, he saved up enough money aged 15 to take his mother and sister on holiday. His family remember him for his love of Indian food, cars, technology and music.
On 13 July 2023, Gareth was remanded to HMP Pentonville. He died on 17 July 2023 after applying a ligature in his cell.
The inquest will examine the care, treatment and supervision arrangements in place during Gareth’s imprisonment, the adequacy of information sharing between the organisations involved, and the response to the events of 17 July 2023.
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
For further information, a photo, and interview requests please contact leilahagmann@inquest.org.uk.
The family is represented by INQUEST Lawyers Group members Catriona McGregor, Anna Thomson and Catherine Shannon of Bhatt Murphy and Shanthi Sivakumaran of Doughty Street Chambers. They are supported by INQUEST Caseworker Kate Litman.
Other Interested persons represented are the Ministry of Justice, Practice Plus Group, North London NHS Foundation Trust, Together for Mental Wellbeing, Phoenix Futures, and North East London NHS Foundation Trust.
In Jully 2025, HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) issued an urgent notification for HMP Pentonville following an unannounced inspection that found: prisoners repeatedly illegally imprisoned beyond their release dates; wholly inadequate care for new prisoners; a high number of self-inflicted deaths; a failure to address deficiencies in internal processes; a widespread lack of support for prisoners at risk of self-harm; and squalid prison conditions.
In 2022, INQUEST published a report into the deaths of racialised people in prison between 2015-2022. The report uncovers new data and tells the stories of 22 racialised people and how they died preventable and premature deaths in prison. It evidences the role of institutional racism in the prison estate
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