Sudden New Year's Eve death of prisoner at HMP Five Wells
An eighth prisoner linked to HMP Five Wells has died.
Dean Newton, 52, died on December 31 at the prison in Wellingborough.
His cause of death has not been revealed by the prison but Northamptonshire Police have confirmed that they attended the prison following the ‘sudden death’ on the day in question and have sent a file to the coroner.
The death was reported to the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman which made the death public on its website in the past few days.
An HMP Five Wells spokesman said: “Dean Newton passed away on 31 December 2025.
“As with all deaths in custody, this will be investigated by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman and the cause of death is for the coroner to determine.”
Mr Newton’s is the eighth death linked to the G4S-run establishment since the end of 2023. Four of the deaths occurred in 2025.
The PPO has opened investigations into all the deaths but has published full reports on only two of them so far. Two of the deaths occurred shortly after the prisoners were released from Five Wells.
When Five Wells opened in 2022 it was billed as a therapeutic jail where inmates could engage in workshops and jobs, to help them turn their lives away from crime. But surging prisoner numbers meant that noble aim fell away shortly after it opened. Now, the majority of offenders at the prison are inside for sex crimes and those offenders are integrated with the general population.