THUG JAILED FOR BATTERING GIRLFRIEND IN HOTEL DIES IN RISLEY PRISON
A RAGING thug who battered his girlfriend in a hotel has died behind bars aged just 38.Ronnie Gaunt was locked up in HM Prison Risley when he came by his death, while serving a sentence following a violent, drink and drug-fuelled incident.
An independent investigation into his death was launched by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, which ‘aims to make a significant contribution to safer, fairer custody and community supervision’.
A report has now been published, which states that on April 9, 2019, Gaunt was remanded to HMP Manchester after being charged with a violent offence.
The plumber, of Halewood, was staying at a Hilton hotel in Manchester, where he beat his then-girlfriend unconscious during a weekend away.
The dad attacked her, grabbing her around the throat with both hands, chasing her and assaulting her for 15-minutes before fleeing.
On November 4, 2019, he was sentenced to three years and six months in prison, before being transferred to HMP Risley on November 21.
When he arrived at the Warrington Road category C prison, a nurse conducted an initial health screen which confirmed he was ‘generally fit and well’, and not taking any prescribed medication.
Gaunt said that he had used cocaine in the past but did not have any substance misuse issues.
At around 11.35am on April 16, 2020, a prison officer unlocked his cell and found him lying unresponsive on his bed.
The officer radioed a medical emergency and the control room called an ambulance immediately.
A nurse and a prison paramedic arrived very shortly afterwards and agreed with the officer’s decision not to start CPR, noting rigor mortis in all of his limbs.
At 11.45am, paramedics arrived at the prison, with Gaunt confirmed deceased at 11.50am.
A post-mortem report concluded that he died of cardiac hypertrophy, where the heart muscles thicken, and the blood volume increases, with coronary artery atheroma, a form of heart disease.
Toxicology tests did not detect any drugs or alcohol in his blood and urine, and an inquest concluded on July 20, 2023, that Gaunt died from natural causes.
The clinical reviewer concluded that the clinical care Gaunt received at HMP Risley was ‘equivalent to that which he could have expected to receive in the community’.
She noted that he had minimal contact with healthcare staff, and that his death was ‘sudden and unexpected’.
