Details of the death of a notorious child killer have emerged in a new report.

Russell Bishop, 55, died on January 20, 2022, in HMP Frankland. He was incarcerated for the murders of nine-year-olds Nicole Fellows and Karen Hadaway. 

The new report, from the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO), concluded that Bishop died from COVID-19 pneumonitis and heart disorders and said that he also had diabetes and metastatic bowel cancer.

Bishop killed the two girls in Brighton in 1986 but was only convicted of the murders in December 2018, having been cleared at an early trial in 1987. 

Read more: HMP Frankland: Nine of the most notorious prisoners in Britain

The Northern Echo: Karen Hadaway (left) and Nicola Fellows (right) were killed by Bishop in 1986.Karen Hadaway (left) and Nicola Fellows (right) were killed by Bishop in 1986. (Image: PA)

However, Bishop was jailed in 1990 for the attempted murder of a seven-year-old girl at Devil's Dyke near Brighton, and had been kept in various high-security prisons up and down the country. 

The clinical reviewer from the PPO concluded that the care Bishop received in prison was equivalent to what he would have received in the community, but also noted some areas of improvement. 

After Bishop's death in 2022, Lorna Heffron, the cousin of murdered Nicola Fellows, said: "We're pleased that he's gone and he absolutely won't be able to hurt anybody else in the future. The world is a better place without him.

"I think the biggest relief is the fact that we got justice for Nicola and Karen before this happened.

Read more: Babes in the Woods killer Russell Bishop dies in hospital

"It's the satisfaction of knowing that we don't have to worry now that he, at any point in the future, might be able to apply for parole."

Bishop was the 17th prisoner at Frankland to die since January 2020. All the previous deaths were from natural causes (five with COVID-19).

There has since been a self-inflicted death and two deaths from natural causes, though neither was from COVID-19.

Bishop had been imprisoned since December 1990, sentenced to life for sexual offences and attempted murder. 

He was transferred to Country Durham's HMP Frankland in September 2011, though he did spend two months at HMP Belmarsh, in 2018, to attend court.

In December 2018, Bishop was convicted of the 'Babes in the Wood' murders.

Read more: George Naylor, Bradford double killer, died in prison in Durham

During the pandemic, Bishop was issued with advice to follow NHS shielding guidance as due to his cancer, heart disease and previous heart attacks, he was clinically extremely vulnerable to complications from COVID-19.

Bowel cancer, which later spread to his brain and lungs, made Bishop vulnerable, but the report explains that "he felt he did not have long to live and wanted to continue socialising with his friends."

Bishop died in hospital on January 20, 2022, after falling in his cell and suffering from laboured breathing. Whilst in hospital, he tested positive for COVID-19, which he is believed to have contracted in prison. 

The PPO writes in their report: "The clinical reviewer made some recommendations for improvement. We reflect those relevant to Mr Bishop’s cause of death, with a reminder that the deficiencies highlighted are all issues that have been raised with Frankland before."

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These clinical improvements include:

  • Conducting secondary health assessments.
  • Creating care plans for chronic conditions
  • Offering timely GP appointments to patients with acute symptoms
  • Compliance with the referral guidelines for suspected cancer.
  • Use of an assessment tool to detect clinical deterioration when a patient is acutely unwell.