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| Double murder accused Leo Barnes found dead in prison cell | Double murder accused Leo Barnes found dead in prison cell |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A man currently on trial for the murder of two pensioners has been found dead in his prison cell. | A man currently on trial for the murder of two pensioners has been found dead in his prison cell. |
| Leo Barnes was accused of murdering Cynthia Beamond, from Halesowen, and Philip Silverstone, of London, on consecutive days in June last year. | |
| The 33-year-old, who denied murder, was found hanged in his cell at HMP Hewell in Redditch on Sunday, West Midlands Police said. | |
| His trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court started last Monday. | |
| 'Knew victims' | 'Knew victims' |
| Mr Barnes, from Runcorn Road, Balsall Heath in Birmingham, was due to be cross-examined by prosecutors on Friday but did not appear in court after complaining of feeling ill. | |
| In a statement, a police spokesman said "Mr Barnes was found hanging in his cell at HMP Hewell in Redditch. | |
| "As is standard protocol with all prison fatalities, an investigation into his death will take place but it is not deemed to be suspicious." | "As is standard protocol with all prison fatalities, an investigation into his death will take place but it is not deemed to be suspicious." |
| Jurors had been told Mr Barnes knew his victims - Ms Beamond since childhood - but claimed someone else carried out the killings. | |
| He told the jury he had been followed to 80-year-old Mrs Beamond's home by three men who then robbed him at gunpoint. | |
| He said she was hit over the head with a saucepan by an intruder who then ordered him to clean up a trail of blood but he thought she was still alive when he left her house. | |
| The following day, Mr Barnes said he drove to London, to Mr Silverstone's flat in Belsize Park where the 67-year-old was sitting with his wife and a Polish man. | |
| He and the Polish man then went to a bedroom for sex but ended up having a fight which Mr Silverstone became embroiled in, the court was told. | |
| 'Alive and fighting' | |
| The Polish man then hit the pensioner over the head with a car jack but he was "alive and fighting" when Mr Barnes left. | |
| Ms Beamond's daughter, Beverley Hadley, said of Mr Barnes' death: "We are devastated as a family that the man we believe is responsible for the brutal murder of my beloved Mum is not going to face justice for this horrendous crime." | |
| She said her life changed forever after her mother's death and every day was "painful and empty". | |
| "We have been deprived of those valuable final years of mum's life and those precious moments with her to say our final goodbyes," she said. | |
| "She is missed by everyone who knew her and her loss has left a huge void. Our lives have been devastated and changed forever. As a family we are now suffering our own life sentence." | |
| Mr Barnes was also accused of stealing property, including a television, from the home of Mrs Beamond. | |
| A post-mortem examination showed she died from head injuries. | |
| Det Insp Caroline Corfield, who led the murder inquiry, said officers had been in touch with Mr Barnes' next of kin following his death. | |
| The court is expected to sit later when Mr Barnes' death will be revealed to the jury, police said. |