Killer ex-detective found hanged

A former detective jailed for life for murdering his partner and fellow officer whose body was discovered in a shallow woodland grave has been found hanged in his cell.

Peter Foster's death at Lewes Prison in East Sussex comes just three days after a man who knifed his controlling stepfather to death was found hanged at the same jail.

Foster, a 36-year-old former detective constable, was jailed for life and told he must serve at least 17 years at Lewes Crown Court last month after admitting murdering his partner.

Foster stabbed Detective Constable Heather Cooper, 33, before dumping her body in Blackdown Woods, near Lurgashall, West Sussex, in October last year.

Foster's death comes after Nathan Vaughan-Jones, who stabbed his stepfather to death after a long-running family feud boiled over, was found hanged at the same prison on Friday night.

The 34-year-old had been jailed for 11 years in March after pleading guilty to the manslaughter of 63-year-old Nigel Ross on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Vaughan-Jones stabbed Mr Ross 41 times in the garden of his sister's home in Mill Lane, South Chailey, near Lewes, East Sussex, on March 29 last year.

A Prison Service spokeswoman said: "HMP Lewes prisoner Peter Foster was found hanging in a cell at 3am on Monday July 30.

"Prison staff tried to resuscitate him and paramedics were called but he was pronounced dead at 3.25am.

"As with all deaths in custody, the independent Prisons and Probation Ombudsman will conduct an investigation."