David Smith, who brutally killed a grandad and later trafficked drugs in prison, died behind bars at HMP Northumberland, with a report into his death now released
A man who murdered a grandad and later became involved in drug trafficking in prison died behind bars.
David Smith, 45, attacked Steven Youll, 45, on the street in Benwell, Newcastle, in 2013 after a drinking session. Smith carried out the killing alongside Michael Wait following a dispute with Mr Youll. The dad-of-three and grandad suffered 71 injuries. Both Smith and Wait were jailed for life, with a minimum term of 16 years. Smith died of multiple drug toxicity on February 8, 2024, while serving his sentence at HMP Northumberland.
Following his death, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) launched an investigation, which found that Smith’s clinical care was reasonable and equivalent to what he could have expected to receive in the community. However, the recently published report also stressed a number of findings, Chronicle Live reports.
The report said Smith claimed he had no problems with drugs or alcohol, and there was no evidence of him taking illicit drugs at Northumberland. However, post-mortem tests found bromazolam, buprenorphine and olanzapine in his body, none of which had been prescribed to him.
Underlying ischaemic heart disease also contributed to his death. He had been diagnosed with heart failure in 2016 and had other cardiovascular conditions. While care plans were in place to monitor him in prison, he sometimes “missed appointments”.
The report highlighted that HMP Northumberland, a category C prison in Morpeth, has implemented measures to tackle drugs and build recovery, including scanning mail, acquiring additional drug detection dogs, enhanced gate security, customised training and greater collaboration with the police and specialist teams. The latter has been “particularly fruitful in addressing staff corruption”.
Smith’s prison records described him as “helpful and well regarded”. However, around 20 security intelligence reports in 2023 linked him to trafficking drugs and mobile phones, partly through his roles in the education department and as a cleaner, the report said.
“There was no evidence that this information was considered when reallocating Smith to his role as a cleaner towards the end of that year,” it said.
According to the PPO report, an intelligence report in July 2023 indicated a large amount of drugs was available in the prison and, as an orderly, Smith was implicated in their rapid distribution.
The report suggested he was one of two men running the drug network on House Block 1. Although staff were unable to corroborate the information, the high number of prisoners found under the influence at the time lent credibility to the allegation.
Further intelligence suggested that Smith and another prisoner were facilitating the drug trade and had obtained a new strain of Spice. There were reports that they coerced another prisoner into trying it. Several prisoners subsequently became very unwell, with some experiencing seizures and convulsions.
The report alleged that drugs were smuggled via the education department and that some prisoners hid substances in socks and trainers to bypass body scanners.
An intelligence report indicated that Smith kept mobile phones and drugs, which he hid during cell searches. He received them by mail and in visits, using codes and pictures to order them. The risk was assessed as high impact and required a targeted search.
A further report noted increasing drug use. Staff suspected that Smith and a prisoner in the adjacent cell were trafficking drugs from the education department. The informant alleged the drugs were crack, heroin, steroids, Valium, diazepam and Spice.
At his last meeting with a prison key worker, Smith asked to return to work as a cleaner and he resumed this role shortly afterwards. The report found that the security department only assesses prisoners who apply for jobs outside of the house-block.
Those applying for other jobs are only brought to their attention if they are of very high interest. The PPO said that security checks should be made for positions of trust within the house-block, to mitigate potential risks.
After Smith’s death, a notice reminded staff of the key requirements when conducting welfare checks on prisoners. The PPO advised reviewing the allocation process for positions of trust to ensure security information and potential risks are fully considered.
The most recent inspection of HMP Northumberland took place in August and September 2022. It found that safety and respect inside the prison had improved compared to 2017. However, inspectors noted that more prisoners at similar prisons reported that it was easy to obtain drugs and a larger proportion had developed drug problems.
Inspectors reported that several steps had been taken to reduce the demand for and the supply of illicit substances, including improved gate security and appointing a drug strategy manager.
The report found that managers had appropriately focused on responding to intelligence on drug and alcohol use. Inspectors noted that there was strong partnership working between the substance misuse team and the prison, links with the police were good and the prison was actively addressing staff corruption.
An HMP Northumberland spokesperson said: “Our thoughts continue to be with the family of Mr Smith. We have cooperated fully with the Prisons and Ombudsman’s investigation, and have already implemented the agreed actions from its report.”
