David Ogden, 44, was found unresponsive in a shared cell at Salford's Forest Bank prison at 7am on March 29, 2022, the morning after he was convicted of sex offences at Manchester Crown Court. He had been remanded in custody to await sentence.
An investigation by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) found Ogden died of oxycodone toxicity after taking an overdose of the painkiller, which had been prescribed for severe arthritis. It was his first time in prison, and staff had classified him as a 'vulnerable prisoner' who was 'significantly vulnerable to assault'.
Events at court
While at court, Ogden was captured on CCTV putting something in his mouth. After his conviction, his mother said he had left a note in the dock saying he 'could not cope or carry on', but the note was never found and its contents were never verified.
His medication was left behind at court. The PPO said it was 'possible that despite the usual checks he secreted it somewhere in his body and took it once in prison'.
Investigation findings
A post-mortem gave the cause of death as 'oxycodone toxicity', and an inquest concluded his death was due to 'excess consumption of his prescribed medication with his intention undetermined'. The PPO found 'nothing to indicate' Ogden was an increased risk of suicide or self-harm.
Three separate investigations - by police, prisoner transport company GEOAmey, and the PPO - could not establish when or where Ogden took the overdose.
Care concerns
The report found that 'not all the care Mr Ogden received at Forest Bank was equivalent to what he could have expected to receive in the community'. However, the ombudsman said the concerns were 'unlikely to have changed the outcome'.
'No one responsible for Mr Ogden could reasonably have realised something was wrong and taken different action,' the report concluded.
Ogden was the 12th prisoner to die at Forest Bank since March 2019.
