A prisoner already serving an 18-year sentence for stabbing his roommate has been jailed for life for murdering his cellmate seven years later. Shaun Newton, 35, was convicted by a jury on Tuesday (October 20) of murdering Tony Joynes, 47, at HMP Garth near Leyland, Lancashire.
Newton was sentenced to life imprisonment on October 22 by Judge Graham Knowles KC at Preston Crown Court Sessions House, who ordered he serve a minimum tariff of 34 years before becoming eligible to apply to the parole board for release.
Attack in shared cell
The court heard Newton and Joynes had been cellmates for around six months when they were locked in their cell on Garth’s D wing at 5pm on July 12, 2025. They remained there overnight, with checks carried out by staff. When prison staff conducted welfare checks on the morning of July 13, they responded to a buzzer being pressed from cell 47, and Newton told them he thought Joynes was dead.
Staff raised the alarm and CPR was attempted on Joynes, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. It was noticed Joynes had an abrasion on his neck which had bled, with blood found on the bed sheets near his pillow. A Home Office post-mortem found the cause of death to be neck compression.
Investigation and arrest
Lancashire Police’s Force Major Investigation Team launched an investigation, and Newton was arrested at Garth Prison on July 22 last year and taken for interview at Blackpool Police Station. Newton told officers that after being locked down for the night, he and Joynes chatted and played Xbox before he got on to the top bunk around 7.45pm. He described Joynes as being fine, but the following morning found him dead.
In December 2025, Newton was interviewed again by officers at HMP Full Sutton and was charged with murder in March this year. Middlesbrough-born Newton had been convicted of attempted murder in 2019 for stabbing his roommate four times with a knife while living and working in Romford, Essex, the previous year. Joynes was serving a sentence for wounding with intent after attacking a couple in their home in Workington, Cumbria, in 2019.
Sentencing remarks
When passing sentence, Judge Knowles told Newton: "Tony Joynes was 47 when you murdered him. He was your fellow prisoner in HMP Garth and he was your own familiar friend. Tony Joynes was a compliant prisoner, he gave no trouble to anyone on the wing. You killed him in the night in the cell you shared." The judge observed there were plain 'parallels' in the prison murder and the attempted murder in Essex which Newton had previously been convicted of.
Detective Inspector Marc Armstrong of the Force Major Investigation Team said: "Shaun Newton chose to kill his cell mate Tony Joynes by compressing his neck while he was laid in bed. Tony Joynes believed that Shaun Newton was his friend and trusted him, however Newton betrayed this and showed a total disregard for Tony’s life. My thoughts remain very much with Tony’s family and loved ones. I would like to praise the investigation team for their hard work, dedication and professionalism in establishing what happened in that cell at HMP Garth and putting the case together. I’d also like to thank the Crown Prosecution Service and prosecution counsel Tim Storrie KC for their hard work and professionalism in readying the case for trial and presenting the case in court."
