Gordon Park, the man convicted of murdering his wife Carol and dumping her body in Coniston Water, has died in prison. The 66-year-old was found unconscious in his cell at HMP Garth in Leyland with a ligature around his neck and a bag over his head. He was pronounced dead later that day. The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman will investigate the death, which is believed to be a suicide.
Park was convicted in 2005 for the murder of his wife, 28 years after her body was discovered by amateur divers in the lake. The case had been one of the UK's longest-running unsolved murders. Carol Park's body was weighted down and wrapped in a bag made from one of her pinafore dresses. Park had used a climber's ice axe to kill her.
Park had always maintained his innocence, and his son Jeremy continues to believe in his father's innocence. Park's conviction followed a renewed police investigation prompted by a television documentary. A former prisoner who had been in a cell with Park contacted police after seeing the programme.
During the investigation, police recovered a piece of Westmorland green slate from the lake, similar to slate used in Park's bungalow. Park had previously been arrested and charged with murder, but the initial trial collapsed. He later sold his story to a newspaper for £50,000, professing his innocence.
