The Auckland coroner has found that a confessed murderer who died in his cell intended to commit suicide.
Coroner Mate Frankovich found that William Eden Annear, aged 32, who was serving a life sentence for murdering a man with a boning knife, died on February 13, 1998 at Paremoremo prison from self-inflicted burns and smoke inhalation. He had set fire to everything combustible in the cell.
Mr Frankovich said he believed the death was suicide, not a protest, and could be attributed to Annear's mercurial temperament and unhappiness.
He found that prison staff had acted properly, but suggested improvements, including the installation of smoke alarms, tamper-resistant sprinklers, and wide-angle zoom lenses for the closed-circuit television cameras.
Counsel for the Annear family, Peter Williams, QC, said he was disappointed at the finding.
Annear had lit the fire as a protest, he said, but was taken by surprise by the speed and intense heat generated by the fire.
Prison death 'intentional'
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