Murderer John Cannan died in prison from ruptured aneurysm, inquest hears

Murderer John Cannan, who killed Bristol newlywed Shirley Banks died, in prison as a result of a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm, an inquest has heard.

Cannan was jailed in 1989 for the rape and murder of Shirley and was the prime suspect in the unsolved murder of Suzy Lamplugh. He was found dead at the age of 70 in high-security HMP Full Sutton, in East Yorkshire, on November 6.

An inquest into Cannan’s death was opened and adjourned on Friday at Hull Coroner’s Court in a five-minute hearing. Area coroner for Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire, Lorraine Harris, said she had a received a statement from the prison confirming Cannan’s identity and containing details of how he was found, which were not read out.

Ms Harris told the hearing that the cause of death was a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm.

According to the NHS website, an abdominal aortic aneurysm, sometimes referred to as a Triple A, is a swelling in the artery that carries blood from the heart to the abdomen.

The coroner said she will be requesting various pieces of information from the prison, which houses Category A and B inmates, and she adjourned the hearing to a date to be fixed.