Brother of North Tyneside murder victim hopes 'lessons will be learned' six years after death
The brother of a vulnerable Tyneside man tortured and murdered six years ago has welcomed a review into his death.
Although he has criticised the time it’s taken, Eddie Prout says he hopes lessons can now be learnt from his brother Jimmy’s death.
He got to see a draft copy of the review during a meeting on 3 May with North Tyneside Council.
It is expected the review will be made public in September, after approval from the Home Office.
Jimmy Prout, 45 was murdered in 2016. He had been tortured by a gang who he thought were his friends, before being killed and dumped on wasteland near his home in North Shields.
A trial at Newcastle Crown Court in 2017 heard he suffered "Dark Ages" abuse, including having his teeth knocked out with a hammer and being forced to eat one of his own testicles.
Zahid Zaman and Ann Corbett were found guilty of Mr Prout's murder and Myra Wood and Kay Rayworth were convicted of allowing his death
The group was sentenced to a total of 81 years following Jimmy's abuse and death.
Eddie said waiting for the 101 page review has 'taken a toll on his health.'
He also claims there were missed opportunities, as Jimmy had been to hospital numerous times due to the abuse he had suffered.
He said: "I'm no professional, in the state my brother was in, then I would have picked up on something."
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, the Hospital Trust which runs North Tyneside General, said it could not comment until the report was finalised.
North Tyneside Council said: “We offer our deepest condolences to the family of Jimmy Prout.
“We appreciate that they have had questions they’d like answering and we know it’s been a difficult wait for them. We have always attempted to maintain contact with them throughout the process to keep them informed.
“The review and draft report has taken time to complete due to it being such a complex incident, involving a number of perpetrators, and the involvement of a number of agencies.
It continued: "The draft findings have been discussed with Jimmy’s family, so they have the opportunity to contribute further to the report and explain specific details they would like clarity on.
“We would stress that at this stage the report is not finalised and is subject to amendment following feedback from the Home Office’s Quality Assurance Panel, as part of the recognised assurance process for Domestic Homicide Reviews.
“We will continue to keep the family informed of progress as the Home Office consider the draft report for publication.”