Bristol murderer and sex offender John Cannan died in jail from ruptured aneurysm, inquest hears

A Bristol man convicted of killing a woman and suspected of murdering a missing estate agent died in prison as a result of a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm, an inquest has heard.

John Cannan was jailed in 1989 for the abduction and murder of Bristol newlywed Shirley Banks from Bristol.

He was also the prime suspect in the 1986 disappearance of 25-year-old estate agent Suzy Lamplugh, which Cannan always denied. She was declared dead and her body has never been found.

Cannan was found dead at the age of 70 in high-security HMP Full Sutton, in East Yorkshire, on 6 November.

An inquest into Cannan’s death was opened and adjourned on Friday 15 November 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.