Prisoner hanged himself as jailer watched cartoon

A POLICE jailer accused of watching a Disney cartoon while a prisoner hanged himself in his cell told a jury yesterday he thought a colleague was carrying out hourly checks on inmates.

David Stoll, aged 49, was jailer in the custody suite at St Mary’s Wharf Police Station, Derby, on the night 32-year-old Craig Boyd hanged himself in a cell.

The trial has heard PC Stoll failed to visit the cells at 2am and 3am. Mr Boyd was found dead at 4am on March 16, 2004.

Giving evidence the officer, who has 20 years’ experience in the force, said he assumed the station matron, Brenda Blood, had carried out 2am and 3am checks. But he admitted lying to his supervisor, Sgt Nigel Rogers, about who carried out the checks because he wanted to earn “Brownie Points” with his boss.

He said: “I believed the visits had been done. I misled him as to who had done the visits.”

Stoll denies one charge of misconduct in public office.

The jury has seen six-and-a-half hours of CCTV taken in the custody suite during the night of March 15 and 16 before Mr Boyd was found dead.

Officers were shown watching the Disney cartoon Finding Nemo instead of carrying out their duties.

The trial was adjourned to today.