A FORMER Halesowen shopkeeper who brutally murdered his wife was found dead after overdosing on medication, a report has revealed.

Paul Abbott, was jailed for life in July 2016 after he admitted killing his 54-year-old wife Jackie, who he had run J and P Tackle with when it was based at Belfont Trading Estate, Mucklow Hill.

He was found dead at HMP Long Lartin in Evesham on December 11, 2016 - exactly 12 months after he "flipped" and rained blows on his wife's head with a hammer after an argument at their Netherton home.

The 57-year-old's death sparked an independent investigation by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, which found that while Abbott had intended to take an overdose of naproxen - an anti-inflammatory medication that he had been prescribed for a shoulder injury and deemed to be suitable to hold in his possession.

However he ultimately died as a result of inhaling his stomach contents into his lungs.

A report detailing the course of the investigation was published this week and revealed that on the evening before his death, Abbott had visited two of his fellow prisoners in their cells to gift them items including cereals, sugar, teabags, paper, paprika, a bowl and saucepans.

The report notes that one of the prisoners thought Abbott's behaviour "was a bit unusual" but had dismissed it "as he had no concerns about him".

Abbott was locked in his cell at 4.50pm that evening by an officer who recalled him "standing up in his cell".

No concerns were raised during a roll check at 5.30am the next day and the officer who unlocked Abbott's cell at around 8.41am said that when he had looked through the observation panel, he could see Abbott was in bed, covered by a blanket and "appeared to be asleep".

The investigation revealed that two prisoners had separately gone to Abbott's cell at 9.30am and 10.30am, saw that he was in bed and believed him to be asleep, with the report adding: "Neither prisoner considered this unusual because it was the weekend."

However at 11.30am, a prisoner had gone to Abbott's cell as he was concerned that it was nearing the end of lunch being served and he had not collected his meal and raised the alarm after failing to rouse him.

The report said that prison staff had gone to Abbott's cell "immediately" and said that Abbott "appeared to be dead”.

A note from Abbott was later found in his cell, wrapped around some toiletries. It asked for the items to be handed to a named prisoner and wished him “good luck and goodbye”.

Investigators acknowledged that "it would have been difficult for staff at Long Lartin to have foreseen or prevented his death" and that while staff did not check on Abbott's wellbeing when he was unlocked that morning, "we cannot say whether this delay affected the outcome".

However as medical staff at the prison told the investigation that they "felt obliged" to make resuscitation attempts - despite Abbott clearly being deceased, the report recommended that staff were given "clear guidance" about circumstances where resuscitation is inappropriate, in line with NHS England and HM Prisons and Probation Service’s resuscitation policy.

During an inquest into Abbott's death, held at Worcestershire Coroner's Court earlier this month, a jury concluded he had committed suicide.