Ex-Dreamboys boss dies while serving wife axe attack jail sentence

A man who was serving a 27-year prison sentence for attempting to murder his wife has been found dead in prison.

David Richards, who was the former boss of the Dreamboys stripper group, was sentenced in January for attacking Alex Alam with an axe at her home in Essex.

A spokeswoman for HMP Lowdham Grange near Nottingham, run by private firm Sodexo, said an inmate died on Monday.

"The next of kin have been informed and our thoughts are with the family," she said.

The spokeswoman for the prison added: "As with all deaths in custody, there will be an investigation by the independent Prisons and Probation Ombudsman and therefore we are unable to comment further at this stage."

Richards, who was 42 years old and had no fixed address, attacked Ms Alam at her home in Stock, near Chelmsford, on 3 April last year.

Ms Alam, who was 32 years old and was estranged from Richards, suffered a fractured skull and cuts.

Judge David Turner KC described Richards as "obsessive" and said the incident was the "hideous culmination of the breakdown some 18 months earlier of your family relationships".

Chelmsford Crown Court had heard Richards was of previous good character.

HMP Lowdham Grange is a category B prison housing about 880 inmates.

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