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A man accused of strangling a teacher to death after they met on a dating app has been found dead in his prison cell.
NSW Correctives Services confirmed a 35-year-old man was found dead at Clarence Correctional Centre on Saturday.
“The man was found unresponsive in his room by staff and was pronounced deceased at 4.04pm,” a statement to NCA NewsWire read.
“Serco, Corrective Services NSW, and NSW Police are investigating the incident. All deaths in custody are subject to a coronial inquest.”
The Daily Telegraphs reports the man is Ashley Gaddie, who was accused of murdering Dannielle Finlay-Jones, 31, at a home in Cranebrook in December 2022.
The newspaper reports he returned to his single cell about 3.15pm before he was later found dead.
Mr Gaddie was in prison on remand while his matter over Ms Finlay-Jones’ death travelled through the NSW court system.
The pair met on an online dating application and had been on two dates prior to the evening of December 17, according to police allegations.
Police claim the couple attended a social event that night at a pub in Marsden Park where Ms Finlay-Jones introduced Mr Gaddie as her new partner.
They left the pub before midnight to stay with a friend of Ms Finley-Jones, who was last seen alive when she entered a spare bedroom with Mr Gaddie shortly after midnight, police allege.
One of the residents was woken at 3am by what they described as “loud violent sex” between Ms Finlay-Jones and Mr Gaddie, according to police.
At 2.30pm, her friends realised it was strange they hadn’t heard from the new couple since the previous night.
One of her friends allegedly found Ms Finlay-Jones’ lifeless body lying on her back on the bedroom floor.
Police allege the teacher’s face sustained heavy bruising to her face, a bloody nose, and distinct finger impressions on her throat.
Interim post-mortem results indicate the 31-year-old was strangled to death, police state in documents tendered to the court.
Police claim Mr Gaddie cut a hole in the flyscreen on the window in the spare bedroom in order to escape without detection.
Emergency services were called to the scene but they pronounced the 31-year-old dead on arrival.
Police allege he fled the scene without attempting to speak to anyone or contact emergency services.
After three days of being unable to locate Mr Gaddie, police arrested the tradie just after midnight on December 21 in the NSW Blue Mountains.
Police cornered the Five Dock resident at Fletcher’s Lookout, where he was standing on the cliff edge.
He was arrested at midnight after a dramatic 12-hour standoff with officers at the precarious location.
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