Teacher found murdered in prison car park

Teacher found murdered in prison car park

By Sophie Borland
Last Updated: 8:46am BST 13/09/2007

A female teacher has been found murdered at a women’s prison in Kent.

Her body was discovered in the car park of the East Sutton Park Open Prison in Sutton Valence, Maidstone at about 5pm yesterday evening.

The victim, who has not yet been named, is thought to have been a teacher contracted to work with inmates at the jail. It is not yet clear whether she was killed by one of the female prisoners.

Detectives since sealed off the scene where the body was found and are now carring out inquiries in the surrounding area.

A spokesman for Kent Police said: "Police were called to East Sutton Park Open Prison at 5pm on Wednesday after the body of a woman was found in the car park. "Police are treating this death as suspicious at this time and detectives are continuing their investigations and inquiries are on-going."

Katie Price, one of the governors at the prison, said she could not comment on the situation as the investigation was still ongoing.

The open prison, which consists of a mansion house overlooking the Kent Weald, houses about 100 female inmates. They largely consist of adults and young offenders who are being prepared for resettlement into the open community.

Most inmates stay in private rooms with their own keys and are able to wander ariound the grounds freely. They must show up for daily role calls and are fitted with security tags to stop them fleeing the prison.

The prison was orginally founded in 1946 as a centre for young male delinquents who had been excluded from reformed school.