Shoplifter dies following spell in HMP Five Wells

Kenny Grubb, 34, died on March 1, 2026, shortly after he had been released from the Wellingborough jail.

He had previously been jailed for repeatedly targeting shops in Crawley, and was made the subject of a criminal behaviour order, which he breached before he was again imprisoned.

Now the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has opened an inquiry into his death, as is standard with all prisoners that die in jail, or within 14 days of their release from prison.

An HMP Five Wells spokesman said: “A former prisoner Mr Kenneth Grubb died in the community on 1 March 2026. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.

“All deaths in custody, and those that occur within 14 days of release, are investigated by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman. The cause of death will be for the coroner to determine.”

Mr Grubb is the thirteenth prisoner to died while at, or shortly after release from, HMP Five Wells, since it opened in February 2022. Four of those 13, including Mr Grubb, have died post-release, which is a time when convicts are considered to be very vulnerable as they often have insecure housing and a gap between leaving prison and having any income.

The other prisoners to die are John Boswell, Brian Haines, Dean Newton, Nicholas Lowe, Tudor Owen, Jason McDonagh, Roger Lemon, Reece Pryce, Kevin Golby and Harold Day. Last month the PPO also published a report into the previously unreported death of Anthony Foster, who died in hospital in the final stages of colon cancer while he had been a prisoner at HMP Five Wells.

Mr Foster was 74-years-old when he died in March 2023. The PPO report noted that he was the second prisoner to die at HMP Five Wells since it opened. The name of the first prisoner to die has never been made public and is publicly noted here for the first time.

Editor’s note – official prison records refer to Mr Grubb’s name as Kenneth. However, his legal name is Kenny.