A murderer who referred to herself as ‘the queen of Beverley Road’ has died ‘after contracting Covid-19.’
Thirteen prisoners, serving sentences across the UK, are known to have died of the virus to date.
Angela Burkitt, 55, had been sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in prison after killing Joanne Hemingway in a ‘revenge stabbing’ in Beverley Road, on June 29, 2017.
However, the Ministry of Justice has confirmed Burkitt, who had been serving her time in HMP New Hall, died in hospital on Friday, April 17.
She died ‘after testing positive for coronavirus’, a family source has told Hull Live.
At a trial at Hull Crown Court Burkitt was found guilty of murder as well as intimidating witnesses and trying to frame her partner for the murder in 2017.
Angela Burkitt, 55, had been sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in prison after killing Joanne Hemingway in a ‘revenge stabbing’ in Beverley Road, Hull, on June 29, 2017
The court heard how the fatal clash between the women, who were neighbours, came after a long history of bad blood between them.
Ms Hemingway had got the better of Burkitt in a clash witnessed by residents earlier in the day, so Burkitt went outside armed with a knife along with her partner, Glenn Foster, who himself was armed with a baseball bat and large knife, and fought Joanne, who had a scaffolding pole.
The clash ultimately resulted in Ms Hemingway’s tragic death after she was stabbed in the chest by Burkitt.
A huge police investigation took place following Ms Heminghway’s murder, with Glen Foster initially charged with the crime.
Joanne Hemingway was stabbed in the chest by Anglea Burkitt. The two neighbours had a history of bad blood between them
When he wrote to Burkitt to ask her to tell the truth, she replied ‘tough s***’. But he was soon released and Burkitt was charged with murder.
Judge Richardson told Burkitt her defence that someone else stabbed Ms Heminghway’s was ‘absurd’, and said her victim was a ‘much loved daughter, sister, and mother’.
In December 2019, the murder was at the centre of a Sky Crime documentary of which the trailer described Burkitt as ‘a recovering addict who finally turned her life around’.
The documentary also featured a participant, who described the long running feud between Burkitt and Ms Hemingway, and later said Burkitt thought of herself as ‘the queen of Beverley Road’.
Angela Burkitt was serving her sentence at HMP New Hall but died in hospital on April 17
The Ministry of Justice confirmed Burkitt had died in hospital after previously testing positive for Covid-19.
A Prison Service spokesperson said: ‘A 55-year-old HMP New Hall prisoner died in hospital on April 17, 2020. Our condolences are with her family at this time.
‘The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has been informed.’
Meanwhile more than half of the prisons in England and Wales have an inmate who has tested positive for coronavirus, figures have revealed.
Recent data from the Ministry of Justice shows as of Wednesday there were 232 prisoners who have tested positive for the deadly virus across 60 of the 117 prisons in England and Wales.
Edwin Hillier, 84, was jailed for sex attacks on young girls in the 1970s
Figures show at least 13 inmates are known to have died after contracting Covid-19, although it is believed that a fourteenth prisoner may have died, according to data discussed at the most recent Justice Select Committee.
Some 96 prison staff have tested positive across 38 prisons, as well as seven prisoner escort and custody services staff.
As previously reported, two staff members at Pentonville Prison in north London died after showing symptoms of coronavirus.
Bovil Peter and Patrick Beckford died after suffering coronavirus symptoms, the Prison Officers’ Association said earlier this month.
It is not known if either man had previous health issues.
Three of the deaths among inmates were at HMP Littlehey in Cambridgeshire, with others being held at Birmingham, Manchester, the privately run Oakwood prison near Wolverhampton, Altcourse in Merseyside, Belmarsh in South East London, Whatton in Nottinghamshire, High Down in Surrey and a female prisoner at Low Newton, County Durham.
The latest figures come after the government announced earlier this month that 4,000 low-risk prisoners who have less than two months left of their sentence will be eligible for early release, to try to control the spread of coronavirus.
The Probation Service later announced that all those freed early, on temporary licence, will be electronically monitored before they leave prison.
Earlier this month, around 3,500 prison staff – representing about a tenth of the workforce – were said to be in self-isolation due to suspected Covid-19.
Concerns about staffing levels growing dangerously low have led to Prison Officers’ Union chief Dave Cook for the military to be drafted in as back up.
Twelve other prisoners died after testing positive for coronavirus, including three in HMP Littlehey (pictured), Cambridgeshire, where Edwin Hillier became the first British prisoner to die after contracting coronavirus
The first inmate to die after contracting coronavirus was Edwin Hillier, 84, who was jailed for sex attacks on young girls in the 1970s.
He was rushed to hospital with suspected sepsis on March 20 but post-mortem results showed he had also contracted coronavirus.
A female child abuser became the first woman to die from coronavirus in prison on April 4.
The woman, 46, was serving a nine-year jail term for child sex offences.
Visits to all jails have now been banned by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ).
A spokesperson for the MOJ said: ‘We have robust and flexible plans in place to protect the lives of our staff, prisoners and visitors, based on the latest advice from Public Health England and the Department of Health and Social Care.’
It was announced on Sunday that 16,060 people have died of the virus with 120,067 testing positive for COVID-19.