'Pervert' Babestation killer who called sex lines as pensioner lay dying found dead in prison

A "pervert" killer who called sex lines while a pensioner lay in front of him has been found dead in prison. Gareth Dack was jailed for a minimum of 33 years after strangling 79-year-old Norma Bell to death in 2016.

Dack attacked Mrs Bell, a widowed mother of nine, cut up her clothing, then called Babestation sex chat lines using her phone, as she lay dead or dying. He then tried to set fire to her house in a bid to destroy the evidence.

He was branded “perverted and disgusting” by Mrs Justice Whipple after he was handed a life sentence for murder of the Hartlepool grandmother.

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The 41-year-old was found dead at HMP Frankland, near Durham, on Monday. A Prison Service spokesperson said: “Gareth Dack died on April 21 2025 at HMP Frankland. As with all deaths in custody, the Prison and Probation Ombudsman will investigate.”

The father-of-four was jailed for life following a three-week trial at Teesside Crown Court, reported.

Sentencing, the trial judge said: “You killed Norma Bell in cold blood in her own home when she was defenceless.

"She had done nothing to deserve your violence, then you set fire to her home in a failed attempt to cover your tracks.”

Dack was a drug user, heavily in debt and had pressured his victim to lend him £10 the week before.

Mrs Bell and her late husband John had three sons and were parents to six long-term foster children they considered their own.

A family statement after the trial said she had a “heart as big as a lion”, adding: “Her murder has left an enormous gap in our lives and forgiveness will never be given.”