A DEPRAVED killer who strangled a 79-year-old mum before calling sex chat lines as she lay dying has been found dead in prison.
Gareth Dack used a ligature to kill Norma Bell and then set her home on fire in a bid to destroy the evidence in 2016.
PA:Press AssociationGareth Dack died in HMP Frankland on Monday[/caption]
PANorma Bell, 79, had fostered more than 50 children throughout her life[/caption]
PADack set fire to Norma’s home to destroy evidence of his crime[/caption]
The vile 41-year-old, who was jailed for a minimum of 33 years, has now been 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.”
Dack had attacked Mrs Bell in her own home using a telephone wire to strangle her, crushing her ribs as he choked his 5ft victim.
The shameless criminal cut up her clothing, then called sex chat lines on Babestation as she lay dead or dying.
Dack then stole a boxed 49in TV and £700 after attacking the woman he had known since childhood.
The sick killer then tried to set fire to her house in a bid to destroy the evidence.
Dack was jailed for life following a three-week trial at Teesside Crown Court.
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.”
Widow Norma had nine children, six of whom were adopted, and was known locally in Hartlepool, Teesside, as a generous woman.
But desperate addict Dack exploited that generosity when he needed cash for cocaine and cannabis.
Dack was a drug user, heavily in debt and had pressured her to lend him £10 the week before.
He returned a week later on April 2 last year with a view to taking more cash and attacked Norma before ransacking her house.
Dack left the house twice – to sell the telly to a pal and then to take drugs with the friend – both times returning to Norma’s house to make more calls to chatlines.
In the days that followed, a murder investigation was launched and Dack was arrested.
And as the sickening details became clear, her heartbroken family struggled to comprehend how anything so horrific could have happened.
Norma 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 Norma had a “heart as big as a lion”.
The heartfelt statement added: “Her murder has left an enormous gap in our lives and forgiveness will never be given.”
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