A child rapist who was locked up in a County Durham prison died in hospital after being found "unresponsive" in his cell, an inquest heard.
Gordon Preece was rushed to University Hospital of North Durham from HMP Frankland on July 9, 2025 and died just a day later after deteriorating in hospital.
The 80-year-old was put behind bars for 25 years in 2016 after being found guilty of a number of historic assaults, including four counts of rape on a child in the 1970s.
A jury at Hereford Crown Court also found him guilty of four counts of sexually assaulting a woman between 1980 and 1984, as well as other sexual offences against children.
After his sentencing, Detective Constable Maz Woods of West Mercia Police described how Preece had "no remorse" and thought he had evaded justice.
An inquest into his death opened at Crook Coroners' Court on Tuesday (March 5) and heard the farmer's cause of death was heart disease.
Coroners' officer Carole Prested told the inquest: "I understand the circumstances to be that on July 9, 2025 the deceased was found unresponsive and was taken to University Hospital of North Durham where he deteriorated and died.
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"On July 10, 2025, Dr. Louise Mulcahy conducted a post-mortem examination at Newcastle RVI Mortuary and gave the cause of death as hypertensive heart disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease."
The inquest was then adjourned and a full hearing, including a jury, will be held on March 27 at 11.30am.
The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) has also launched a probe into Preece's death and will publish its own separate report with findings.
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