Bournemouth murderer died in prison after taking spice

Walter was sentenced to 18 years in prison for killing paedophile Geoffrey Reed in his Boscombe flat, stuffing his body into a suitcase and burying it in a shallow grave in the woods in June 2012. 

Along with Stuart and half-brother Lee Wareham, Walters killed Mr Reed, 57, after discovering he was a convicted sex attacker and had spent a decade in prison for raping a vulnerable adult and a child. 

Walters was found guilty in April 2013 was moved to HMP Lowdham Grange in Nottinghamshire in March 2014. 

Walter hid his victim's body in a suitcase in Lytchett Matravers (Image: Archive)

Following a standard welfare check in the early hours of August 20, 2021, Walter, 31 at the time, was seen lying on his bed in a “strange” position. 

According to a new report by the Prison Ombudsman, staff radioed a medical emergency code and went into the cell and commenced resuscitation.  

A nurse was said to have responded “quickly” and after noting Walter had clearly died, decided further attempts to resuscitate him should stop. 

The independent report into his death had found the murderer was “able to access illicit drugs with apparent ease at Lowdham Grange”. 

Walter was seen on several occasions under the influence of drugs in the months before his death in the Nottinghamshire-based prison. 

At one point, he had said: “I’m going to use it, I like to use it, it’s not a problem” and declined getting professional help. 

Ten days before his death, he was found smoking drugs. 

VICTIM: Paedophile Geoffrey Reed was likened to ‘Voldemort’ a court heard

An inquest into his death found he had died from synthetic cannabinoid toxicity, commonly known as spice. 

Walter, who was 22 at the time, and the two Wareham brothers carried out a ferocious attack on Mr Reed, by stamping or jumping on him causing multiple blunt force injuries to the head, neck and chest. 

Mr Reed’s body was discovered doubled up in a foetal position in a suitcase hidden on land off Huntick Road, Lytchett Matraver. 

He was found with a plastic bag over his head and a ligature around his neck. He had 28 rib fractures, a skull fracture, two fractures of the breast bone and a broken neck.