Convicted murder Gary Gibbon escapes from jail

Feb 9 2010 By Kerry Wood, The Journal

A CONVICTED County Durham murderer has escaped from jail. It is believed Gary Gibbon could be heading back to the North East having gone missing from HMP Sudbury, an open prison in Derbyshire.

The 43-year-old from Peterlee has been behind bars for 25 years, serving a life sentence for a murder he committed back in the 1980s.

Gibbon was 17 when he was arrested and charged with the murder of Nathan Cook, a 43-year-old who also lived in Peterlee.

Police are hunting Gibbon following his escape on last Friday (FEB 5) after he passed a risk assessment and was moved to the open prison.

Prison service officials say, like other offenders considered for open prisons, he was deemed to be a low risk to the public and had a low risk of absconding.

As a 17-year-old Gibbon, at the time living in Jude Place, Peterlee, was arrested in the summer of 1984 and charged with murdering Mr Cook of Thames Road. Mr Cook was stamped on and kicked before being stabbed in the neck with a broken bottle. He was attacked near to his home and died from his injuries.

Gibbon pleaded not guilty sparking a trial at Teesside Crown Court in 1985. The court heard Gibbon told officers he stumbled across Mr Cook’s body and raised the alarm. He claimed blood stains on his clothes and shoes were from a nose bleed.

At the trial Gibbon admitted fighting with Mr Cook but said someone else must have killed him.

In April 1985 a jury took an hour to convict Gibbon who was given a life sentence.

A spokesman for Derbyshire Police this week said: "He was still serving the original prison sentence for murder. We do not know when his release date was but some prisoners do get moved to open prisons when their release date is due."

A Prison Service spokesperson said once captured Gibbon would be returned to a closed prison and police could then decide to prosecute him for being unlawfully at large.

The prison service was unable to say when Gibbon was due for release. Gibbon is white, 5ft 8ins, with shaved hair and blue eyes.

Anyone with information can contact Derbyshire Police on 0345 123 3333 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.