In January 2026, the Offender Database reported that Stephen Ansbro, 63, died while serving a life sentence at HMP Frankland, County Durham. Ansbro, who had a history of 62 previous convictions, was a convicted murderer and serial paedophile who had carried out a “calculated and brutal” attack on a vulnerable neighbour.
The court heard that in March 2023, Ansbro murdered 59-year-old Jane Collinson, a grandmother of nine, at their sheltered housing complex in Barnard Castle. Ansbro and Mrs Collinson both resided at Dunelm Court, an accommodation for people over 55 and those with disabilities. Ansbro, who used a wheelchair, had previously warned witnesses that he would “kill her” and “do time for her” because she was “getting on his nerves.” Mrs Collinson had reportedly made complaints about his behaviour, including his inappropriate proximity to other vulnerable residents. On March 3, 2023, Ansbro spent seven hours in her flat, where he used a 20cm bread knife to slash and stab her 59 times. He then manipulated the door lock from the outside using a wheelchair-accessible bolt to make the scene appear as a suicide.
The following day, Mrs Collinson’s family forced entry and found her slumped on the sofa, having suffered excruciating wounds to her head, neck, and torso. During his trial at Newcastle Crown Court, it was revealed that at the time of the murder, Ansbro was already under investigation for historical sex offences. He was sentenced for four counts of indecent assault against a 14-year-old girl he had groomed in the 1990s, as well as a cruelty charge involving another child whom he forced to stand naked in a garage as punishment. The grooming victim described him as a “monster” who had stolen her childhood.
Stephen Ansbro was sentenced in August 2023 to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 18 years for the murder, plus an additional four years and nine months for the sexual offences and child cruelty. Judge Paul Sloan KC described the attack as “sustained and particularly brutal,” noting that Ansbro had harboured violent thoughts toward his victim for some time.
Following his death on December 17, 2025, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) launched an investigation into the circumstances, which remained “in progress” as of January 2026. Until his death, Ansbro was a registered sex offender for life and was managed under the highest level of Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) due to the extreme risk he posed to both children and adults.
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