An attempted murderer who attacked a man with scissors after meeting through Grindr and authored a manual titled “planning a murder” has died in custody at HMP Deerbolt.
Chad Gurney, 27, died at the prison facility in County Durham on 24 September 2026. The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has launched a formal, independent investigation into the circumstances of his death.
Gurney was jailed at Leicester Crown Court in January 2019 after being convicted of attempted murder. The court heard that in 2018, when Gurney was 19 years old, he arranged to meet a man in Leicester via the dating application Grindr. Following consensual contact within a nearby park, the pair walked back towards an adjacent car park when Gurney launched an unprovoked attack with a pair of scissors, attempting to stab the victim directly in the neck. The man sustained a neck puncture and managed to flee when Gurney attempted a second blow.
Later that evening, Gurney walked into a local police station and stated to officers that he had intended to murder the victim. Although he later attempted to retract the admission by claiming it was false, detectives from Leicestershire Police executed a search warrant at his home address.
Officers discovered a diary containing violent thoughts alongside a handwritten notebook headed “planning a murder.” The notebook outlined eight specific methods by which Gurney intended to kill people, which explicitly included cutting a victim’s throat using scissors. During police interviews, Gurney admitted having previously planned to kill two other individuals on separate occasions, though neither plan had been carried out. Police investigations examined claims in his diary suggesting he had previously killed an individual, but found no evidence to support the claim.
At his sentencing in January 2019, the Crown Court judge handed Gurney an extended sentence comprising 13 years in immediate custody followed by an extended licence period of five years.
Gurney was convicted of:
- One count of attempted murder
The Prison Service confirmed Gurney’s death at HMP Deerbolt on 24 September 2026, noting that further public comment would remain inappropriate until the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman concludes its statutory investigation.
Image – Anonymous Artist Impression
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