AN inquest into the death of a Mirfield murderer who was found hanged in prison has begun.

Gavin Hogg, of Wellhouse Lane, Ravensthorpe, was discovered hanging in his cell at Armley Jail, Leeds, in 2007.

Hogg, 35, was on suicide watch after being convicted of stabbing three members of the same family at M and B Haulage on the Low Mills industrial estate, Ravensthorpe, in September 2005.

David Burrows, 36, was fatally wounded and his father, Darrell Burrows, 62, and uncle Clive Hoyland, 52, were injured.

The incident followed a long-running dispute between the family and Hogg, who ran GL Autos, next to M and B, over rubbish, access and land.

Giving evidence at the start of the three-week investigation, his mother Christine Watson said her son had been expecting a two-year sentence and became suicidal when he was handed a 20-year term.

She said he was deteriorating every time she saw him and he made out a new will, witnessed by prison officers, in which he left everything to her.

He was put in a single cell for his safety and was regularly watched, but he was found dead at 4am, just 30 minutes after he was last inspected.

Mrs Watson said: “I couldn’t understand how a prisoner who was closely monitored should have the chance and means to commit suicide.”

The hearing continues.