Convict sentenced to life for murdering cellmate at Leyland prison
Shaun Newton, 35, was found guilty of murdering Tony Joynes, 47, in their cell at HMP Garth, near Leyland, in July last year
A prisoner who murdered his cellmate has been sentenced to life - and will have to serve a minimum of 34 years.
Shaun Newton strangled Tony Joynes, 47, in the cell they shared at HMP Garth, near Leyland.
At the time, Newton was serving an 18-year sentence at Garth having been convicted of attempted murder at Snaresbrook Crown Court in 2019.
He had stabbed his roommate four times with a knife while living and working in Romford, Essex, in 2018.
A jury at Preston Crown Court Sessions House was told that Newton and Tony Joynes had been cell mates for around six months and were locked in their cell on Garth’s D wing at 5pm on July 12, last year and remained there overnight, with checks carried out by staff at various times.
When staff carried out welfare checks on the wing the following morning, they responded to the buzzer being pressed from cell 47.
Newton told them that he thought Tony Joynes was dead.
Staff raised the alarm and CPR was attempted on Tony Joynes but to no avail. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
It was noticed that Joynes had an abrasion on his neck which had bled, with blood found on the bed sheets near his pillow.
A Home Office postmortem found the case of death to be neck compression.
Lancashire Police’s Force Major Investigation Team launched an investigation, and Newton was arrested at Garth Prison on July 22, and taken for interview at Blackpool Police Station.
Newton told officers that after being locked down for the night, him and Tony chatted, played Xbox, before he got on to the top bunk around 7.45pm.
He described Tony as being fine, but the following morning found him dead.
In December 2025, Newton was interviewed again by officers at HMP Full Sutton and was charged with murder in March this year.
Middlesbrough-born Newton, 35, was found guilty by a jury of murdering Tony Joynes following a seven-day trial.
Returning to the dock at Sessions House today, Newton was sentenced to life imprisonment by Judge Graham Knowles KC.
The judge ordered that Newton serve a minimum tariff of 34 years before he is eligible to apply to the parole board for release.
When passing sentence, Judge Knowles told Newton: “Tony Joynes was 47 when you murdered him.
“He was your fellow prisoner in HMP Garth and he was your own familiar friend. Tony Joynes was a compliant prisoner, he gave no trouble to anyone on the wing.
“You killed him in the night in the cell you shared.”
Judge Knowles observed there were plain 'parallels' in the prison murder and the attempted murder in Essex which Newton had previously been convicted of.
Detective Inspector Marc Armstrong of the Force Major Investigation Team, said: “Shaun Newton chose to kill his cell mate Tony Joynes by compressing his neck while he was laid in bed.
“Tony Joynes believed that Shaun Newton was his friend and trusted him, however Newton betrayed this and showed a total disregard for Tony’s life.
“My thoughts remain very much with Tony’s family and loved ones.
“I would like to praise the investigation team for their hard work, dedication and professionalism in establishing what happened in that cell at HMP Garth and putting the case together.
“I’d also like to thank the Crown Prosecution Service and prosecution counsel Tim Storrie KC for their hard work and professionalism in readying the case for trial and presenting the case in court.”