An inquiry is to be held into the death of a prisoner at HMP Grampian, the Scottish Prison Service has announced.
William Kirkwood, 50, was remanded in custody at Aberdeen Sheriff Court in 2020.
He appeared at the High Court in Aberdeen in February this year facing two charges relating to domestic abuse – threatening or abusive behaviour and wilful fire-raising.
In a statement on the Scottish Prison Service’s website, the authority confirmed the prisoner’s death.
It said: “William Duncan Kirkwood, 50, a prisoner from HMP Grampian, has died on 29 April 2022.
“Mr Kirkwood was remanded at Aberdeen Sheriff Court in 2020.
“Police Scotland have been advised and the matter reported to the Procurator Fiscal.
“A Fatal Accident Inquiry will be held in due course.”
A spokesperson for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service added: “The Procurator Fiscal has received a report in connection with the death of a 50-year-old man in HMP Grampian, Peterhead on 29 April 2022.
“The investigation into the death is ongoing and the family will be updated in relation to any significant developments.”
Previous convictions
The former offshore worker had previously been jailed for 30 months in 2013 after he set fire to his ex-girlfriend’s flat in Aberdeen’s Arnage Place after an argument about another man.
It forced neighbours to evacuate their block of flats late at night on March 2 2012 while four fire crews fought back the flames for 20 minutes.
Luckily, Kirkwood’s former partner was staying at a friend’s house at the time the flat was extensively damaged.
Earlier that day, her ex had appeared at the city’s justice of the peace court where he pleaded guilty to shouting, swearing and threatening his partner the previous day.
Appearing at Aberdeen Sheriff Court to answer to a charge of culpably and recklessly setting fire to the flat, the court heard that Kirkwood’s life had spiralled out of control since he lost his job as an offshore steward in 2009.
A history of domestic violence
And the court heard he had previously been jailed for crimes of domestic violence.
His solicitor Bob Anderson said: “The argument on March 1 related to him having information that she had been associating with a third party.”
He said that third party was the same male friend she had stayed with on the night of the fire.
Kirkwood had been “extremely drunk” at the time of the crime, and accepted he now needed help after reaching a “low point”.
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