Wife’s desperate attempt to stop husband’s suicide at Wormwood Scrubs thwarted by faulty prison intercom.
Olugosi’s wife knew he felt suicidal. She spoke to him around 9 PM and then drove 60 miles to the prison. She wanted to prevent his suicide.
She, along with police, tried to call the prison, but the phone lines were not working. Calls went to an obsolete number. She drove two hours from Cambridge and arrived at Wormwood Scrubs.
She banged on the main gate and then pressed a buzzer to speak to staff. The intercom was broken for years, so she could not reach anyone.
The coroner, Richard Furniss, filed a report stating future deaths could occur. He said the governor needs to take action because the buzzer was there for communication. Furniss said a working buzzer could have helped; Olugosi’s wife could have warned them, and this could happen again with phone issues.
The broken buzzer is a big concern, but repairing it seemed unnecessary to the prison. The jury considered the broken buzzer a failure, yet the prison finds it unnecessary.
The governor must respond by April 21, 2025. She needs to detail action taken; then, the Ministry of Justice will consider the report and respond in time.