Relatives of a former prison officer who exchanged intimate messages and images with inmates say she was a victim and had no involvement in the revenge murder of a colleague whose discovery of an illicit phone set events in motion.
The case began when prison officer Lenny Scott found a smuggled mobile phone in a cell at HMP Altcourse that contained evidence of communications between inmate Elias Morgan and fellow officer Sarah Williams. The discovery led to internal reporting, criminal prosecutions and, relatives say, a chain of threats that culminated in Morgan fatally shooting Scott outside a gym in Skelmersdale, Lancashire, on Feb. 8, 2024.
Williams, who had worked at HMP Altcourse for less than a year, pleaded guilty in 2023 to three counts of misconduct in public office and one count of intending to secure unauthorised access to data. Liverpool Crown Court heard she had exchanged thousands of messages with three inmates: more than 12,000 messages and calls with one prisoner, 1,210 with a second and 9,456 with a third. It was accepted at her sentencing that she had not engaged in physical sexual contact with the inmates; she received an 18-month prison term.
Prosecutors said Williams used a prison database to obtain information for an inmate and that she exchanged intimate texts and images rather than reporting illicit phones found in cells. Her lawyers argued she had been coerced by sophisticated criminals and told the court she suffered from bipolar affective disorder, a point her family has repeatedly raised since the case became public.
Williams’ father, Thomas Moore, told the Daily Mail his daughter "had nothing to do with any conspiracy" and that she had been unfairly singled out in coverage of Scott's murder. "She went to prison, she had nothing to do with any conspiracy," Moore said, adding that he believed she had been coerced and that her mental health diagnosis should have been taken into account when she was allowed to work on the prison wing where the inmates were held.
The Crown says the sequence of events leading to Scott’s death was direct. When Scott discovered the mobile phone in Morgan’s cell, Morgan offered him £1,500 not to report it and warned him to "balls up the paperwork," the prosecution told jurors. Scott reported the device and, according to witness accounts played to the jury, received threats from Morgan soon after. Morgan was later charged with unauthorised possession of the phone in April 2023.
Scott, who had left the Prison Service in 2021, told police he feared for his family's safety and reported threats he said Morgan had made, including one in which Morgan said he would "bide his time" and get him. Preston Crown Court heard that, in February 2024, Morgan stalked Scott for weeks, learning his routines. CCTV showed Scott leaving a gym shortly before 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 8; he was then approached by a man in a high-visibility jacket carrying a handgun and was shot six times, including once in the head. Morgan fled on an electric scooter.
Detectives traced phone and vehicle data during the murder investigation and arrested Morgan. He denied involvement but was convicted of murder following a nine-week trial and sentenced to 45 years in custody with a long minimum term before parole. Mr Justice Goose described the killing as a "carefully planned, revenge killing of a prison officer." A co-accused, Anthony Cleary, was found not guilty of murder and manslaughter. The firearm used in the attack has not been recovered.
In a victim statement read after sentencing, Scott’s mother, Paula Scott, said her son "lost his life standing up for what was right" and praised his integrity. Detective Chief Inspector Lee Wilson, who led the investigation, called the killing a "vengeful and cold-blooded assassination," describing Scott as "a man of integrity" who did the right thing in challenging circumstances.
Williams’ family say the murder squad searched their home while she was imprisoned and found nothing linking her to the shooting. Her father said she had been threatened by inmates and that some of the men whose details were on Williams’ devices were themselves targets and rivals of the prisoners with whom she communicated. "She was shocked. Our daughter has been dragged into something she’s got nothing to do with," Moore said.
At Williams’ 2023 hearing, defence counsel Matthew O'Neill told the court she had "fallen for the charms of these prisoners" and that a personality disorder could have impaired her decision-making. Prosecutors relied on phone evidence and internal prison security briefings to prove misconduct. Williams was arrested at her home in July 2020 after phones seized from inmates revealed the illicit communications, the court heard.
Two of the other inmates with whom Williams exchanged messages were identified in court as Connor Crawford, serving a sentence for possessing firearms with intent to endanger life, and Craig Steenson, serving a sentence for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. The communications exposed weaknesses in the prison estate’s apparatus for preventing the smuggling of mobile phones and prompted an anti-corruption referral to the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit.
The investigation highlighted the risks posed by illicit communications in custodial settings and the potential for disputes and threats to spill into the community. Prosecutors said Morgan's calculated effort to identify and follow Scott before the shooting and the threats he made after the phone was seized showed a clear motive of retaliation for Scott's refusal to be bribed.
Williams’ supporters say her conviction related to misconduct and misuse of prison systems but that there is no evidence she participated in plotting or facilitating the 2024 murder. The sentencing of Morgan closed a criminal chapter for Scott’s family and for prosecutors, but questions raised in public debate about staff vulnerability to coercion, the management of officers with mental health conditions and the prevalence of contraband phones in prisons remain under scrutiny within the prison service and among policing bodies.