A man accused of shooting another dead at a holiday park has died in prison.

Mystery surrounds the death of Jonathan Lawlor at HMP Elmley on Sheppey after he was found unresponsive in his cell last week.

The 42-year-old was charged with murdering Sam Petrou, 35, from Gillingham, after he was shot in the chest at a Eastchurch Holiday Centre in Fourth Avenue, Eastchurch, in June.

He was found dead on Thursday, October 19, after reporting feeling unwell earlier in the day.

Lawlor, who was arrested in Newcastle five days after the killing, was due to face trial at Maidstone Crown Court in December.

At an earlier hearing, Lawlor failed to appear in court after saying he felt unwell

Now, Detective Constable Charlene Brent revealed the murder suspect has died in prison.

The court heard how on the day Lawlor died he had reported feeling unwell and a visit from his lawyers was cancelled.

When staff returned later that day they discovered him dead.

Judge Julian Smith said no cause of death has yet to be established but he was sure the body was that of Lawlor.

DC Brent said police officers and crime scene investigators went to the prison after a report of a death in custody when fingerprints and photographs were taken to confirm his identity

A post-mortem is expected to be carried out in the next few weeks in an attempt to discover how he died.

The judge ruled the murder charge against Lawlor be dropped.

It is understood Mr Petrou died at around 8pm on Saturday, June 10, but police were not called to the site until 11am the following day.

Following Mr Petrou’s death there was an outpouring of grief and his dad, Nick, paid tribute.

He wrote: “He was so loved – the amount of posts and heartfelt comments people have put up of him has blown me away.

“I would like to thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my broken heart.”

Mr Petrou was living in south east London at the time of his death.

Five people were originally arrested as part of the investigation.

A few weeks ago, during a court hearing Lawlor, of no fixed address, was reprimanded by Judge Smith for holding hands with his lover in court.

The duo had been forbidden to communicate pending their trial but began whispering as they sat next to each other.