Hell's Angel murderer Dean Taylor dies in East Yorkshire prison

Prison officers at HMP Full Sutton described Taylor, 56, as a 'model prisoner'

A former motorcycle gang member who was convicted of murdering a Hell’s Angel has died in an East Yorkshire prison.

Dean Taylor, 56, was one of seven members of the notorious Outlaws motorcycle club sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of 35-year-old Gerry Tobin.

The Coventry-born man was part of the Outlaws' South Warwickshire chapter when he helped conduct the "cold-blooded"murder of Hell’s Angel member Mr Tobin in August 2007.

Mr Tobin had been riding his Harley Davidson on the M40 after leaving the Hell’s Angel Bulldog Bash festival in Warwickshire when two shots were fired towards him, the Coventry Telegraph (link is external) reported at the time.

One of the bullets skimmed the base of the 35-year-old biker’s helmet and lodged into his skull, killing him instantly.

Gerry Tobin at a petrol station in Warwickshire just before his shooting on the M40. (Image: Submitted Pic (CT))

A jury at Birmingham Crown Court heard he was targeted by the rival gang because he was a “fully-patched” Hell’s Angel.

Taylor was found guilty of murder and possession of a firearm in November 2008 and sentenced to a minimum of 30 years in prison.

Move to East Yorkshire jail

Taylor was sent to HMP Full Sutton (link is external) in February 2009, where he took up a role as a cleaner.

Prison officers described him as a “down to earth” individual who was a “model prisoner”. In a statement read out at his inquest, one prison officer said: “Taylor had always presented himself well.

He was always polite and respectful towards me.
“I have never known him to cause any trouble. Taylor was a model prisoner. If others were as well behaved our work life would be easier.”

In August 2016, Taylor was diagnosed with malignant melanoma of the right eye. A month later, his eye was surgically removed and he was registered blind.

A year later, the cancer had spread to his liver and Taylor was told that the illness was terminal. He died on the morning of August 14, 2018, with fellow inmates and close friends by his side.

Simon Turner, a fellow inmate and close friend of Taylor’s since 1991, became his full-time carer in prison after his diagnosis and says he considered him as a “brother”.

In his statement, he said: “Dean had a lot of pride and down to this it was easier for him to be there and supportive of others.
“Due to our sense of brotherhood he had continued to support me whenever I needed it.”

Turner went on to add that prison staff went “above and beyond” in their treatment of his fellow inmate.

HMP Full Sutton, near Pocklington (Image: Jack Harland)

Her majesty’s area coroner Rosemary Baxter concluded that Taylor died of natural causes.

She said: “Dean Taylor died due to suffering metastasizing malignant melanoma due to melanoma of the right eye which had been treated.“On a balance of probability I am satisfied that this death is due to natural causes.
“I should like to commend members of prison staff on the exceptional care of the deceased prior to his death.”


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