Daily Mail, Tuesday, July 30, 2019 Page 15
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Estranged wife of Britain’s
most violent prisoner is
found dead at her home
after he finds a new love
The estranged wife of Britain’s
most violent prisoner has been
found dead at the age of 38.
Soap actress Paula Williamson- who married Charles Bron-
son behind bars in Novem-
ber 2017 – was found by her
latest partner.
he called an ambulance to
her home in Stoke-on-Trent
after discovering she was not
breathing, it was reported.
Miss Williamson, who was due
to divorce Bronson, had played
minor roles in Coronation Street
and emmerdale. her death is not
being treated as suspicious.
Bronson, 66 – who has spent more
than 40 years behind bars – and Miss
Williamson struck up a relationship as
penpals. he proposed on Valentine’s
Day 2017 by singing a version of the
song My Way and they married in
November that year at Wakefield
Prison in West Yorkshire.
Bronson was hand-cuffed to a war-
den for the duration of the bizarre two-
hour ceremony and the guests drank
fizzy mineral water. Miss Williamson’s
parents refused to attend and she flew
to Malta on their honeymoon alone.
Because conjugal visits are not
allowed, the marriage was never
consumated and the relationship
said. She told the Daily Star Sunday: ‘I
remember being at home and thinking,
“what’s the point carrying on”.
‘I was getting so much abuse over
Charlie... awful nasty messages from
people who don’t know me, which I
didn’t deserve. Plus, I was really hurt-
ing from being dumped and watching
Charlie move on so easily.’
Before her wedding to Bronson she
had declared: ‘I’m madly in love with
Charlie and he’s madly in love with me.
But even I can’t believe I’m marrying
Britain’s most notorious prisoner. We
just want to be a normal couple.’
But last July, Miss Williamson
revealed that Bronson had filed for
divorce after a photo of a man touch-
ing her on holiday emerged.
She broke down in tears on Loose
Women saying: ‘I have got an alcohol
problem, I’ve got a prescription drug
problem. every single messed up
thing I’ve done is through alcohol.’
A statement on the actress’s Twitter
account yesterday read: ‘Paula’s
Management can confirm Paula as
Passed away. Thank you for all the
messages Paula’s Family will be deeply
Touched. (sic.)’
Staffordshire Police confirmed there
will be a post mortem examination.
Miss Williamson played a nurse in
three episodes of Coronation Street
between 2008 and 2012. As well as
emmerdale, she appeared in hollyoaks
and in the 2011 drama,
Appropriate Adult.
Bronson, who adopted
the name of the holly-
wood star of the Death-
wish movies – was first
locked up for an armed
robbery that netted him
just £26, at the age of 22
in 1974. he has spent
most of the years since
then in jail.
In that time he has
attacked more than 20
prison guards and other
inmates, taken hostages
in at least ten prison
sieges and cost the tax-
payer hundreds of thou-
sands of pounds in dam-
age. he also served
portions of his sentence
in secure hospitals.
Finally, in 1999 he was
handed a discretionary
life sentence for kidnap-
ping Phil Danielson, a
prison art teacher, in- Bronson kept him
‘leashed like a dog’ for
almost two days after he
criticised one of the con-
vict’s drawings.
BRONSON BRIDE TRAGEDY
‘Fit to clean
her shoes’that the thermometer was accurate.
Now Met Office experts have examined
the kit and confirmed that the previous
record – 38.5C (101.3F) in Faversham,
Kent, in August 2003 – has been broken.
Thursday’s recording was taken at the
Cambridge University Botanic Garden –which houses a climate observation
site that reports every 24 hours.
But the Met Office say there could
have been an even higher temperature
measured elsewhere in the UK –
as some official observation sites
only report monthly.
Other countries in Europe that saw
records fall included Belgium, Germany
and the Netherlands.It’s off icial: Thursday was our hottest day
LAST Thursday really was Britain’s
hottest day on record, the Met Office
confirmed yesterday.
While forecasters had provisionally
said the 38.7C (101.66F) measured in
Cambridge was the UK’s highest tem-
perature ever, they could not be sure.
Cautiously, they said they would have
to check the recording equipment had
not been compromised – and, crucially,By Colin Fernandez
Environment CorrespondentBy Jennifer Ruby and Susie Coenended nine months later after Miss
Williamson was pictured with another
man on holiday.
She then appeared on Loose Women
on ITV and broke down in tears when
asked about the marriage. She had
previously spoken of her struggles with
depression, anxiety and borderline
personality disorder.
Bronson, who has spent 44 years in
jail for robbery and kidnap, is said to
be ‘shocked and upset’ by Miss Wil-
liamson’s death. he is said to have spo-
ken to his best man Rod harrison at
hMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes, where
he is now held.
On Monday it was revealed he is to
marry again after striking up a romance
with a woman of 63 called Joan. It will
be his fourth marriage.
‘My Joan comes from the same era
and likes all the same things as me,’ he
told The Sun. ‘We’re traditional and
have the same style and attitudes. She’s
stunning. There’s not a 33-year-old bird
out there who’s fit to clean her shoes.’
In October last year, Miss Williamson
revealed she checked herself into the
£300-a-night Clouds house rehabilita-
tion facility in Salisbury after attempt-
ing suicide. ‘I really hit rock bottom’, sheCharles Bronson: New romanceTroubled:
Paula
Williamson
tries on a
wedding
dress before
her 2017
marriage