David Stead passed away on March 9th at the age of 37, just four days before his birthday, according to records published by the Prison and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) on March 27th.
The PPO is an independent organisation investigating deaths in custody, and complaints from people in detention or under community supervision have not yet been announced the cause of death as the investigation is “ongoing.”
Stead lived at Box Tree Cottage on Allerton Road, Bradford. This is an independent, approved facility (IAP) affiliated with HM Prisons and Probation Services.
According to the Box Tree Cottage website, it offers “accommodation and meaningful activities tailored to meet individual needs.”
A probation service spokesperson said: “David Stead passed away on March 9, 2025. When a person living in a probation accommodation dies, the prison and the probation ombudsman investigate the situation.”
Stead was convicted in 2018 of injuries with intent to cause serious physical harm, and Judge Colin Burn sentenced him in June that year at the Bradford Crown Court four years after Bars, extending his four-year license period.
The court heard Stead was furious after a woman moved next to his flat in Shipley's Hall Lane in February 2018.
Prosecutor Katherine Duffy told the court that while moving on February 26, the woman and her boyfriend were steadily angered by playing loud music, knocking on the door to complain and armed with cricket bats wrapped in barbed wire.
Both parties later apologized, but on March 6, Stead once again went to his neighbor's apartment after hearing the man threatening him on his cell phone.
When the woman answered the door, the defendant said, “I need to see your boyfriend.”
He shook the man and slashed him into his rib bone on the left side of his body.
When the woman tried to intervene, Stead told her: “Don't get in my way, I'll let your head go.”
He then gave her a knife and said, “I'll do something to me.”
The court heard Stead left the flat and told the woman: “You make two calls, one to the police and the other to my mother. You tell her to come and take care of the cat.”
When police arrived about 15 minutes later, Stead was taken into custody outside his apartment, which still owns two knives.
In an interview, he was responsible for the attack, said he had problems with his mental health and had experienced previous issues with his “noisy” neighbors.
He said he had no intention of seriously injured, but he drank a 3-liter cider bottle and became “frightened” after hearing the man pose a threat on the phone.
Mitigated Tom Rushbrook said his client has a history of mental health issues but showed genuine regret in his actions.
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