An Argentinian man accused of brutally stabbing a Crufts dog breeder to death in a botched robbery killed himself the day before he was due to appear in court, an inquest has found.
Alex Verdu Munoz, 26, had been charged with the murder of Valerie Freer, 68, who was bound with cable ties and stabbed through her neck on the driveway of her home in February 2022. Her husband of 46 years, Derek, had been out walking their dogs when he returned and found his wife in a pool of blood at their property in the village of Whittington, Staffordshire.
A post-mortem found Mrs Freer had suffered 16 stab wounds and 10 puncture wounds, as well as scratches around the neck area.
Munoz had been due to appear in court on May 16, 2022, to face the murder allegation, as well as the offences of aggravated burglary, burglary, possession of a bladed article and dangerous driving. However, his body was discovered at HMP Manchester on the morning of May 15.
A jury at Manchester Coroner's Court recorded a conclusion of suicide at the inquest into his death today. HM Assistant Coroner for Manchester, Andrew Bridgman, was told a post-mortem examination concluded his medical cause of death was hanging. Found in his cell was a handwritten note to his family in which he asked for forgiveness for 'all the bad I have done', the inquest heard.
Jurors were told it was not known whether Munoz intended to enter guilty or not guilty pleas at the hearing on May 16, 2022. They were instructed to consider their conclusions 'without any prejudice in respect of Alex's alleged crimes'. They found the verbal abuse he received in prison was a possible contribution to his death.
Munoz was arrested and charged on March 11, 2022, and remanded to HMP Dovegate near Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, before he was transferred to HMP Manchester six days later. The court was told he arrived on crutches with a broken leg after he was involved in a traffic collision during his arrest. Munoz told prison staff he sustained the injury as he was 'making his escape'.
He was on suicide watch at HMP Manchester and was moved to another prison wing after he received verbal abuse from inmates, the inquest heard. The hearing, which began on Monday, was told he was not deemed a high risk of suicide but was subject to extra observations due to the nature of his alleged offence. It was also his first time in prison and had no family support as a foreign national.
The inquest heard HMP Manchester, also known as Strangeways, accepted Munoz should have been allocated a key worker but there were not enough staff. The lack of a key worker possibly contributed to his death, jurors found.
The inquest was told he had travelled to the UK on a number of occasions, with his last trip in February 2022, but had no contacts in the country. His sister, Madeleine Munoz, followed proceedings remotely from Argentina.
Concluding the hearing, the coroner apologised for the length of time it had taken for the inquest to come to a full hearing and offered his condolences to the family, saying the death must have been a 'tremendous shock'.
An inquest in Mrs Freer's death was held in Staffordshire in December 2022. It was told she was stabbed 16 times and a coroner ruled she was unlawfully killed. Munoz had reportedly rented Airbnb accommodation in Whittington and his hire car was seen in the area of Mrs Freer's home around the time of her death. A knife which had her blood on it, along with lock-picking items, were found when police searched the vehicle.
Mrs Freer was a renowned breeder of Samoyed dogs. One of her pooches, Champion Nikara Dancer, was awarded Best in Show at Crufts in 2014.
