Glen Reginald Francis found dead at Maryborough Correctional Centre

The prisoner found dead at the overcrowded Maryborough jail was serving time for attempted murder. Now, his identity can be revealed.

The 43-year-old man found dead in his cell at Maryborough Correctional Centre has been named as Gympie’s Glen Reginald Francis.

His identity was revealed in a Facebook post from the Stop Black Deaths in Custody Australia page.

“Our sincerest condolences and thoughts go out to our Francis family and extended family,” the post read.

Mr Francis was serving time at the prison for attempted murder after he shattered a man’s head with a hammer in Monkland in 2014.

He was jailed for 15 years in 2017 over the attack on the man, whose brain tissue was left exposed during the violent incident.

The Fraser Coast Chronicle understands the death Mr Francis in his single cell on Tuesday is being treated as non-suspicious, but no further information has been released.

His death will be investigated by the coroner.

It’s the second death in custody at the jail in months.

Maryborough Correctional Centre.

High-profile prisoner Garry Dubois, 73, who killed Barbara McCulkin and her two daughters Vicki and Leanne McCulkin, was found dead in his jail cell on June 7.

Mrs McCulkin and her daughters disappeared from the Highgate Hill home in inner-city Brisbane on January 16, 1974.

Dubois was found guilty of the manslaughter of Mrs McCulkin, and of the rape and murders of her daughters Leanne and Vicki.

He was due to give evidence at a reopened coronial inquest into the 1973 Whiskey Au Go Go nightclub bombing the week after he died.

Queensland Corrective Services would not comment on a series of questions put to the department by the Fraser Coast Chronicle on Wednesday about the crimes for which the prisoner who died on Tuesday was serving time.

The Chronicle also asked about the procedures in place to monitor prisoners, especially high-risk prisoners, in the wake of two inmate deaths in the space of just months but a response had not yet been received on Wednesday afternoon.

There are currently 702 prisoners at the jail (built for a maximum of 500) which has been plagued with overcrowding concerns and increased tensions during Covid lockdowns.

When the man was discovered in his cell on Tuesday, officers commenced CPR and the Queensland Ambulance Service attended the centre however, he was unable to be revived.

The centre was placed into lockdown as a precautionary measure and officers were engaging with other prisoners in the unit.

Police are assisting QCS with the investigation.

“Our thanks go to responding officers for their professional and committed response to this challenging incident, and our condolences go to the man’s family, friends and community,” a spokeswoman from QCS said.

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