Rick Appleby, Gladstone, dies at Capricornia Correctional Centre
A father-of-three who had not been the same since a serious crash died in a jail cell with only three months left in prison, it can be revealed.
Police & Courts
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A man who died this week while serving time in a Queensland jail has been identified as a Gladstone father-of-three who suffered “severe uncontrollable epileptic episodes”.
Rick Appleby, 45, was found unresponsive in his cell about 7.15am Sunday, March 10.
Police were called to the Capricornia Correctional Centre, north of Rockhampton, at 8.30am.
A Queensland Police Service spokesperson confirmed the death being treated as a sudden and non-suspicious.
Queensland Corrective Services also confirmed Mr Appleby died of natural causes following a suspected medical episode.
Previously, Mr Appleby had shared publicly on social media he suffered from “severe uncontrollable epileptic episodes”.
In a 2017 article from a court appearance, his defence lawyer at the time said Mr Appleby was in a car accident in 2002 and suffered a major head injury resulting in “random constant seizures” ever since.
The court also heard at the time he could not work due to his “medical condition” and had been “hospitalised a considerable number of times”.
On his social media he shared an inspirational quote, sharing you are not a waste of space and you are loved and wanted.
His Facebook profile also shows he had been in a relationship since March 2022 and gave insight into his interests.
He appeared to have travelled, ‘liking’ pages for locations in South Australia and schools and a go-kart track in Sydney.
Living in Gladstone, he ‘liked’ pages for Dicey’s Pub, Calliope Historical Village, Barney Point and Marley Brown Oval and the 2016 comedy special movie Freedumb by Jim Jeffries.
Before his death, Mr Appleby had been in prison for almost four months.
At the time of his death, he had been imprisoned for a charge of assault occasioning bodily harm from an incident on September 30, 2020, at Roma.
He was sentenced in Gladstone District Court on November 8 last year and received 18 months imprisonment, with a parole release date of June 17, 2024.
It is understood he was incarcerated at the low-security farm and had been moved over to the residential area.
Visits and calls to the prison were cancelled over the weekend following the death.
“The centre was locked down for the day as operational priority was given to supporting the police and QCS officers,” a QCS spokesperson said.
QCS and police will prepare a report for the coroner which is standard for all deaths in custody.
Support was offered to the responding officers and colleagues.
It comes after a prisoner was taken to hospital and the centre was placed into lockdown following an assault last month.
On that occasion, a 42-year-old prisoner was taken to Rockhampton Hospital on February 25 with minor injuries.
He was returned to the prison the following day.
As of March 14, there were 1064 prisoners at Capricornia Correctional Centre.
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