Parklea inmate Michael Black stabbed while waiting to appear in court

Parklea jail inmate Michael Black was fatally stabbed while waiting in a designated pod with other prisoners before a scheduled court appearance.

Michael Black died following a stabbing by a fellow inmate at Parklea jail.

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An inmate killed in a stabbing at Parklea jail on Wednesday was understood to be waiting in a common area to appear via audiovisual link at Wollongong Local Court when he was attacked.

Berkeley man Michael Black died at Parklea Correctional Centre around 12.30pm on Wednesday, after he was stabbed multiple times by a fellow inmate.

MTC Broadspectrum, which runs the jail, said the 33-year-old was treated by St Vincent’s Health staff, but died before paramedics arrived just before 1pm.

It’s understood Black was waiting in a designated pod before his court appearance when the attack occurred.

Officers from Quakers Hill Police Area Command established a crime scene and detectives have launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Michael Black has been in and out of jail.

On Thursday, police confirmed an inmate remained under police guard in hospital today.

“Quakers Hill Police, the homicide squad and the Corrective Services Investigation Unit are looking into the circumstances surrounding Black’s death,” a NSW Police spokesman said.

“Charges are yet to be laid.”

Black was due to appear in Wollongong Local Court on Wednesday following a robbery at Berkeley Post Office in February.

When he did not appear on the screen, his lawyer told the court Parklea jail “was in lockdown” and he had not been able to get in touch with his client.

Black had spent much of the past few years in an out of jail. In 2013 he was sentenced to two years behind bars after pointing a loaded gun at a police officer following a dangerous police pursuit.

In January this year, the 33-year-old fell back in the hands of the law. He was charged with concealing a shocking daylight shooting that occurred just metres from a local primary school.

It was alleged he and another man, Rhian Kinloch, went to Derek Ferguson’s Horsley home on November 15 and spoke with him through the front door.

Police have launched a major investigation into the incident.

Moments later, it’s alleged Ferguson pulled out a silver pistol and shot three rounds at the duo, causing them to flee.

Black and Kinloch allegedly kept quiet about the incident until they were charged in January.

Black was released on bail following the offence, however, less than a month later he was charged over an armed robbery at Berkeley Post Office on February 23.

He had been in custody at Parklea since then.

After the fatal stabbing on Wednesday, Black’s family took to Facebook to share the news, saying he was “taken too young”.

Black’s family was well-known in the Berkeley community, and members of the community offered their condolences to them on social media.

Following the shock stabbing, a spokeswoman for Parklea Correctional Centre said the facility extended its deepest sympathies to the family and friends of the inmate.

“Support is being provided to those impacted,” the spokeswoman said.

“We acknowledge that a full understanding will be achieved only through investigations by NSW Police and the Coroner.

“We will co-operate fully with those investigations.”