A Victoria man convicted of the 2015 death of his wife has died in an Abbotsford prison.
In a release Correctional Service Canada said, Daniel Blake Penney, 54, an inmate at Matsqui Institution died of natural causes Oct. 29. Emergency services were called to the prison, but attempts to revive Penney were unsuccessful.
At the time of his death Penney had been serving a 12-year sentence for manslaughter in connection with the strangling death of his wife Mary Caitlin Walton. Penney had been an inmate at Matsqui since June 2017.
In March 2015 Walton was found dead in the upper level suite of her Victoria duplex on Queens Avenue. Penney was later found inside his car, with the engine running in the garage of his Colwood home in an apparent suicide attempt.
Penney was initially charged with second-degree murder but accepted a deal that resulted in him pleading guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter. The couple, who had a history of domestic violence, had two children.
Correctional Service Canada said they will review the circumstances surrounding Penney’s death; the inmate’s next of kin have been notified, as have the police and the coroner.