John Rytting Dies in Prison at Age 49

John Rytting, who was serving a 13-year prison sentence for child cruelty in connection with the 2013 death of a four-year-old girl, has died behind bars at the age of 49.

The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman confirmed Rytting's death on April 22 at HMP Hull. As is standard for deaths in custody, the ombudsman will conduct a full investigation into the circumstances.

Rytting received his sentence at Hull Crown Court in 2017 following the death of Poppy Widdison, whose body was found in June 2013 at his home in Grimsby, northeast England. Poppy, described by the judge as a "pretty and vivacious little girl," suffered a cardiac arrest at the property, which police described as squalid and littered with prescription and illegal drugs.

An autopsy ruled Poppy's cause of death inconclusive. However, toxicology tests showed she had ingested a mix of substances, including diazepam, heroin, methadone and ketamine, over the six months leading up to her death. Rytting had been in a relationship with Poppy's mother, Michala Pyke, for about nine months at the time. Pyke, labeled an unfit mother by the court, was also sentenced to 13 years after evidence showed she had administered drugs to her...