Guerin killing suspect dies in prison

LONDON, June 20 (UPI) -- Patrick "Dutchy" Holland, the principal suspect in the killing of Irish journalist Veronica Guerin, has died in a British prison, authorities said.

Authorities at Parkhurst Prison on the Isle of Wight said the body of the 70-year-old Holland was found in his cell early Friday, The Irish Times reported. He apparently died of natural causes.

Holland, who spent most of the last 12 years of his life behind bars in Ireland and Britain, always denied killing Guerin. She was shot in 1996 as she waited at a traffic light outside Dublin.

Guerin had been threatened because of her reporting on the illegal drug trade in Ireland. Investigators concluded Holland had assassinated her on behalf of drug kingpin John Gilligan.

A 2003 movie starred Cate Blanchett as Guerin.

Holland, who grew up in Dublin, served in the U.S. Marines before returning to Ireland. His first arrest was at age 25.

Holland was convicted in 1997 of drug dealing. He was released from prison in Ireland in 2006 and arrested a year later in London, where he was convicted of participating in a kidnapping plot.