A prison officer’s heartfelt Valentine’s Day card promising to wait for her incarcerated lover has become key evidence in a 𝒔𝒄𝒂𝓃𝒹𝒶𝓁 that landed her behind bars herself.
Jai Gascoyne, 25, wrote to 𝒹𝓇𝓊𝑔 kingpin Dil Nawaz that “anyone can say I love you but not everyone can wait and prove it,” according to court documents. The card, found during a cell search at HMP Buckley Hall, was signed “love you always” and spoke of a future together.
Authorities also discovered matching jewelry—a silver bracelet with a “J” on Nawaz and a “D” necklace on Gascoyne. Investigators later found a ring and another love letter in her car, along with proof she had ordered the accessories from Amazon.
The romance was just one part of a wider web. Nawaz’s brother, Haq Nawaz, was also involved in a secret relationship with another prison officer, Elle Walton, 27. Both brothers were already serving time for running an organized crime gang that distributed millions of pounds worth of crack cocaine and heroin.
In court, Recorder Ben Lawrence said the cases “strike at the heart of public faith in the prison system” and warned the sentences would serve as a deterrent for other officers. Gascoyne pleaded guilty to two counts of misconduct in public office and received 16 months. Walton got 13 months.
The Nawaz brothers each had an extra 12 months added to their sentences.
The couples reportedly exchanged hundreds of messages, gifts, and money, with Dil Nawaz even discussing wanting to be intimate. Meanwhile, his brother allegedly said he just “wanted someone to talk to” while feeling isolated from family.
What drives someone to risk everything for a connection behind bars?
