A man accused of strangling and beating his former partner, Central Coast mother Blair Dalton, has been found dead in a police cell.

Lance Michael Pearce, 34, had been arrested and charged after Ms Dalton was found beaten and badly injured at her Ettalong Beach home on Tuesday.

The 35-year-old mother died two days later in Gosford Hospital.

Pearce had been charged with attempted murder and it was expected to be upgraded to murder, but he was found dead in police custody on Friday.

NSW Police on Saturday confirmed its corrective services unit had found a 34-year-old man dead on on Friday.

The cause of death is being investigated but it isn’t being treated as suspicious, a police spokeswoman said.

Ms Dalton has been remembered as “an amazing woman” whose courage was admired.

Her father, Bugsy Gail Dalton, posted on Facebook earlier this week that his daughter would continue “helping others” by donating her organs.

A post from the Central Coast Community Women’s Health Centre Facebook page said Blair had returned to the Central Coast after experiencing violence from a former partner.

“Blair didn’t deserve to die,” the post said. “Her beautiful child now has no mother and no father.”

In one of her final posts online, Ms Dalton changed her Facebook profile picture to show the colours of the North Queensland Cowboys in the lead up to Sunday’s NRL Grand Final.

Friends have mounted a campaign to have the Cowboys pay tribute to her on Sunday.

-AAP

• National domestic violence helpline: 1800 737 732 or 1800RESPECT. In an emergency call triple-zero.
• Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.
• Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467.
• MensLine Australia 1300 78 99 78.