Sarah Payne's murderer Roy Whiting details moment 'fellow inmate tried to kill him in cell with a wooden shank'
Andrew Light, 45, attacked the paedophile in HMP Wakefield with a 'wooden shank' leaving him 'bleeding heavily' from multiple wounds to his head and neck due to the 'ferocity' of the attack, a court heard.
The child murderer told a jury at Leeds Crown Court: 'I bled a hell of a lot, I thought it's something major.'
Whiting, who was serving a life sentence for the abduction and murder of eight-year-old Sarah in July 2000, was allegedly stabbed by Light with the improvised weapon on February 11, 2024.
Prosecutor Michael Smith said he would 'not be seeking any sympathy for Roy Whiting', but he is 'the victim'.
After attacking Whiting, Light asked a prison officer whether his victim was dead, saying: 'I hope so.'
The prosecutor played the court body footage from a guard showing Light covered in blood and holding the weapon, as Whiting took refuge from the 'stronger younger man' under the bed in his cell.
Giving evidence in court, Whiting said he was in his single occupancy cell when he was attacked.
Whiting was serving a life sentence for the abduction and murder of eight-year-old Sarah, pictured, in July 2000
He said Light came in as he was stood by his noticeboard marking down what he had eaten that day.
'I heard the door open on my cell and an inmate walked in. I didn't know him, I have never met him, never spoken to him,' Whiting told the court.
'I had seen him on the wing maybe once or twice. He asked me if I was Whiting and I said "yes".
'And then he pulled a homemade shank and started to attack me with it. It was in his hand and I didn't see it until he pulled his hand around in front of him.
'He didn't say anything, rather than start swinging with me with the shank in his hand.'
Whiting said Light was raining 'quite forceful' blows to his face and head as he tried to defend himself with his arms.
He added that he lost his balance and fell onto his bed with his back towards the wall.
Light then lay on top of Whiting, who managed to grab his attacker's wrists, before standing up as the inmate used his legs to fend him off.
'I was just trying to defend myself as best I could,' the child murderer said.
Light was then said to have rained some rapid blows onto Whiting before standing up, allowing the inmate to get off the bed.
He then attempted to get out through the door as he thought he heard a prison officer walk past.
'I knew I had been cut badly, I didn't know exactly where,' said Whiting. 'I got under my bed for protection.'
Officers then entered the cell and detained Light, who asked whether the child murderer was dead, later adding: 'Let's hope so.'
He later asked if he would be charged with attempted murder, the court heard.
Jurors where shown photographs of the injuries to Whiting's face ear, neck, and stomach before being told that Light had admitted possessing a bladed article in the prison and also pleaded guilty to unlawfully wounding Whiting.
But the prosecutor said the attack was an attempt to kill Whiting or do him really serious harm. Light denies attempted murder and wounding with intent.
The trial continues.
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The Independent
an hour ago
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Tablet computers at his home showed he downloaded papers on historical violence by the Nazis, Genghis Khan and even relatively obscure conflicts in French colonies during the 17th century – plus footage of beheadings and torture. As well as the digital discoveries, a machete and scabbard, a set of arrows and a black holdall were found in Rudakubana's bedroom at the family home in Banks, Lancashire, a village five miles north of Southport. The Prevent review, conducted since the summer, has concluded that 'too much weight was placed on the absence of ideology' and that his case 'should not have been closed' by counter-terror police who were assessing whether he posed a threat. On the second day of the hearings, a series of moving impact statements from the parents of four of the girls who attended the holiday club, at the Hart Space, in the Merseyside seaside town, were read to a hushed council chamber at Liverpool Town Hall. Sir Adrian said Rudakubana perpetrated 'an almost unimaginable but nonetheless mercilessly calculated' killing spree at the Taylor Swift-themed dance club. The retired judge described the attack as 'one of the most egregious crimes in our country's history.' Sir Adrian said it was 'truly critical' that the inquiry secured answers for the families of Rudakubana's victims and made recommendations to prevent anything similar happening in the future. The hearings will examine why several agencies, including the police, the courts, the NHS and social services, who all had contact with Rudukabana, failed to identify the risk he posed. It will also investigate whether the attack could or should have been prevented. Sir Adrian said that one consideration for the inquiry would be whether courts should be allowed to impose restrictions on people suspected of planning serious violent offences, even if they have not committed any crime. 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'Furthermore, his ability, unhindered, to access gravely violent material on the internet, to order knives online at a young age, and then to leave home unsupervised to commit the present attack, speaks to a wholesale and general failure to intervene effectively, or indeed at all, to address the risks that he posed,' he added. Police discovered a sinister arsenal of weapons, including a bow and arrow, two machetes, two large kitchen knives, a sledgehammer, materials to make Molotov cocktail explosives and ingredients to make the deadly toxin ricin, at Rudakubana's home following the attack. The widespread rioting and civil unrest following the murders is not being examined by the inquiry. The hearings have been adjourned until September, when statements from the remaining relatives of victims and survivors are expected to continue.
