Sadistic Saw-inspired murderer who sliced through victim's spinal cord has his jail term extended to 2065 for savagely stabbing two prison guards

Daily Mail​

4 days ago

A notorious inmate known as the 'Saw Killer' is to stay behind bars until at least 2065 after he stabbed two prison guards in the jail dubbed 'Monster Mansion'.
Sadistic Matthew Tinling, 38, attacked the officers in HMP Wakefield, West Yorkshire, after becoming enraged that his exercise regime had been altered.
Tinling, who was already serving three life sentences for murder, attempted murder and wounding, was today handed a further life sentence after pleading guilty causing grievous bodily harm with intent on the prison guards on January 23 last year.
A judge told him he was 'a potentially lethal and real danger' to both prison staff and fellow inmates.
One of the officers stabbed 'feared for his life', Leeds Crown Court heard.
The convicted murderer now cannot be considered for parole until he is at least 78 years old.
Tinling killed former soldier Richard Hamilton in 2012 after stabbing him 17 times in the head, neck and legs in a 'savage and prolonged' attack.
At the climax of the frenzied attack, he mimicked a torture scene from the notorious horror film Saw VI by trying to sever the 46-year-old's spinal cord.
He was sentenced to life with a minimum of 30 years before he was eligible for parole.
Outlining attacks Tinling then carried out in prison, Judge Robin Mairs said that in April 2015 he was convicted of wounding with intent and sentenced to a further five years after slashing a fellow prisoner with a razor to the face and neck and telling him 'you're going to die'.
In March 2019 he was convicted of attempted murder and had a further ten years added to his life sentence after he and another prisoner stabbed a fellow inmate 50 times with a sharpened toilet brush.
Tinling then attacked a prison officer at HMP Woodhill near Milton Keynes in February 2021 as he was being escorted back to his cell after a work-out.
He 'launched himself' at the officer in the exercise yard after he asked him to return to his cell earlier than normal.
As the gate opened, he came 'flying out' at the guard and slashed him with a razor blade.
The killer admitted attempted murder and in a letter reportedly bragged about how he had 'mangled his face'.
As he was sentenced for that offence, Tinling was told that the earliest he could then be eligible for parole was 2062 - instead of 2055.
Tinling was first jailed at the Old Bailey in 2013 for the murder of Mr Hamilton.
He had tortured the former soldier in a bid to get him to hand over the PIN for his bank account and later withdrew £240 to spend on crack cocaine.
Tinling had watched Saw VI on DVD while living at a homeless hostel in Maida Vale, west London. He then broke into Mr Hamilton's room and tried to imitate a scene from the film.
He inflicted 17 wounds during the attack, the most serious of which was delivered specifically with the intention of severing Mr Hamilton's spinal cord to cause paralysis and death.
Tinling had denied murder but was convicted after a trial.
Leeds Crown Court heard the most recent stabbings occurred at HMP Wakefield.
Prosecutor Michael Collins said Tinling was on the segregation wing, which houses the jail's 'most disruptive and violent' inmates. He had been there for four years.
His cell was regularly searched for weapons and he was scanned going in and out of the cell.
In the morning Tinling was shouting angrily that his exercise time had been moved, the court heard.
Prison officer Mark Smith was Tinling's personal officer and he told the inmate 'Play the game' and his exercise time would be returned.
After showering and returning to his cell, in the shower area he armed himself with a 7cm long knife and used it on prison officer Martin Fletcher, who sustained a 2cm deep wound to the back of his neck.
Fellow officer Mr Smith was stabbed through the left bicep as fought to save his colleague from the frenzied attack.
The court heard Mr Fletcher 'turned grey' and 'feared for his life' from the wound.
Tinling, attending the sentencing hearing via video link from HMP Belmarsh, heard both officers remain signed off work.
Mr Fletcher struggles to sleep and can no longer drive.
Mr Smith suffers flashbacks and anxiety and keeps reliving the image of his colleague and how he 'thought he was going to die'.
Sentencing Tinling to another life sentence for the attacks on the guards, Judge Mairs added a further three years to the minimum date he can be considered for parole.
That term now totals 40 years and brings the date to 2065 - when Tinling will be aged 78.
Judge Mairs told Tinling: 'It was plainly a preconceived plan of yours to obtain the knife and to arm yourself for attack.'
He added: 'You threw yourself at the officers without warning.
'You swung at Prison Officer Fletcher, aiming at his head and neck area. It was done with such speed that the officer was only able to turn his head slightly and the blow landed to his lower neck area.'
The judge said the 'frenzied' attack continued on other officers as they tried to contain him.
Judge Mairs said that arming himself with the knife and stabbing the offices because of a change in his regime was 'extreme and entirely unnecessary'.
'You are a potentially lethal and real danger to anyone within the prison estate you may encounter, officer or inmate,' he added.
'Those who work in the prison service do a difficult and dangerous job.'