Latest news with #prisonattack
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Yahoo
Trial date set for prison hammer-attack suspect
A trial date has been set for a man accused of attempting to murder an inmate with a hammer at a maximum security prison. Damien Bendall, 35, formerly of Killamarsh, Derbyshire, has been charged with attacking the fellow prisoner at HMP Frankland in Durham in May 2024. Bendall did not appear at Teesside Crown Court for the hearing, which took place before Judge Francis Laird KC. The judge set a provisional trial date for 9 March 2026, while a case management hearing will be held on 29 September this year. Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. HM Courts and Tribunals Service
The Sun
23-06-2025
- The Sun
Sarah Payne's killer tells court ‘I bled a hell of a lot' when he was ‘knifed with shank in prison cell by lag'
NOTORIOUS child killer Roy Whiting told a jury how he 'bled a hell of a lot' when he was stabbed in prison - as he gave evidence at his attacker's attempted murder trial. Whiting, 66, who is serving a life sentence for murdering eight-year-old Sarah Payne nearly 25 years ago, was left 'bleeding heavily' from at 'least a dozen' wounds to his head and neck. 4 Andrew Light, 45, stabbed the notorious inmate in maximum security HMP Wakefield in February last year using a wooden shank. Light admitted possessing a bladed article in the prison and also pleaded guilty to unlawfully wounding Whiting, but denies attempted murder and wounding with intent. Giving evidence, Whiting told a jury at Leeds crown court: 'I bled a hell of a lot, I thought it's something major.' Prosecutor Michael Smith told the jury 'we will not be seeking any sympathy for Roy Whiting', but he is 'the victim'. After attacking the paedophile, Light told a prison officer about his victim possibly being dead, adding: 'I hope so.' The prosecutor played the court body cam footage from a prison officer 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 told the jury he was in his single occupancy cell on D Wing when Light entered. Whiting said: '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. '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 told the jury 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, it's claimed. Whiting said: 'He was still trying to stab me with the shank, but he could not get any real power. 'I was just trying to defend myself as best I could.' Light then stood up and Whiting used his legs to fend him off. He then heard the 'rattle' of a prison guard's keys and made a 'lunge' for the door and shouted out for help. Whiting said: 'I knew I had been cut badly, I didn't know exactly where. 'I got under my bed for protection.' Officers then entered the cell and detained Light. Light told the guards 'He's dead' - referring to Whiting under the bed. He later asked 'Is he dead?' To which a guard replied 'Let's hope not.' Light answered 'Let's hope so.' Mr Smith told the jury Whiting was serving time in HMP Wakefield for the murder of Sarah Payne in 2000. Light denies attempted murder and wounding with intent. The trial continues. 4 4
BBC News
23-06-2025
- BBC News
HMP Frankland: Trial date set for Durham prison attack suspect
A trial date has been set for a man accused of attempting to murder an inmate with a hammer at a maximum security Bendall, 35, formerly of Killamarsh, Derbyshire, has been charged with attacking the fellow prisoner at HMP Frankland in Durham in May did not appear at Teesside Crown Court for the hearing, which took place before Judge Francis Laird judge set a provisional trial date for 9 March 2026, while a case management hearing will be held on 29 September this year. Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Daily Mail
20-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Notorious crime boss Tony Mokbel is awarded $1million over brutal prison attack - but there's a catch
Melbourne gangland boss Tony Mokbel has been awarded $1million from the Victorian government after he was brutally attacked by two other inmates. Two inmates knocked Mokbel unconscious and stabbed him with a 'shiv' during the attack at Bowral Prison in 2019. Mokbel, then 53, had to be rushed from the maximum security prison in Lara to Melbourne Hospital to be treated for a traumatic brain injury, a brain haemorrhage and stab wounds. He also lost several teeth in the attack. The gangster sued the state over the attack, leading to the massive payout from the Allan government on Friday. But most of the money will not go to Mokbel himself. About $750,000 has gone towards medical and legal costs while the remaining $250,000 has been paid into the Prisoner Compensation Quarantine Fund. While the money is held in quarantine for 12 months, creditors and victims of Mokbel will have the opportunity to make a claim on it, the Herald Sun reports. Mokbel famously fled Australia on a yacht in 2006 while he was on trial over a cocaine importation, only to be arrested a year later in Greece. The former drug cartel head was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2012. In April, the 59-year old was released on bail after almost two decades in jail. He was pictured beaming as he walked down the steps of the Victorian Supreme Court of Appeal to be reunited with his friends and family. Mokbel said nothing as he walked through a police cordon shielding him from a horde of journalists and other onlookers. The jailbird gangster's release attracted the largest media scrum outside a Melbourne court since George Pell appeared at court for a preliminary hearing in 2017. Daily Mail Australia revealed Mokbel's first act after being released was to visit the grave of his mother, who died in 2013. His appeal against three convictions for drug trafficking will be heard later this year.
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Prison officer stabbed at HMP Long Lartin 'with knife brought in from outside jail'
A prison officer who received emergency treatment after being attacked at a high security jail was stabbed with a weapon from outside of prison, Sky News understands. The 25-year-old officer was after allegedly being attacked by an inmate who used a knife that wasn't made inside the jail, which is otherwise known as an "improvised" weapon. It is not known how the weapon was brought into the prison. However a recent inspection of HMP Long Lartin in Worcestershire described the "incursion of drones" as "an increasingly critical problem" for the jail, and a "threat" that was "unsettling" for staff. The officer is in a stable condition following the attack on Friday morning but underwent emergency surgery, after sustaining what West Mercia Police described as serious injuries. A 22-year-old suspect is being held in custody within the prison. West Mercia Police Assistant Chief Constable Grant Wills said on Friday that the incident was not being treated as terrorism. He added: "Our initial enquiries suggest there was a disagreement between an inmate and prison officer that escalated and is an isolated matter within the prison." This was the third attack at a Category A, high security jail, in less than two months. In April, the Manchester Arena bomb plotter Hashem Abedi and a homemade weapon while in a separation centre, which are used to house extremist and violent offenders. At HMP Belmarsh, Southport killer of throwing boiling hot water over an officer through the hatch in his cell door earlier this month. Read more from Sky News: There were 10,605 assaults on staff in the year to December 2024, a 15% increase on the year before, marking a record high. The government says the safety of frontline staff is a top priority and has commissioned a series of reviews to consider increased protection for officers, including stab-proof vests and the use of Tasers in certain situations. The independent reviewer of terrorism, Jonathan Hall KC, has also been appointed to carry out a review of the alleged Abedi attack at HMP Frankland, to consider whether separation centres are fit for purpose. A Prison Service spokesperson said: "Police are investigating an attack on a prison officer at HMP Long Lartin. "We will not tolerate assaults on hardworking staff and will always push for the strongest punishments against perpetrators."
