Infamous paedophile child killer is brutally stabbed in jail attack

12 February 2024 , 15:37

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Paedophile Roy Whiting abducted and murdered eight-year-old Sarah Payne in West Sussex in 2000 (Image: PA)

Child killer Roy Whiting was left soaked in blood after a frenzied stabbing in his maximum security jail, the Mirror can reveal.

The paedophile - caged for life in 2002 for murdering eight-year-old Sarah Payne - was repeatedly knifed inside "Monster Mansion" HMP Wakefield, sources claim. Prison guards raced to rescue the 65-year-old and gave him treatment after the assault this weekend. His injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.

A source said: "Whiting is hated in prison. He was stabbed and was covered in blood. They were trying to kill him." Whiting has been the subject of repeated attacks behind bars at Cat A Wakefield jail. The prison houses 600 of Britain's most dangerous prisoners, including Soham monster Ian Huntley, 50.

In 2002 murderer Rickie Tregaskis slashed Whiting's face with a razor blade. The incident left Whiting with a 6in scar on his right cheek. And nine years later double killer Gary Vinter, 53, sneaked into Whiting’s jail cell and attacked him with a sharpened plastic toilet brush handle. He later told a court he stabbed the notorious child killer in both eyes because he was a “dirty little nonce”. The tip of his makeshift weapon broke and left a piece of plastic in Whiting's eye socket.

Sarah Payne was just eight years old when Whiting snatched and killed her (PA)

Vinter - who murdered a workmate in 1996 and his estranged wife in 2008 - then kicked and punched him as he lay on the floor. In 2020 two convicted murderers were jailed for a further seven-and-half years after attacking Whiting at the west Yorkshire prison.

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Richard Prendergast and Kevin Hyden again targeted Whiting in his cell after armed themselves with makeshift weapons, including pieces of wood with screws sticking out. Whiting suffered multiple puncture wounds during the attack in November 2018.

A source said: "Whiting lives with a constant target on his back." A Prison Service spokesperson confirmed there was "an incident involving another offender" but would not comment further as police investigate.

A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said: "At 5.14pm yesterday [SUN] evening, police received a call from a member of staff at HMP Wakefield reporting a male prisoner had been stabbed.
"His injuries are not believed to be life-threatening or life changing. Enquiries are ongoing with Wakefield CID."

Roy Whiting during police questioning (PA)

Whiting was stabbed at HMP Wakefield (Asadour Guzelian)

The latest attack comes more than two decades after Whiting snatched eight-year-old Sarah Payne from a country lane near her grandparents' home. She was playing hide and seek with her sister and two brothers when the beast struck in Kingston Gorse, West Sussex, on July 1 2000. Whiting was quizzed over her disappearance next day but walked free, only to be re-arrested on July 31. He refused to admit his crime but was found guilty of murder in December 2001 and jailed for life.

In 2010 his 50-year minimum tariff was reduced to 40 by London's High Court. Mechanic Whiting's sick offending began in 1995 when he snatched a girl of nine and subjected her to a horrific sexual assault. He was arrested and got four years' jail for kidnap and indecent assault. However he was freed after two years and five months.

Tom Pettifor