From Yorkshire Ripper’s slashed face to killer stabbed in eyes with a toilet brush… evil lags who faced ‘prison justice’
THESE depraved monsters committed some of the sickest crimes ever seen – and got a taste of their own medicine as they rotted in jail
This week, it was revealed that one of Britain’s worst rapists was targeted behind bars in an alleged planned hit by prison vigilantes.
Reynhard Sinaga was convicted for 159 sex offences, including 136 rapes of young men, and is serving life with a minimum of 40 years.
He is said to have narrowly avoided serious injury in the attack at HMP Wakefield in July, which is said to have been halted by prison guards.
A source told The Sun: “Sinaga is arrogant and universally loathed. He is a clear target in prison because of his depraved crimes.
“He was seconds away from extremely serious harm. He is in danger.”
Sinaga, who was a postgraduate student, preyed on vulnerable men leaving bars and clubs around Manchester, particularly near his flat on Princess Street.
He lured his victims to the apartment under the guise of being a helpful stranger before drugging and assaulting them. Sinaga recorded his attacks on them on mobile phones, which were eventually used to convict him.
But he isn’t the only notorious criminal to be on the receiving end of mob justice behind bars.
Ian Huntley
In March 2010, Soham murderer Ian Huntley had his throat slashed by a fellow inmate at Durham’s Frankland Jail.
Damien Fowkes, from Northampton, attacked Huntley, who is serving a life sentence for the murder of 10-year-old schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.
He killed them in 2002 while he was working on the healthcare wing.
The attack caused a “severe gaping cut to the left side of his neck”, which needed 21 stitches.
Afterwards, Fowkes said: “I hope I killed him. I’ve been planning it for weeks.”
Fowkes, who was already serving a life sentence for a series of violent armed robberies, also strangled child killer Colin Hatch with strips of bedding at Full Sutton Prison near York in February 2011.
He was jailed for life with a minimum term of 20 years after admitting the manslaughter of Hatch and the attempted murder of Ian Huntley, who is said to be ‘unrecognisable’ after the attack.
Peter Sutcliffe
Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe was attacked several times in prison before his death in 2020.
While at Parkhurst, he was attacked by James Costello, leaving him with facial cuts that needed 30 stitches.
After being moved to Broadmoor, Sutcliffe was set upon in his cell by Paul Wilson, who attempted to strangle him with the cord from a pair of headphones.
And in March 1997, Sutcliffe lost the sight of his left eye after being stabbed by fellow inmate Ian Kay.
Another inmate, convicted killer Ovie Peddy, later told how he watched the attack on Sutcliffe unfold.
He recalled: “He’s come up behind Sutcliffe, held him there, took his eye out with with a fork. The nurse is standing there, and the pus from the eyeball is going into her face.
“So she’s run off the ward, all the staff ran off the ward and left all the patients there. I didn’t give a f***, man. I just ate my dinner. Peter’s just crying. The cord of the eye was still connected to him. It was just savage.”
Levi Bellfield
Levi Bellfield was attacked by a prisoner with a makeshift weapon in Wakefield prison in 2009.
The killer of teenager Milly Dowler took legal action after the attack and was awarded a payout of £4,500.
Bellfield was convicted in 2011 of the kidnap and murder of the 13-year-old in Surrey. He was already serving life for two other murders.
He suffered minor injuries in the prison attack but claimed that prison staff should have protected him.
Ministry of Justice lawyers admitted liability and he won the payout in 2014.
Mark Bridger
The murderer of April Jones was attacked in prison in 2013 by a fellow prisoner who was trying to get him to reveal where the five-year-old’s body was.
Mark Bridger was jailed for life for April’s murder in 2013.
He was attacked the same year by convicted murderer and rapist Juvinal Ferreira, 24, who had fashioned a knife out of a razor.
He slashed Bridger from the temple to the chin, severing an artery in his head.
He needed 30 stitches and was left scarred for life.
At Ferreira’s trial at Leeds Crown Court, Jonathan Sharp, prosecuting, said: “He said that Bridger’s crime had been discussed, and he claimed people had suggested that if Bridger was attacked, rather than say befriended, Bridger would then be more likely to reveal where April Jones’s body was.”
He was sentenced to a second life sentence and had five years added to his minimum term, meaning he will not be released before 2036.
Roy Whiting
Roy Whiting, who was jailed for life for the murder of eight-year-old Sarah Payne in 2000, has been attacked several times in prison.
In August 2002, he was slashed with a razor by another prisoner while fetching hot water at HMP Wakefield.
In June 2004, convicted murderer Rickie Tregaskis was found guilty of carrying out the attack, which left Whiting with a 6-inch scar on his right cheek.
Tregaskis, already serving life for the murder of a disabled man, received a six-year sentence for the attack.
In July 2011, Gary Vinter, from Middlesbrough, sneaked into Whiting’s cell and used a sharpened plastic toilet brush handle to stab Whiting in both eyes.
Vinter, who said he’d attacked Whiting because he was ‘a dirty little nonce’, admitted wounding with intent at a previous hearing and was given an indefinite sentence, with a notional minimum term of five years.
Then in 2018, Whiting was attacked in his cell by Richard Prendergast and Kevin Hyden, who had armed themselves with makeshift weapons, including pieces of wood with screws sticking out. Whiting suffered multiple puncture wounds.
Both men were already convicted killers and had their life sentences extended by a further seven and a half years for the attack on Whiting.
He was targeted again earlier this year and was treated for minor injuries after being stabbed.
Rose West
Serial killer Rose West was ‘pummeled’ in the face by an inmate who was sick of the amount of fan mail she was receiving in jail.
In March 2017, Julie McAllister launched the vicious attack at Durham’s HMP Low Newton.
West, who is serving life in prison for ten murders, was left with a black eye and facial swelling after being pinned down and beaten repeatedly.
McAllister told Chronicle Live: “West got a fan club. She gets the most fan mail.
“She walks around the jail like she owns it. I got sick of it, so I cracked her.
“She is a horrible, vile woman. The fact she still gets fan mail shows there are some sick people out there.”
Aaron Campbell
Child killer Aaron Campbell was hospitalised in 2022 after being battered by a fellow inmate at Polmont Young Offenders in Scotland.
Campbell, who was jailed for 24 years for the rape and murder of six-year-old Alesha MacPhail on the Isle of Bute, was left with facial injuries after the alleged attack.
A prison source said: “His door was open and someone saw the opportunity and took it. He pushed Campbell onto his bed and started leathering him and got a good few shots in. Campbell wasn’t expecting it at all, he never said anything.”
He will be moved to an adult prison before he turns 23 in May next year and it is believed he will need round-the-clock protection to prevent further attacks by lags appalled at his crime.
Who are the UK's worst serial killers?
THE UK's most prolific serial killer was actually a doctor.
Here’s a rundown of the worst offenders in the UK.
- British GP Harold Shipman is one of the most prolific serial killers in recorded history. He was found guilty of murdering 15 patients in 2000, but the Shipman Inquiry examined his crimes and identified 218 victims, 80 per cent of whom were elderly women.
- After his death Jonathan Balls was accused of poisoning at least 22 people between 1824 and 1845.
- Mary Ann Cotton is suspected of murdering up to 21 people, including husbands, lovers and children. She is Britain’s most prolific female serial killer. Her crimes were committed between 1852 and 1872, and she was hanged in March 1873.
- Amelia Sach and Annie Walters became known as the Finchley Baby Farmers after killing at least 20 babies between 1900 and 1902. The pair became the first women to be hanged at Holloway Prison on February 3, 1903.
- William Burke and William Hare killed 16 people and sold their bodies.
- Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe was found guilty in 1981 of murdering 13 women and attempting to kill seven others between 1975 and 1980.
- Dennis Nilsen was caged for life in 1983 after murdering up to 15 men when he picked them up from the streets. He was found guilty of six counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder and was sentenced to life in jail.
- Fred West was found guilty of killing 12 but it’s believed he was responsible for many more deaths.