Monster Roy Whiting Nearly Killed in Brutal Prison Attack
Whiting Stabbed and Beaten in Wakefield Jail Horror
Roy Whiting, serving life for the horrific murder of Sarah Payne, feared for his life after a savage assault behind bars. The vile paedophile was punched, kicked and repeatedly stabbed with makeshift blades smuggled into Wakefield prison. The attack left Whiting with a burst lip, two black eyes, and multiple stab wounds to his upper body.
On 8 November 2018, a nurse found him in respiratory arrest inside his cell on Delta Wing. She quickly inserted a plastic tube to secure his airway, later insisting: “I do believe that my actions on this day did save Roy Whiting’s life, due to the severity of the injuries.”
Guards Intervene Just In Time
A prison officer who pulled Whiting’s attackers off him said: “I 100 per cent believe that if we had not entered that cell and drawn our batons, Whiting would be dead.” The violent attackers only stopped stabbing when officers forced the cell door open.
Convicted murderers Richard Prendergast and Kevin Hyden, both 40, pleaded guilty to Section 18 wounding with intent at Leeds Crown Court after sneaking into Whiting’s Category A cell, a prison infamously known as “Monster Mansion.
Whiting’s Account of the Bloody Attack
Whiting recalled how two inmates burst into his cell shouting obscenities and calling him a “f***ing nonce”. He was stabbed repeatedly and punched to the head and body. He tried to fight back and later crawled under his bed to shield himself.
“I looked down at the floor and I was laid in a pool of my own blood,” said Whiting. “I couldn’t feel the pain due to adrenaline but fell to the floor after seconds.”
“I have a couple of friends here but mostly it’s verbal abuse—nonce, rapist, child killer—I try to ignore it.”
Not the First Time Whiting Has Been Targeted
This chilling attack is just the latest on Whiting, who has been repeatedly assaulted since his 2001 conviction for abducting and murdering eight-year-old Sarah Payne. The innocent schoolgirl was snatched while playing in West Sussex and later found dead 15 miles away.
Whiting’s violent prison history includes a 2011 attack where double murderer Gary Vinter stabbed him in the eye with a sharpened toilet brush handle. In 2002, Rickie Tregaskis slashed his cheek with a razor, leaving a 6-inch scar. And in 2017, he was struck by a flask in a separate assault.
After emergency treatment at Leeds General Infirmary, including CT scans and spinal checks, Whiting survived—but prison life remains deadly for the depraved killer.
