Born | Robert John Maudsley 26 June 1953 (age 66) |
---|---|
Other names | Hannibal The Cannibal The Brain Eater |
Conviction(s) | 4 counts of murder |
Criminal penalty | Life Imprisonment |
Details | |
Victims | 4 |
Span of crimes | 1974–1978 |
Country | England |
Location(s) | Liverpool |
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Robert John Maudsley (born 26 June 1953) is a Britishserial killer responsible for the murders of four people. He committed three of these murders in prison after receiving a life sentence for a single murder.[1] He was alleged to have eaten part of the brain of one of three men he killed in prison, which earned him the nickname Hannibal the Cannibal among the British press[2] and “The Brain Eater” amongst other prisoners; however, the Press Complaints Commission records that national newspapers were subsequently advised that the allegations were untrue, according to the autopsy report.[3] Since the death of Ian Brady, Maudsley has become the longest-serving British prisoner and the earliest person still living to be subject to a whole life order.
Early life[edit]
Robert Maudsley was one of twelve children, born in the Toxteth area of Liverpool, and spent most of his early years in a Catholic orphanage in Crosby, Merseyside. At the age of 8, Maudsley was retrieved by his parents and subjected to routine physical abuse until he was eventually removed from their care by social services.[2] Maudsley later claimed that he was raped as a child, and such early abuse may have left deep psychological scars.
During the late 1960s, a teenage Maudsley worked as a rent boy in London to support his drug addiction. He was forced to seek psychiatric help after several suicide attempts. It was during his talk with doctors that he claimed to hear voices telling him to kill his parents.[2] He is quoted as saying 'If I had killed my parents in 1970, none of these people need have died.'[2][4]
Murders[edit]
In 1974,[5] Maudsley garrotted a man who picked him up for sex after the man showed Maudsley pictures of children he had sexually abused. Maudsley was arrested and later sentenced to life imprisonmentwith a recommendation that he should never be released. Maudsley was sent to Broadmoor Hospital, where, in 1977, he and another inmate, David Cheeseman, locked themselves in a cell with a third patient (a convicted child molester) and tortured him to death over a period of nine hours.[2] After this incident, Maudsley was convicted of manslaughter and sent to Wakefield Prison. He disliked the transfer and made it clear he wanted to return to Broadmoor.[2]
One afternoon in 1978, Maudsley killed two fellow prisoners at Wakefield Prison. His first victim of the day was Salney Darwood, a murderer convicted of the manslaughter of his wife. Maudsley had invited Darwood to his cell, where he garrotted and stabbed him before hiding his body under his bed. He then attempted to lure more fellow prisoners into his cell, but all refused.[2] Maudsley then prowled the wing hunting for a second victim, eventually cornering and stabbing prisoner Bill Roberts to death. He hacked at Roberts' skull with a makeshift dagger and smashed his head against the wall. Maudsley then calmly walked into the prison officer's room, placed the dagger on the table and told him that the next roll call would be two short.[2]
Victims[edit]
- John Farrell, age 30, on 14 March 1974.
- David Francis, age 26, on 26 February 1977. Francis was a convicted child molester, sentenced to Broadmoor.
- Salney Darwood, age 46, on 29 July 1978. At the time of his death, Darwood was serving life for the manslaughter of his wife Blanche.
- William Roberts, age 56, on 29 July 1978. At the time of his death, Roberts was serving 7 years for sexual assault of a seven-year-old girl.
Solitary confinement[edit]
In 1983, Maudsley was deemed too dangerous for a normal cell. Prison authorities built a two-cell unit in the basement of Wakefield Prison, dubbed the 'glass cage' due to its resemblance to Hannibal Lecter's cell in the film The Silence of the Lambs, to house Maudsley for the continuation of his confinement.[2]
At around 5.5 metres by 4.5 metres, the two cells are slightly larger than average and have large bulletproof windows through which he can be observed. The only furnishings are a table and chair, both made of compressed cardboard. The lavatory and sink are bolted to the floor while the bed is a concrete slab. A solid steel door opens into a small cage within the cell, encased in thick see-through acrylic panels, with a small slot at the bottom through which guards pass him food and other items. He remains in the cell for all but an hour daily. During his daily hour of exercise, he is escorted to the yard by six prison officers. He is not allowed contact with any other inmates.
In March 2000, Maudsley unsuccessfully pleaded for the terms of his solitary confinement be relaxed, or to be allowed to commit suicide via a cyanide capsule. He also asked for a pet budgerigar, which was also denied.[5] In 2010, Maudsley made a plea to be able to play board games with prison staff to relieve his boredom.[6]
References[edit]
- ^'Google Groups'. groups.google.com. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
- ^ abcdefghiThompson, Tony (27 April 2003). 'The caged misery of Britain's real 'Hannibal the Cannibal''. The Guardian. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
- ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on 13 March 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^'Tragic life that led to Hannibal killings'. Liverpool Echo. 7 May 2003. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
- ^ ab'Killer begs for budgie or suicide'. news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
- ^'Mirror | Cannibal Robert Maudsley in jail plea to play board games'. mirror.co.uk. 6 April 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robert_Maudsley&oldid=931653809'
Born | 1953 Santa Comba Dão, Portugal |
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Criminal penalty | 25 years imprisonment |
Details | |
Victims | 3 |
2005–2006 | |
Country | Portugal |
Date apprehended | June 24, 2006 |
The town of Santa Comba Dão
António Luís Costa (Santa Comba Dão, Portugal, 1953) is an ex-GNR soldier and serial killer from Santa Comba Dão, Portugal. He was convicted in 2007 for the murders of three young women between May 2005 and May 2006. He is currently held in the prison of Évora.[1]
Murders[edit]
Costa's first victim was Isabel Cristina Isidoro, who went missing on May 24, 2005; her body was recovered from the ocean on May 31, 2005.[2] Mariana Lourenço went missing on October 14, 2005, and her mutilated body was found in June 2006.[2] The third and last victim was Joana Oliveira, who went missing on May 8, 2006; her body was recovered from under a bridge based on directions given by Costa.[2] According to Costa, after he had consensual sexual relations with the first victim and asked for a kiss from the second and third victims, he suffocated them when they threatened to tell.[3][4]
Arrest and confession[edit]
Costa was arrested by the Polícia Judiciária (PJ) on June 24, 2006. At first, he confessed the crimes, both to the police and to the judge conducting the preliminary investigation. He later withdrew his confession and accused an uncle of Lourenço for the crimes.[2][5] He claimed police coerced him into confessing, an accusation refuted by the PJ.[6][7] Costa's telephone was tapped, and he was recorded confessing the crimes to his family.[5][8]
Trial[edit]
Costa's trial began on July 4, 2007; he was charged with three murders, three crimes of hiding the body, one crime of profaning the body (for undressing a body),[3][9] two crimes of attempting sexual coercion, and one crime of calumnious denunciation (for accusing Lourenço's uncle of the crimes[9]). During the trial, Costa claimed his innocence and remained silent except for the first and last court sessions.[2]
The Ministério Público asked for a sentence of 25 years in prison, the maximum allowed under Portuguese law, and said the only reason they did not ask for more is because it is not possible.[2] The prosecution said Costa acted on a sexual impulse and that from the start, he tried to be considered insane as a means of escaping trial; however, two psychiatric examinations found Costa to be sane enough to stand trial.[2]
The defense said psychiatric examinations found no psychopathy and no promiscuous sexual behaviour.[2][10] In addition, the defense claimed the rights of the defendant were not respected because he was treated as a guilty psychopathic serial killer.[2] The defense said the testimony given by witnesses may not be reliable because of inconsistencies and discussion of the case among witnesses.[2][10] The police investigation was criticized by the defense, which claimed some persons were not investigated enough.[2]
On July 31, 2007, the court found Costa guilty of all charges except for the crime of hiding Isidoro's body, since she was still alive when she was thrown into the Atlantic Ocean.[11] Costa was sentenced to 64.5 years in prison,[9] reduced to 25 years, the maximum penalty under Portuguese law. His defense announced they will appeal the conviction.[12]
Media coverage[edit]
The case received extensive media attention in Portugal. It was front page in some newspapers.[13][14][15]
Maximum penalty criticism[edit]
The case raised some criticisms towards the Portuguese rule that sets 25 years in prison as the maximum penalty. Some people argued that more severe sentences should be allowed.[16][17][18]
References[edit]
- ^Franco, Hugo; Moleiro, Raquel; Gustavo, Rui (25 November 2014). 'Os vizinhos de Sócrates na prisão' [Sócrates's prison neighbours]. Expresso (in Portuguese). Retrieved 13 May 2016.
- ^ abcdefghijkDiário de Coimbra
- ^ abPortugalDiário - A informação actualizada ao minuto: as últimas notícias do país e do mundoArchived August 12, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^asbeirasonlineArchived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ abasbeirasonlineArchived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^''Quarta vítima' é peça-chave na acusação contra 'serial killer'' (in Portuguese). Diário de Notícias. Archived from the original on 2007-06-06.
- ^Sol[permanent dead link]
- ^http://expresso.clix.pt/Actualidade/Interior.aspx?content_id=397768
- ^ abcCorreio da Manhã
- ^ abSol[permanent dead link]
- ^Sol[permanent dead link]
- ^'Diário Digital'. Archived from the original on 2011-09-29. Retrieved 2018-07-28.
- ^http://www.correiodamanha.pt/noticia.asp?id=252344&idCanal=20
- ^DIÁRIO DE NOTÍCIAS - Capa DN Quarta-feira, 1 de Agosto de 2007
- ^https://jn.sapo.pt/2007/08/01/imagens_jn/cpais.jpg[permanent dead link]
- ^Correio da Manhã
- ^Correio da Manhã
- ^'SondagensPT - onde o teu voto conta'. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=António_Luís_Costa&oldid=915247094'