LONDON, UK – Notorious serial killer Robert Maudsley has marked a grim milestone as the longest-serving inmate in the UK penal system, spending 50 consecutive Christmases behind bars. Now 70 years old, Maudsley earned the moniker “Hannibal the Cannibal” and has spent the last 45 years in isolation, setting a world record.
In 1974, at the age of 21, Maudsley was incarcerated for the murder of a child sex offender. He was initially sent to the high-security hospital Broadmoor, which housed some of the country’s most dangerous prisoners. However, in 1977, he took a fellow inmate hostage, tortured him, and ultimately killed him with a cut-down plastic spoon.
Rumors abounded that Maudsley had consumed parts of the victim’s brain, leading to his infamous nickname “Hannibal the Cannibal.” Following his conviction for the killing at Broadmoor, he was transferred to HMP Wakefield, where he later murdered two inmates.
Despite these violent acts, Maudsley’s family has offered a different perspective. His nephew, Gavin Maudsley, revealed on a Channel 5 show that his uncle had vowed to target rapists and paedophiles, indicating that the individuals Maudsley targeted were “really bad people.”
The Ministry of Justice has refuted claims of “solitary confinement” in the prison system, stating that offenders may be segregated if they pose a risk to others, but still have access to certain privileges. However, the Ministry declined to disclose the specific facility holding Maudsley.
With half a century behind bars and counting, Robert Maudsley now holds the unenviable title of the longest-serving inmate in the UK’s history.