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HMP Swaleside prisoner Darren Flynn 'stabbed at least 190 times' by fellow inmates

A prisoner at a Sheppey jail was fatally stabbed at least 190 times by two fellow inmates, a court heard.

Most of the wounds were to Darren Flynn's chest and neck and would have involved severe force being used.

His neck injuries also suggested he had been held down during the attack.

HM Prison Swaleside. Picture: Simon Burchett.
HM Prison Swaleside. Picture: Simon Burchett.

A jury at Maidstone Crown Court was told the 46-year-old's dead body was found in a cell bed belonging to Paul Wadkin at HMP Swaleside.

Mr Flynn, who walked with a limp and the use of crutches, had been covered with bedding and a chair.

"There was evidence of severe force having been used during the assault... That is noted by the presence of a penetrating puncture wound through the centre of the chest bone" - Philip Bennetts QC

The grim discovery was made after it is alleged Wadkin, of no fixed address, calmly told a prison officer there was a body in his cell.

The court heard a second inmate, Jason Gomez, told the officer the same thing and was equally calm.

The three then went to the cell on F wing at the category B prison in Eastchurch. Prosecutor Philip Bennetts QC said at first the officer could not see Mr Flynn's body.

"He asked them what they were talking about because at that time the body was covered by bedclothes and there was a chair on the bed," he told the jury.

"Paul Wadkin then moved a pillow from the end of the bed and the officer saw an object in the bed. Both Jason Gomez and Paul Wadkin said it was a dead body."

It is also alleged that in the immediate aftermath of Mr Flynn's body being found, Wadkin told another officer that he had "just murdered a pervert".

Wadkin, 33, denies murder. Gomez, 45, also of no fixed address, has admitted the same charge.

The jury was not told why the three men were inmates at Swaleside in March this year.

Mr Flynn's wounds were said to have been inflicted by two differently-shaped weapons, one with a rounded profile and the other more flattened and triangular.

Two weapons were later found in a prison landing bin.

HMP Swaleside
HMP Swaleside

The injuries were to both sides of his neck, front and sides of chest, and sides of his torso.

Mr Bennetts said the most significant ones were multiple puncture wounds to both Mr Flynn's lungs, as well as damage to his heart and the aorta artery.

"There was evidence of severe force having been used during the assault," he added.

"That is noted by the presence of a penetrating puncture wound through the centre of the chest bone."

There was also damage to Mr Flynn's liver, spleen, both large and small bowel and blood vessels within his neck.

His blood was found on Wadkin's clothes, indicating he would have been in close proximity to Mr Flynn when it became airborne.

Nobody is being allowed into the crown court. Picture: Martin Apps
Nobody is being allowed into the crown court. Picture: Martin Apps

Prison officer Matthew George was about to finish his shift just before 7pm on March 25 when he heard a 'code red' alert, indicating a medical emergency.

He told the court he went to the cell to be met by colleagues. Having asked what the problem was, the door was opened.

Mr George said: "Darren Flynn was lying on the bed face up. My immediate thought was that he was dead and had been dead a long time.

"He was blue in colour, with trauma to his face and a patch on his chest which was blood."

A general alarm was then issued in which all prisoners were to be locked in their cells.

However, the court heard Wadkin and Gomez were seen standing by a desk used by staff.

"They were asked to go to their cells," said the prosecutor.

"They said they couldn't and were asked why.

"Both of them said: 'We just killed someone'."

The trial continues.


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