Over the course of several years, Robert John Maudsley killed four victims - including a convicted child molester and a convicted murderer - three of whom he attacked while in prison or a psychiatric hospital. Because Maudsley was able to fatally injure people despite being in high-security facilities, a special cell was constructed to protect other inmates from the man the press has called "Britain's Most Dangerous Prisoner."
Maudsley has also been referred to as the real "Hannibal the Cannibal" - the fictional doctor turned murderer from Silence of the Lambs - not just because of his glass cell and high IQ, but also because he allegedly ate the brain of one of his victims. While Maudsley has murdered far fewer people than many of his counterparts, he is considered one of the worst British serial killers simply because of the sheer brutality of his crimes.
15 Revelations About Robert Maudsley, The Real-Life 'Hannibal The Cannibal',
He's Confined To His Cell 23 Hours A Day
Maudsley has spent more than half his life in prison, and much of the time he's been incarcerated, he's been kept in solitary confinement. The convicted killer isn't allowed to interact with any of his fellow inmates in Wakefield Prison, and he is only let out of his cell for an hour a day in order to exercise.
Every time Maudsley - who has been dubbed "Britain's Most Dangerous Prisoner" - leaves his cell to go to the exercise yard, he is escorted by a minimum of five corrections officers who watch his every move. Maudlsey has said his lack of meaningful human contact has been incredibly difficult for him, referring to life in solitary confinement as "one long period of unbroken depression."
The Press Dubbed Him "Hannibal The Cannibal"
The British press dubbed Maudlsey "Hannibal the Cannibal" largely because a guard at Broadmoor Hospital said he ate a portion of his second victim's brain, but also because of his special cell is made up mainly of Plexiglas. Like the character created by Thomas Harris, Maudsley also murdered people while behind bars, making him a uniquely dangerous criminal.
Plus, like Lecter, Maudsley is incredibly intelligent - with a genius-level IQ - and he shares the fictitious doctor's love of art, literature, and classical music. He is reportedly interested in taking college classes on art and music, and the people have remained in contact with Maudsley during his time in prison have described him as smart, funny, and gentle.
A Special Glass Cell Was Built To House Him
Maudsley was convicted of murdering his fellow inmates Bill Roberts and Salney Darwood, and he was returned back to Wakefield Prison to serve his sentences in solitary confinement. In 1983, prison officials decided it was too dangerous for them to house Maudsley in an ordinary cell, so they built a special unit for the convicted killer in the prison's basement.
The cell consists of two rooms, and it's made primarily out of bulletproof Plexiglas, causing many to compare the special accommodations to the cage designed to house Hannibal Lecter in the movie The Silence of the Lambs. Maudsley's only furnishings are a bed made from concrete and a table and chair comprised of compressed cardboard; his toilet and sink are bolted to the floor of his cell.
He Killed Two More Men While In Prison
On July 28, 1978, while serving his sentence in Wakefield Prison for killing John Francis, Maudsley allegedly told his fellow inmates he wanted to murder seven people in a single day. After successfully getting Salney Darwood - a man who had been convicted of killing his wife - to enter his cell, Maudsley killed the inmate by slitting his throat and hid Darwood's lifeless body underneath his bed.
According to his fellow prisoners, Maudsley tried to get other inmates to enter his cell, but they all refused. Consequently, Maudsley went into the cell of Bill Roberts and viciously attacked the 56-year-old with a shiv and beat the man's head against a wall. After killing Roberts, Maudsley gave the makeshift knife to prison authorities, telling the guards he'd murdered two men.
He Was Sent To Prison For Killing His Second Victim
After killing John Francis while serving a life sentence in Broadmoor Hospital, Maudsley was tried and convicted of manslaughter. Instead of being remanded to the high-security psychiatric hospital in which he'd tortured and garroted his second victim, Maudsley was sentenced to serve his time for the killing at Wakefield Prison in West Yorkshire, England.
When Maudsley arrived at the prison, his fellow inmates were already aware of the brutal crimes he'd committed while in Broadmoor, causing other prisoners to give him the nickname "Spoons" because of the utensil he'd allegedly left jutting out of Francis's brain. However, it didn't take long for inmates at Wakefield to experience and witness Maudsley's brutality first hand.
He Tortured And Murdered A Man While In The Psychiatric Hospital
In 1977, while serving his life sentence in Broadmoor Hospital, Maudsley and another patient, David Cheeseman, forced a third patient, convicted pedophile David Francis, into an office and tied him up with an electrical cord. Over the course of several hours, Maudlsey and Cheeseman tortured Francis, claiming the child molester had sexually assaulted one of their friends. The two men repeatedly kicked and punched Francis and cut him with a knife as he pleaded for Maudsley and Cheeseman to spare his life.
After subjecting Francis to nine hours of sadistic abuse, Maudsley strangled Francis to death with a garrote. Following the murder, Maudsley and Cheeseman allowed hospital staff to enter the room where the horrifying acts had taken place, and according to a guard who was present on the scene, the victim's head had been cracked open and a spoon was sticking out from his skull.
Reportedly, a section of Francis's brain was missing, leading many to speculate that Maudsley had cannibalized a portion of his victim's body. However, this account has been deemed false by several people familiar with the case.
He Was Sent To A High-Security Psychiatric Hospital For Killing His First Victim
Before killing his first victim, Maudsley had attempted suicide multiple times, and he'd even told a psychiatrist that he'd heard voices commanding him to murder his mother and father. Due to Maudsley's personal history and the extenuating circumstances surrounding John Farrell's killing, he was convicted of manslaughter - not murder - because of diminished responsibility.
Maudsley was given a life sentence for the killing, and he was sent to Broadmoor Hospital in Crowthorne, England, to serve his time. Broadmoor Hospital is a high-security psychiatric facility that has housed some of Britian's most notorious criminals.
He Became A Sex Worker To Support His Drug Addiction
When he was just 16 years old, Maudsley left his foster family's home and moved to London on his own. Soon after arriving in England's capital city, Maudsley became addicted to drugs, and the teenager got involved with sex work to pay for his expensive habit.
He Claims He Murdered A Child Molester Because The Man Showed Him Pictures Of Children He Had Abused
It was while working as a prostitute that Maudsley met his first murder victim, a laborer named John Farrell. After having sex with Farrell on March 14, 1974, Maudsley claims the laborer showed him photographs of children he had sexually abused. Angered and upset by the pictures of Farrell's innocent victims, 20-year-old Maudsley - who claims he was sexually abused as a boy - strangled the man to death with a garrote.
Maudsley was convicted of manslaughter - not murder - for ending Farrell's life, and he actually avoided going to prison for killing his first victim. However, it didn't take Maudsley long to viciously murder his second known victim.
His Parents Sent Him To An Orphanage
Shortly before he turned two, Maudsley and his two brothers and one sister were removed from their family home because the authorities found the children were being neglected by their parents. Maudsley and his siblings were placed in a Catholic orphanage in Liverpool, and the children developed close relationships with one another and the nuns who ran the children's home.
However, Maudsley's parents returned to the orphanage many years later and brought the four children back to their home to live with the additional eight kids they'd had while Maudsley and his sibilings were being looked after by the nuns. Not long after Maudsley and his brothers moved back in with their mother and father, they were repeatedly and viciously abused by the family's patriarch.
Maudsley left his parents' home after just one year, after being placed with a foster family when he was around 10 years old.