A convicted murderer serving a whole life sentence has been killed inside one of the UK’s highest-security prisons. John Mansfield, 63, was found dead at HMP Whitemoor on Sunday 13 April, prompting a murder investigation.
Mansfield, originally from Manchester, was jailed in 2006 after brutally stabbing his neighbour, Ann Alfanso, to death in a frenzied attack at her home. The vulnerable 63-year-old victim was left with 97 injuries, including 20 stab wounds to her head and neck. Mansfield later admitted to her murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 30 years.
Cambridgeshire Police confirmed they were called to the prison at around 4.10pm on Sunday following reports of a deceased male. A 44-year-old inmate has since been arrested on suspicion of murder. “An investigation is ongoing,” a police spokesperson confirmed.
The Prison Service also released a statement, saying: “Police are investigating the death of prisoner John Mansfield at HMP Whitemoor on Sunday, April 13. It would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”
As per protocol, the Prison and Probation Ombudsman will conduct an independent investigation into the incident.
Mansfield had a violent history both inside and outside of prison. In 2014, he received a second life sentence after stabbing fellow inmate John Orme at HMP Full Sutton. During that attack, Mansfield slashed Orme with a broken plate in a dispute over a cooking pot, causing injuries so severe they required 22 stitches.
At sentencing, Judge Jeremy Richardson QC said: “You are a violent and very dangerous man who poses a considerable threat to the public. I have no doubt it will never be safe to release you.”
Mansfield also had a string of prior convictions, totalling 75 offences, including a separate incident where he attacked another prisoner at HMP Manchester using a chair leg.
Sunday’s fatal incident has raised fresh concerns about violence in high-security prisons. HMP Whitemoor, a Category A prison located near March, Cambridgeshire, houses some of the country’s most dangerous offenders.
Mansfield’s initial conviction shocked the public due to the senseless brutality of his crime. At the time, Detective Inspector Steve Eckerlsley said: “The murder of this woman was shocking enough in its violence and cowardice, but for her murderer to repeatedly state that he couldn’t even remember stabbing her almost 100 times is even more astonishing.”
Investigators are now working to determine how Mansfield was killed and what led to the fatal confrontation. The suspect remains in custody, and updates from Cambridgeshire Police are expected in the coming days.
