Double killer Simon Levy is accused of stabbing a prison guard in the neck with a pen and trying to strangle him, a court has heard.
Charges and court appearance
The 41-year-old, who is serving a whole life sentence for murdering two women in Tottenham, has been charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and intentional strangulation in an incident at maximum security HMP Belmarsh in February.
Levy appeared over a videolink at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday to deny both charges.
Prosecution details
Prosecutor David Burns told the court Levy was finishing a meeting with Belmarsh guard Paul Dunne when it is said he “attacked him with a pen, stabbing him multiple times to the arm and neck”.
It is said Mr Dunne fell to the floor and Levy then “grabbed the officer around the throat” before allegedly tightening his grip.
Next steps
After the not guilty pleas were entered, Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram sent the case to Inner London Crown Court for trial, with a hearing set for September 14.
Levy’s lawyer, Jason Lartey, told the court he denies assaulting the officer or grabbing him around the throat.
Background
Levy, formerly of Tottenham, north London, was handed a whole life prison term last week for murdering grandmother Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo, 53, and mother-of-four Sheryl Wilkins, 39, last year.
The killings happened after he had also carried out a string of sexual assaults on the Tube and raped a woman in a car park.
Levy spoke during Monday’s hearing to confirm his name and date of birth, and then to enter his not guilty pleas. The alleged attack on the prison guard happened on February 18, when Levy was in custody awaiting trial for double murders, rapes, and multiple sexual assaults.
