David Taylor, a prisoner who murdered a child-killer in his cell, had previously killed a young woman and attempted to kill a police officer. The 64-year-old has been convicted of two murders and an attempted murder and could now face a whole life order.
Full Details Revealed
The full details of his offending can now be reported for the first time after the lifting of reporting restrictions following his latest case. Taylor admitted murdering 24-year-old Alisha Apostoloff-Boyarin from Ashton, Greater Manchester. Alisha was reported missing by her grandmother on February 2, 2022, having last been seen eight days earlier in a gold Volkswagen Passat driving through Derbyshire. Her body has never been found.
Her family issued public appeals for help, but by March 2022 they concluded she had died. More than two years later, in March 2024, Taylor was charged with her murder. Months later, while in prison, Taylor told police he had information about Alisha's whereabouts. During an interview in July that year, Taylor produced an improvised weapon and stabbed Detective Constable Darren Bratby of Greater Manchester Police once in the chest.
Attack on Detective
DC Bratby spent four days in hospital but recovered. After being transferred to HMP Wakefield, Taylor joined forces with fellow murderers Mark 'The Iceman' Fellows and Lee Newell to target child killer Kyle Bevan, 33. The trio were caught on CCTV entering Bevan's cell one by one. About five minutes later, they re-emerged. Bevan never left the cell alive and was discovered the next morning, his body placed to look as though he was asleep.
Taylor, Fellows, and Newell were all found guilty of murder following a trial at Leeds Crown Court which ended on June 18. Taylor had previously gone on trial at Manchester Crown Court in December last year for the attempted murder of DC Bratby and then pleaded guilty to murdering Alisha at a hearing on February 16 this year.
Reporting Restrictions Lifted
Restrictions were imposed prohibiting reporting on those two cases until the conclusion of his case in Leeds. Taylor will be sentenced for the two murders and attempted murder on June 19. The full circumstances surrounding Alisha's murder have not yet been disclosed in open court.
Taylor answered questions about her in his attempted murder trial when he still denied the offence. Giving evidence, Taylor described himself as an 'old fashioned villain' with convictions dating back to 1977 when he was a teenager. Describing a conviction for wounding, Taylor, originally from Glossop, said: "It was an after school brawl. I've always been a bit of a scrapper."
He told how in his later life he came to live in Ashton-under-Lyne, Skegness, and then Durham in 2019. Taylor still had friends in Manchester, including one man named Norman who has since died. Taylor told the court that he knew Alisha through Norman. "She was Norman's son's girlfriend," Taylor said. "She phoned me up asking me for help. I went down, back to Ashton-under-Lyne."
"She stayed with me with her boyfriend in County Durham." Asked when was the last time he'd seen her, Taylor said: "Probably 2021 or 22? She just got on with her life as far as I was concerned, that was it." He told how he was spoken to by police as a person of interest, and then a suspect. "I told them everything I could to help them with the case," he said.
Planned Attack
Addressing the attack on DC Bratby, Taylor said the weapon came from the 'side of the chair' in the interview room. He told how he 'retrieved it' during a visit with his solicitor. Taylor said: "I knew exactly where they are stashed. They are everywhere." Asked why he attacked the police officer, Taylor said: "Because I'm angry, I'm enraged with what's going on in my life."
When asked what had been going through his head, Taylor responded: "I just don't know. I just snapped. I lost it, I lost my mind, I lost my nerve. I completely lost it. All I think is I'm being accused of something I haven't done. It all came pouring out on that particular visit."
Prosecutors said that in an exchange with the prison governor a few days later, Taylor said: "It was a planned attack and I went to f****** kill him. There's no two ways about it." In the same exchange, Taylor said he had attacked the wrong officer. He said: "Even though they were still major crime team, the one I wanted was a sergeant, their sergeant, and obviously he's f****** not come up so I were kind of, I was kind of disheartened by that he wasn't there. I just f******, I thought f*** it."
Speaking of HMP Frankland, Taylor said: "There are weapons everywhere. You are living in a seriously violent environment. It was one of the most violent prisons I have ever encountered." He claimed it was a 'common thing' for prisoners to have weapons. Taylor added: "You are talking about out of 100 people, you're talking 80 per cent of those people either carry shanks or one in close proximity."
Family's Statement
Alisha's family released a statement in March 2022 via police, which read: "Alisha has not been seen for several weeks. She has made no contact with any of her family, which is unheard of. Alisha lived with her great-granddad, who she adored, and would never be away from home for this long. We know in our hearts that someone has prevented Alisha from coming home to us and that she is no longer alive. Alisha's world revolved around her family. She was a shy girl and did not socialise very much. She was only comfortable when she was at home. Not knowing where Alisha is, or what has happened to her, is torment and we cannot begin to describe the pain and anguish we feel at the moment. We just want Alisha home so we can lay her to rest and have some closure. We ask that anyone who has information as to where Alisha may be, or who is responsible for what has happened to her, to please contact the police."
