Three convicted killers who stabbed child killer Kyle Bevan to death in his cell at high-security HMP Wakefield before tucking him into bed and leaving him to bleed out have received whole-life orders. Mark Fellows, 45, Lee Newell, 57, and David Taylor, 64, carried out the November 2025 murder at the West Yorkshire prison.
Bevan, 33, was serving a life sentence with a minimum 28-year term for murdering his partner's two-year-old daughter, Lola James, in Haverfordwest in 2020. Police-released mugshots show the grim faces of the trio: Fellows, a gangland hitman known as "the Wakefield Dexter"; Newell, with a prior prison killing, who is missing an eye; and Taylor, a violent offender from Oak Avenue, County Durham, born on April 26, 1962.
Sentencing at Leeds Crown Court
Mrs Justice McGowan imposed "new and separate" whole-life orders on Fellows and Newell at Leeds Crown Court on Friday, who were already serving such sentences. Taylor was handed a whole-life order for Bevan's murder, on top of convictions for the murder of 24-year-old Alisha Apostoloff-Boyarin and the attempted murder of a GMP detective. The judge noted she had "never had to sentence someone for a third murder" in the cases of two of the defendants.
Taylor was on remand for murdering vulnerable Alisha Apostoloff-Boyarin when he joined the attack on Bevan. Alisha was reported missing from Ashton-under-Lyne on February 2, 2022 after her grandmother raised concerns. She had met Taylor through a mutual friend towards the end of 2021. She was last seen travelling in a Volkswagen Passat with Taylor. The pair had travelled between Manchester and Durham, staying at Chapel-en-le-Frith campsite. She was last seen with him on January 22, 2022. Her body has never been recovered.
Taylor initially denied the murder but pleaded guilty in February 2026. Greater Manchester Police continue to appeal for information to locate her remains.
Attack on police officers
While on remand at HMP Frankland in July 2024, Taylor requested a meeting with GMP officers, claiming he had new information about Alisha's whereabouts. During the interview, he lunged at them with a makeshift shank after a break. Detective Constable Darren Bratby was seriously injured, the blade narrowly missing his heart. Both officers fended him off before prison staff restrained Taylor. DC Bratby has since returned to duty. Taylor was convicted of the attempted murder at Manchester Crown Court in December 2025.
Detective Chief Inspector Andrew Naismith of GMP's Major Investigation Team said: "Our thoughts go out to Alisha's family and friends... We have sadly never recovered her body and there is one person who knows where she is." He described the attack on officers as a "sinister ploy" and praised DC Bratby's bravery. "Every single day officers across the country put their lives at risk for the public." Superintendent Chris Smiles of Durham Constabulary added that Taylor's attack on an officer "simply trying to uncover the truth" was "totally unacceptable".
The investigation involved GMP, Durham Police and West Yorkshire Police.
Background of the offenders
Newell was first jailed in 1989 for strangling a neighbour and received a whole-life order in 2013 for a similar prison murder. Fellows was serving a whole-life term for two gangland killings. Taylor had previous convictions including aggravated burglary and was once released on licence after studying in prison.
Around 70 prisoners currently serve whole-life orders, with no prospect of release except in exceptional compassionate circumstances. The sentences reflect the gravity of the crimes and the justice system's response to murders committed even by those already imprisoned for life.
