Fifteen years after being jailed for life for murdering, dismembering, and eating three women, serial killer Stephen Griffiths continues to face violence behind bars. The 54-year-old, who dubbed himself the 'Crossbow Cannibal', was sentenced on December 21, 2010, for the murders of Suzanne Blamires, 36, Shelley Armitage, 31, and Susan Rushworth, 43.
Griffiths, a former criminology PhD student who admired the Yorkshire Ripper, has survived multiple attacks in prison. In 2019, an inmate at HM Prison Long Lartin attempted to stab him through the heart with a wooden spear, leaving him with a large puncture wound. More recently, in November 2024, he was reportedly knocked unconscious by a single punch from a fellow inmate who was a friend of victim Suzanne Blamires.
The killer has also engaged in self-harm, cutting himself with glass in 2010 while at HMP Wakefield. A prison service spokesman at the time said he suffered 'superficial wounds' and was treated in the healthcare centre after staff intervened. In February 2024, Griffiths was allegedly involved in a fist fight at HMP Full Sutton, leaving him 'too scared to leave his cell', according to a source.
Griffiths was arrested in May 2010 after CCTV footage showed him dragging Suzanne Blamires back into his Bradford flat after shooting her with a crossbow. Police later found portions of her brain in his microwave and her amputated breasts on a coffee table. He admitted to all three murders and was given a whole life order, meaning he will never be released.
Despite being linked to the murders of three other women, Griffiths has refused to cooperate with police. His victims included sex workers from the Bradford red light district, whom he lured to his flat before killing, dismembering, and in some cases eating their remains.
