Three prisoners have been charged with the murder of convicted child killer Kyle Bevan at HMP Wakefield, a high-security prison in West Yorkshire. Bevan, 33, was found dead in his cell on Wednesday morning, two and a half years into a minimum 28-year sentence for murdering his partner's two-year-old daughter, Lola James, in 2020.
Mark Fellows, 45, Lee Newell, 56, and David Taylor, 63, all inmates at the category A prison, appeared at Leeds Magistrates' Court on Friday via video link. They were remanded into custody and are due to appear at Leeds Crown Court on Monday. Taylor told the court: 'Absolutely not. I'm innocent.'
Bevan's murder follows the stabbing death of former Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins at the same prison last month. Two inmates, Rashid Gedel and Samuel Dodsworth, have been charged with Watkins' murder and are due to face trial next May.
At Bevan's sentencing in April 2023, the court heard he inflicted injuries typically seen in car crash victims, beating his stepdaughter into a coma. Lola suffered 101 external injuries, catastrophic head trauma, and extensive damage to both eyes. The judge described it as 'a sustained, deliberate and very violent attack'.
A recent inspectorate report into HMP Wakefield, published in September, found that 'levels of violence had increased and many prisoners did not feel safe'. It noted that the prison's infrastructure had declined and around half the population was locked up during the working day.
