David Taylor stabbed murder probe detective in prison interview room

On Thursday he was convicted of the murder of child killer Kyle Bevan at HMP Wakefield in November.

Jurors in the trial at Leeds Crown Court were told of his recent convictions for murder and attempted murder but fuller details can be reported today.

In July 2024 the 64-year-old plunged an improvised metal weapon into the chest of Detective Constable Darren Bratby in an interview room at HMP Frankland in Durham.

Months earlier Taylor was remanded into custody after he was charged with the murder of Alisha Apostoloff-Boyarin, 24, from Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, who was reported missing by her family in February 2022.

Taylor contacted Greater Manchester Police (GMP) through his solicitor to request a visit from police as he claimed he had new information about her whereabouts.

However it was a ruse to attack a member of the investigation team who spent four days in hospital before he went on to make a full recovery.

Taylor was convicted by a jury at Manchester Crown Court in December of the attempted murder of Mr Bratby.

He denied intending to kill the detective and said he “lost it” and exploded in anger at being “stitched up” by GMP for a murder he said he did not commit.

Jurors were told that no trace of Ms Apostoloff-Boyarin had been reported and Taylor was the last known person in contact with her on the day she vanished.

Taylor maintained she was alive, the court heard, and was living in different parts of the country.

However in February, a week ahead of the scheduled murder trial, he changed his plea and admitted the murder of Ms Apostoloff-Boyarin.

Entering his plea at Manchester Crown Court he said: “Yeah, I’m guilty.”

Glossop-born Taylor, who had previously lived in Ashton-under-Lyne, knew his victim who he said was the girlfriend of a friend’s son.

He told jurors in the attempted murder trial he was an “old fashioned villain”, with a lengthy list of previous convictions, and had “always been a bit of a scrapper”.

In August 2007 he was convicted of aggravated burglary and possession of an offensive weapon.

He was ruled a dangerous offender and given an indeterminate sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP).

He was released on licence in 2013 after he said he studied humanist psychology and counselling, and gained a foundation degree from the Open University.

In March 2022 police searched his home in Oak Avenue, Willington, Co Durham, and discovered rifle ammunition.

He was recalled to prison and later admitted possession of rifle ammunition.

CCTV of the attack on Mr Bratby was played in court and showed a calm Taylor suddenly leap to his feet from his chair and stab the officer who suffered a partially collapsed lung.

Mr Bratby, with the help of a colleague, was able to fight off Taylor and then restrain him.

Taylor was later heard to say to one of the prison officers: “I don’t have a problem with any of yous.

“It’s that f*****. He has given me 99 years.”

He referred to Greater Manchester Police as “scumbags” who had tried to set him up for murder.

A few days later in an exchange with the prison governor he said: “OK, so it was a planned attack.

“I’m going to tell you straight.

“It was a planned attack and I went to f****** kill him.

“There’s no two ways about it.

“It was orchestrated by me and the target was central mass.

“That’s it.

“The one I wanted was the sergeant and of course he had not come and I was kind of disheartened about that but I just thought ‘f*** it’.”

Taylor will be sentenced at a later date for the murder of Ms Apostoloff-Boyarin and the attempted murder of Mr Bratby.