Female jail officer ‘had affair’ with murderer

Bosses at Wakefield Prison are to hold an internal investigation into the officer’s conduct after it was claimed she had an inappropriate relationship with killer Leigh Thornhill.

The Category A prisoner was jailed for life in 2004 after he admitted murdering a mother-of-two with a piece of wood and attacking another woman on the same night.

The Old Bailey heard that Thornhill, a former soldier, was a teenager when he battered Corinne Bailey, 38, to death in the street in August 2003.

Ms Bailey was attacked as she walked to a 24-hour shop in West Croydon, south London. Her body was found in a pool of blood with 68 injuries to her head, body and limbs.

Only two hours earlier, Thornhill had attacked another woman by punching her in the head, forcing her to the ground and squeezing her neck.

The woman lost consciousness for a while, but she was later able to run away and seek help from a group of men nearby.

The judge who sentenced Thornhill, Mr Justice Astill, said there was a clear sexual element to the attacks, although the killer’s motives were “disturbingly unexplained”.

Thornhill’s “dangerous and perverted mind” lay behind the attacks, the judge added.

The Yorkshire Post understands that any disciplinary proceedings in relation to Thornhill’s contact with the female prison officer will be held in private.

A Prison Service spokesman said: “A member of staff from HMP Wakefield has been suspended pending the outcome of an internal investigation.”

Wakefield Prison holds some of Britain’s most dangerous and high-profile prisoners, including “Crossbow Cannibal” Stephen Griffiths and Baby P tormentor Steven Barker.