Crossbow Cannibal Stephen Griffiths in prison suicide bid

SELF-styled Crossbow Cannibal Stephen Griffiths, accused of murdering three Bradford prostitutes, apparently tried to kill himself in Wakefield Prison, it emerged this morning.
By The Newsroom
Published 10th Jun 2010, 10:07 BST
Updated 10th Jun 2010, 12:29 BST

Griffiths, 40, was taken to the care wing at the prison, where he is being held.

He was reportedly found unconscious on the floor of his cell yesterday with a sock tied round his neck.

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A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Justice said: "We can confirm that a prisoner at HMP Wakefield received treatment in the prisoner care wing following an incident of self-harm."

No details were given about the severity of the injuries, or whether the inmate was out of the wing care.

Griffiths, a criminology student, from Holmfield Court, Thornton Road, Bradford, West Yorkshire, is accused of murdering Suzanne Blamires, Shelley Armitage and Susan Rushworth, who all disappeared while working in Bradford.

The former public schoolboy appeared at Bradford Crown Court via a videolink on Monday, where his legal team said it was going to consult experts to assess his "mental state".

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During the 29-minute hearing, Griffiths, who referred to himself as the "Crossbow Cannibal" at a previous appearance, spoke only to confirm his name and sat through the majority of the proceedings with his arms folded, leaning on a desk at Wakefield Prison with his head bowed.

Judge James Goss QC set a review hearing next month, and a provisional trial date for November 16 at Bradford Crown Court.

Griffiths is charged with murdering Ms Blamires, 36, between May 20 and May 25; murdering Ms Rushworth, 43, between June 22 2009 and May 25 this year; and murdering Ms Armitage, 31, between April 25 and May 25 this year.

Ms Blamires was last seen on May 21, Ms Armitage has been missing since April 26, and Ms Rushworth disappeared on June 22 last year.

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Body parts belonging to Ms Blamires were found in the River Aire in Shipley on May 25, and tests confirmed that a small piece of human tissue later found in the water belonged to Ms Armitage.

Griffiths, a psychology graduate undertaking postgraduate research in criminology at Bradford University, was arrested on May 24 at the flat on the edge of Bradford's red-light district.

Related topics:Bradford