One of Britain's most dangerous female serial killers, Joanne Dennehy, concocted a horrifying and meticulously planned escape from prison that involved severing a guard's finger, a court has revealed.
The Gruesome Biometric Bypass Plan
Dennehy, now 42, who is serving a whole life order for the murders of three men in 2013, devised a shocking plot while incarcerated. According to documents from a 2016 legal battle, her plan was to attack a female prison officer, cut off the officer's finger, and use it to deceive the prison's biometric fingerprint security systems to gain access to restricted areas and ultimately escape.
The detailed scheme was discovered written inside her personal diary in her cell. Barrister Tom Weisselberg stated the plan involved "killing a female officer to obtain her keys and to utilise her fingerprints." This led prison authorities to take extreme precautions.
Solitary Confinement and Legal Challenge
In response to the credible threat, Dennehy was placed in solitary confinement at HMP Bronzefield in Surrey and was made to wear a special escape-prevention suit. These measures are typically reserved for inmates deemed a severe flight risk.
Dennehy later challenged the Ministry of Justice, claiming that her two-year segregation violated her human rights. However, the court firmly rejected her claim. Judges ruled that the extraordinary restrictions were "necessary and proportionate" given the documented and calculated escape risk she presented.
A Legacy of Violence and Notoriety
Joanne Dennehy's notoriety stems from a 10-day killing spree in Peterborough in 2013, which earned her the nickname 'the ditch killer'. She murdered three men – Lukasz Slaboszewski, 31, John Chapman, 56, and Kevin Lee, 48 – and left their bodies in ditches. She also stabbed two more men in Hereford during the same period.
Sentenced at the Old Bailey to never be released, her volatile behaviour has continued behind bars. She has reportedly threatened to murder fellow serial killer Rose West to establish dominance and has engaged in several intense relationships with other inmates.
Dennehy once chillingly explained her motive for killing to an accomplice, stating: "I want my fun. I need you to get my fun." Due to the enduring threat she poses, authorities have ensured she will remain in prison for the rest of her life.
