Inmate denies killing murderer found dead in prison

A prisoner has denied murdering a convicted killer at a high-security prison.

The body of John Mansfield, 63, was found at HMP Whitemoor, near March, Cambridgeshire, at about 16:15 BST on 13 April.

Mansfield had been jailed for life in 2007 for the murder of his 63-year-old neighbour, Ann Alfanso, at her flat in Whalley Range, Manchester.

Whitemoor inmate Nathaniel Reece, 44, formerly from Islington, London, appeared via video link at Cambridge Crown Court, where a plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf.

Reece left the video link room partway through the hearing and did not return.

He is due to stand trial at Cambridge Crown Court on 1 June.

Following Mansfield's death, a post-mortem examination found he died as a result of a head injury.

He had been jailed for a minimum of 30 years after pleading guilty to murdering Ms Alfanso, who was found dead by her carer at her home in August 2006.

A post-mortem examination of Ms Alfanso found 97 wounds, bruises and cuts from the attack.

In 2014, Mansfield was given a second life term after stabbing another prisoner with a broken plate at HMP Full Sutton, near York.

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