Prisoner who killed mum in acid attack handed life sentence over assault on guard

A prisoner has been jailed for life for a serious assault on a prison officer who may not regain sight in one of his eyes.

Xeneral Webster, 21, of HMP Winchester, pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm at Oxford Crown Court in October 2019. The incident took place at the youth offending unit in Aylesbury in December 2018.

He was also found guilty by a jury of an acid attack that took place in London.

Webster was already been serving 20 years for manslaughter for an acid attack that accidentally killed a bystander in High Wycombe in 2017.

In August 2019, he also pleaded guilty to throwing urine in the face of a prison officer at HMP Bullingdon, in Oxfordshire, and slapping another officer in the face in 2018.

Detective Constable Suzie Price of Thames Valley Police’s Force CID said: “Webster is a highly dangerous offender and I hope that this sentence goes some way to reassuring the public that police and courts will take robust actions when dealing with individuals like this.

“The victim went to work that morning as a prison officer and left in an ambulance with injuries that will affect him for the rest of his life.”

During the GBH incident at Aylesbury, Webster had been due to go outside for recreational time but attempted to go back to his cell.

He climbed over safety netting and when apprehended by a prison officer, in his 50s, Webster attacked him and he fell to the floor.

Webster then launched what police described as a “sustained and violent attack” on the officer, jumping on his head with both feet and kicking him in the upper body and head.

The officer has undergone numerous surgeries, including facial reconstruction, after receiving serious head and facial injuries.

He may not regain sight in an eye and he has not been able to return to work as a prison officer.

DC Price said: “The trial judge, Peter Ross, highlighted the life-changing impact of the injuries caused to the victim and concluded that Webster poses significant danger.

“The injuries caused to the victim have been utterly life-changing.

“This sort of violence in prisons has a corrosive effect on both prisoners and officers and such violence undermines the order that prison attempts to impose.”

Webster will only be released when a parole board deems him safe.

He was already serving time for causing a woman’s death after she visited her daughter’s grave.

Joanne Rand was 47 when she was injured by high-strength sulphuric acid in June 2017 during a fight between Webster and another individual in High Wycombe.

The mother-of-three died of multi-organ failure.