Serial killer locked in glass 'dungeon' behind 17 steel doors as he's so dangerous

A notorious killer who has been behind bars for five decades is confined in such an isolated cell that it requires a journey through 17 steel doors to reach him.

Robert Maudsley, now 70, has spent the last 45 years in solitary after he was jailed for murder and subsequently killed three fellow inmates. His subterranean cell at HMP Wakefield, often dubbed "Monster Mansion", reflects his perilous reputation.

The chilling details of Maudsley's living conditions are revealed in the new book 'Inside Wakefield Prison: Life Behind Bars in the Monster Mansion' by Jonathan Levi and Emma French.

Exploring Maudsley's daily life, the authors write: "Today, in Wakefield Prison, Maudsley is kept in confinement for twenty-three hours of the day. Everything in his cell is made of cardboard, and you have to go through 17 steel doors to get to it."

His residence is eerily reminiscent of Hannibal Lecters enclosure in Silence of the Lambs, contributing to his moniker "Hannibal the Cannibal".

Prison insider Pete, who is well-acquainted with Maudsley's situation, referred to his solitary unit as "the strongbox" during discussions with the authors.

Pete remarked: "The sad thing is, if he were living with someone else, he'd kill somebody else. It'd have been more humane to just put him down."

This intimate portrait of Maudsley, also infamously called "The Brain Eater", provides a compelling narrative from those who firmly believe he would pose a lethal threat if he were ever set free.

There have been various accounts of the "Perspex cell" over the years. The authors noted: "Pete, for example, described the box in the following terms: 'Metal with thick Perspex around them that looked out into the middle, and there was a metal door with thick Perspex on it and then an outer cell door."

Continuing Pete's account, they revealed: "They were boxes. As he described it to us, it was all completely see-through, except from the front of the cell: 'You could lift the flap up and look in."

The narrative added that the cells included heavy-duty materials: "But you could walk in between the two (there were two of these box-like bulks), and there were thick Perspex and metal framing as well. They were secure units; they couldn't get out'."

An inside source offered additional information to the authors, explaining the purpose of this strongbox. If Maudsley "kicked off and assaulted somebody", staff would confine him there "until he'd calmed down". At times, Maudsley himself would request to be placed in such confinement if he "felt his head were going".

Other versions describe Maudsley's cell, also called a "dungeon", with different features such as "bulletproof", measuring 18ft by 15ft, having a "concrete slab for a bed", bulletproof windows, and furniture made from cardboard.

Originally from Liverpool, Maudsley was sentenced for the murder of John Farrell in Wood Green, London, after the victim showed him images of children he had abused.

In a brutal incident in 1977, Maudsley alongside fellow prisoner David Cheeseman trapped another inmate, child abuser David Francis, in a cell and subjected him to nine hours of torment, which resulted in a manslaughter conviction and Maudsley's subsequent relocation to HMP Wakefield.

Maudsley's violent behaviour intensified when, in 1978, he took the lives of Salney Darwood, age 46, by strangulation and stabbing, and then paedophile Bill Roberts, age 56, attacking him with a knife, fracturing his skull, and fatally thrusting his head against a wall.