Prisoner admits torturing and hanging cellmate
originally published by: The Independent
14th February 2010
A man convicted of aiding and abetting the suicide of a remand prisoner, Michael Clegg, 48, told an inquest last week that he had murdered his cellmate.
Neil Preece-Smith, 26, a convicted arsonist, told the court via video link from HMP Leeds that he killed Mr Clegg after being pressured by other prisoners to “deal” with his cellmate, whom they wrongly believed to be a paedophile.
According to Preece-Smith, the two men had been drinking coffee while watching Mission: Impossible II after “lock-down” at 8pm on 9 May 2006 when he “just flipped”. He described how he tied Mr Clegg’s ankles and hands using the victim’s shoelaces while threatening him with a makeshift knife.
“I ripped up a bed sheet, made a noose, made little cuts with the blade [on his lower back and buttocks], not to kill him, but to make him scared enough to put his neck in the noose. Then I gave him three choices: to hang himself, or I would hang him, or I would cut him up.” He added: “I helped him on to the pipes… he tried to use his hands to pull himself up but I pulled down on his legs until he was dead. I waited half an hour then pressed the cell bell. ”
