Inmate 'beat fellow killer to death in prison gym'

A prisoner bludgeoned a fellow inmate to death with a piece of gym equipment at a maximum security jail and then continued to work out on a running machine as his victim bled to death, a court heard.

The body of John Mansfield, 63, was found at HMP Whitemoor, near March, Cambridgeshire, at about 16:15 BST on 13 April 2025.

Nathaniel Reece, 45, who was serving a life term for murder, used "ferocious force" when he brought a metal bar down on the back of Mansfield's head as he did push-ups, prosecutor Marti Blair told Huntingdon Crown Court.

Reece denies murdering Mansfield – who was also a convicted murderer. The trial is expected to last for three weeks.

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.

Blair told the court that Reece, formerly from Islington, London, killed Mansfield "by bludgeoning him to death with a piece of gym equipment".

She said Reece spent about 30 minutes on a running machine afterwards, as Mansfield lay in a pool of blood, and Reece spent a "good period" of that time "looking at himself in the mirror".

Blair said that in a prepared statement, Reece said his "actions were self-defence".

"Threats were made that John Mansfield would stab me," according to the statement.

The prosecutor said Reece answered no comment to further questions.

The trial continues.

Do you have a story suggestion for Cambridgeshire? Contact us below.

Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.