Roy Whiting appeared at Leeds Crown Court today where he came face to face with Andrew Light, the man accused of his attempted murder, for the first time since the attack in Wakefield jail last year
Convicted child-killer Roy Whiting appeared in public for the first time in more than 20 years today, as he gave evidence in court in the trial of a fellow inmate accused of attempting to murder him.
The court was cleared at 3.20pm today before Roy Whiting gave evidence against the man accused of trying to murder him. In a grey T-shirt and specs, he was sitting in the witness box with a prison guard right by his side when we returned to Court 4. There were three other prison officers by the main entrance to the court as the jury listened intently to Whiting’s evidence.
He looked around nervously as the clerk asked the court to stand when first his Honour Judge Mairs then the jury filed back in to hear his evidence. He swore a religious oath to tell the truth “by almighty God.” But first, he glanced over at the dock as he came face to face with Andrew Light for the first time since the attack in Wakefield jail last year.
Prior to Whiting’s arrival, the jury had watched bodycam footage of the aftermath, with Light telling the first officer on the scene: “He is dead” as staff screamed instructions at him to drop his weapon. At that stage, Whiting had take refuge from the repeated blows under his bed, with blood pouring from his ear. He was told to stand up as he demonstrated how Light raised the wooden shank.
“At least a dozen blows connected with arms, side of my face, they were everywhere. I could not say exactly where,” he said. “I had my legs up and was still on the bed, trying to stop him connecting with me.
“I got up and he was between me and the cell door and I heard an officer was there as I heard his keys rattling and I made a lunge for the door. But then there were more blows to the head and back as he actually hit me.
“I knew I had been cut badly but didn’t know exactly where. The door opened with the officer there and I moved back so I just dropped and rolled ‘ under bed quickly because I was exhausted. There was a lot of shouting then all of a sudden the door was shut.
“The officers came and they were saying “drop the knife”. There were four or five of them all shouting. They told him to drop the knife a couple of times. He still had the shank in his hand, that is why I went under the bed.”
Shown some of the photos of his injuries, he said the scar on the right of his face was an old injury. But he had suffered a scratch to his cheek and between his eyebrows “during this incident” along with injuries to his ear.
He thought the ear injury was something “major” as there was so much blood. Whiting spoke with a soft southern accent as he described the marks to his hands which were caused as he tried to block blows in the attack.
Finishing his evidence, he had to remain in the witness box as the jury left for the day. They were given instructions not to discuss the evidence they had just heard ‘outside this courtroom’.
Light has denied attempting to murder Whiting in an attack using a bladed weapon in HMP Wakefield. The trial at Leeds crown court continues.
