Britain's 'worst paedophile' died after inmate seeks brutal revenge for victims

Warning - confronting details

A prisoner who strangled, stabbed, sexually assaulted and killed Britain's "worst paedophile" in his cell said he did it so he would "feel what all those children felt", a Hull court has heard.

Britain's most depraved paedophile Richard Huckle was raped and strangled to death in his cell during a "carefully planned" attack by fellow prisoner Paul Fitzgerald.

The 30-year-old Fitzgerald told the court he would have gone on to kill other inmates but he was "having too much fun" dealing to Huckle.

Huckle was serving 22 life sentences for abusing 191 children when he was allegedly attacked in his cell by Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald, himself a sexual offender, strangled 33-year-old Huckle, forced a pen into his brain before sexually assaulting him.

Jurors were told Huckle was murdered in a "prolonged attack designed to humiliate and degrade him".

The attack happened in October, 2019.

Fitzgerald denies murdering Huckle.

Prosecution barrister Alistair Neil Macdonald QC told the court yesterday Huckle had been stabbed in the neck with a homemade weapon.

He said another inmate discovered Fitzgerald straddling Huckle who had his hands and feet tied.

The inmate described Huckle as facing down while being strangled with a cable.

There was blood around his head, and when two prison guards ran into the cell, they could hear Fitzgerald whispering into the ear of his victim.

After being forcibly removed from the cell Fitzgerald told the officers, "I think I've killed him, he's dead", Macdonald said.

A search of his person revealed three weapons, a vape, two condoms and a guitar string and a bottle of lubricating jelly.

Prison staff attempted to save Huckle by performing CPR and using a defibrillator but he was soon pronounced dead.

A post-mortem concluded he died from strangulation using a ligature in the form of the electrical cable sheath.

He had bruises and abrasions over his body and had been sexually assaulted.

According to the prosecutor, Fitzgerald told a mental health care manager he had been having thoughts about cooking and eating people for a long time.

Macdonald said: "He concluded his account by saying that he felt as high as a kite when he had done it and felt amazing and that he would recommend it to anyone.

"He also said that he was only pleading not guilty because the court can send him to hospital."

He continued: "Huckle was notorious in the press. He was what was called a predatory paedophile.

"This was a carefully planned and executed attack in the course of which Mr Huckle had been subjected to a prolonged attack also designed to humiliate and degrade him."

In an interview with a consultant called Dr Shenoy, Fitzgerald said his attack was "poetic justice", it is claimed.

The defendant told her: "This is a man who rapes and abuses children for fun. He could have killed them as well. I'm inclined to think he did worse than just raping them.

"When he was laid down with his pants down and he knew what was coming, he did not enjoy it I am sure. I knew what it feels like, but he doesn't.

"Rape was more about him getting a taste of that."

The jury must decide whether Fitzgerald is guilty of murder or manslaughter by diminished responsibility.

Huckle was jailed in 2016 after sharing photos and videos of his offending around the world and tried to make a business out of his disturbing crimes.

The trial continues.