A life prisoner slashed child killer Mark Bridger from temple to chin, severing an artery, to get him to reveal where April Jones’s body was hidden, a court heard today.
Convicted murderer and rapist Juvinal Ferreira, 24, attacked Bridger with a knife fashioned out of a razor at the top security Wakefield Prison, West Yorkshire, in July.
He was sentenced to a second life sentence at Leeds Crown Court and had five years added to his minimum term, meaning he will not be released before 2036.
Ferreira, who was born in Guinea and grew up in Gambia, previously admitted wounding with intent.
Ferreira and other life prisoners had talked about attacking Bridger to makehim reveal the whereabouts of April’s body, police were told.
Jonathan Sharp, prosecuting, said: “He said that Bridger’s crime had been discussed, and he claimed people had suggested that if Bridger was attacked, rather than say befriended, Bridger would then be more likely to reveal where April Jones’s body was.”
The premeditated attack happened three days after Bridger was allowed to associate with other prisoners. Ferreira fashioned a weapon out of a prison-issue razor with extra blades attached to the handle.
Mr Sharp said: “The defendant saw him and walked directly up to him with the blade held between thumb and forefinger.
“He then slashed him down the face, causing a deep wound extending from temple to chin.
“He paused for a moment and looked Bridger directly in the eyes, in Bridger’s own words ‘as if to admire his work or show me who it was’.”
The child killer also suffered a cut to his arm as he tried to defend himself.
He required more than 30 stitches to the face wound, which required surgery under general anaesthetic. He will be scarred for life.