Murder arrests after child killer Kyle Bevan found dead at HMP Wakefield

Three inmates have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a child killer was found dead in a West Yorkshire prison.

West Yorkshire Police said officers were called to HMP Wakefield at 08:25 GMT on Wednesday following reports that a man was found dead in his cell.

The Prison Service confirmed the man was 33-year-old Kyle Bevan. Bevan was jailed for life for the murder of his partner’s two-year-old daughter Lola James in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, in 2020.

Police said his death at the maximum security prison was treated as “suspicious” and investigations were ongoing to establish the full circumstances of his death.

“Three men, all of whom remain in custody, have been arrested on suspicion of murder,” a spokesman said.

Bevan left toddler with ‘catastrophic’ brain injuries in ‘brutal’ attack at family home, sentencing hearing It was said in 2023.

Lola was attacked while in Bevan’s care on the night of 16-17 July 2020, causing 101 surface injuries to her body.

The judge, Mr Justice Martin Griffiths, described Bevan’s actions as “an assertion of superiority over the only person to whom he could feel superior – a helpless child”.

Bevan, of Ceredigion, Aberystwyth, was sentenced to a minimum of 28 years in prison.

Lola’s mother, Sinead James, was sentenced to six years in prison for causing or allowing the death of her daughter in her home.

The incident at the West Yorkshire prison came less than a month after the death of pedophile singer Ian Watkins. was fatally stabbed on October 11 at the same facility.

A Prison Service spokesman said: “The death of HMP Wakefield prisoner Kyle Bevan was confirmed on 5 November.

“We cannot comment further while the police investigation is ongoing.”

An inspection report in September found levels of violence at HMP Wakefield had increased.

Speaking at the time, a Ministry of Justice spokesman said “further action is being taken to reduce violence in maximum security prisons such as Wakefield”.

Andrea Coomber, chief executive of the Howard League for Sentencing Reform, said HMP Wakefield was under similar pressures as other prisons but was “isolated” by its status.

“Because it has a higher security clearance, it’s actually guaranteed more staff and resources than most other prisons,” he said.

“So in some ways Wakefield should actually be better off and safer.”