Alan R. Warren - Hannibal the Cannibal ; The True Story of Robert Maudsley

HANNIBAL THE CANNIBAL: The True Story of Robert Maudsley

Written by Alan R. Warren

Published in Canada

Cover design, formatting, layout, and editing by Evening Sky Publishing Services

It does not matter to them whether I am mad or bad. They do not know the answer, andthey do not care, just so long as I am kept out of sight and out of mind. - Robert Maudsley

Robert Maudsley, dubbed Britains most dangerous prisoner, has been imprisoned for more than 40 years, even though he has not committed any crimes in the last 25 of those years. He is considered so dangerous that he has been in solitary confinement for more than 30 years, with no chance of getting out until his death.

Maudsley has been the owner of several nicknames over the years he has been in prison. First, he was called Blue because that was the color of his first victims face when he slowly strangled him to death. Later, he became known as Spoons because his second victims body was found with a spoon sticking out of its head, and some of the brain missing. However, it was Maudsleys third and fourth victims, killed on the same day, that earned him the nickname he carries today Hannibal the Cannibal.

When the name Hannibal the Cannibal is mentioned, we think of Sir Anthony Hopkins in the 1991 movie The Silence of the Lambs or perhaps one of the many other films in the series. Everyone thinks they know who Hannibal is, what drove him to kill and eat his victims, where he lived, or how he lived his life. Similar to people thinking they know Robert Maudsley. However, the truth is never as straight forward as it seems.

As with all things in life, there are always two sides to the story. Robert Maudsleys friends and family describe him as gentle, kind, and highly intelligent. They enjoy his sense of humor and company. Maudsley has a genius-level IQ, loves classical music, poetry, and art. And he is excited to be taking an Open University degree in Music theory.

Maudsleys brother claims that the prison authorities are trying to break him. Every time they see he is making a little progress, they throw a wrench in the works. There was a point while he was in Woodhill Prison, where he was reported to be making great progress. Even to the extent that he was able to play chess with a group of prison guards, listen to music, and read books. Despite the fact that Maudsley was doing well, the prison authorities decided to move him back to Wakefield Prison and put him in a specially constructed glass cage for a cell.

The notorious UK criminal Charles Bronson wrote a book in 2007 called Loonyology, in which he claims he saw Bob (Robert Maudsley) go mad, and he knew what was happening to him. Bronson also claims that when Maudsley went for his one hour of exercise each day, he was put outside in the 20 by 12-foot prison yard by himself, as he wasnt allowed any contact with other prisoners. Maudsley was seen pacing around the yard with his eyes fixed on the ground and sporting a very long grey beard and nails.

One of Maudsley pen pal friends who came to see him in prison said that she found him very friendly:

Everyone is concentrating on the crimes he did 25 years ago as if they are in a time loop, and no one is prepared to look at him now.

This book is one in a series of short books covering some of the most shocking serial killers. As with all true crime accounts, it starts by gathering as much of the pertinent information of the case available at the time of writing. In the case of older serial killers that committed their crimes in the 1960s and 1970s, a lot of the witnesses and people involved are long gone or passed away. But quite often, we are left with various written witness accounts about the way the serial killer behaved both in and out of prison.

While examining many letters and communications with professionals who had contact with serial killer Robert Maudsley, I found a particular professionals response to him far different than any other.

Paul Harrison is a former police detective with over 40 years of experience in the British justice system. He is known as the British Mindhunter. Harrison has met and interviewed some of the worlds most notorious criminals, and with over 25 years of profiling serial killers, he is able to provide real details rather than myths that surround them.

According to Harrisons report in The Manchester Evening News, when he sat down with Robert Maudsley for an interview, he found him to be surprisingly approachable. Harrison says:

These criminals have done some really bad things, and 99.99% of them deserve to be where they are, but there are always some that make you think. One of those was Maudsley, who was actually determined to be interviewed by me.