Shaun Walmsley has been at large for six months after escaping during a hospital visit. Photo: Merseyside Police
Shaun Walmsley has been at large for six months after escaping during a hospital visit. Photo: Merseyside Police
By Martin Evans
A convicted killer, who escaped from custody six months ago, fooled prison staff into believing he was seriously ill by losing up to 25.4kg, it has been revealed.
Shaun Walmsley, 28, was serving a 30-year prison term for murder, when he was sprung by two armed men during a hospital visit in Liverpool in February.
It has now emerged that he starved himself for three months to convince the prison authorities that he was seriously ill.
Using mobile phones smuggled into the prison, Walmsley, a gangland drug dealer, was able to plan his escape with associates on the outside.
Walmsley had been jailed for life with a minimum term of 30 years, after being convicted of the murder of Anthony Duffy, 33, who was lured to a street near Aintree racecourse and repeatedly stabbed in May 2014.
CCTV caught the moment three armed men sprung convicted killer Shaun Walmsley. Photo: MERSEYSIDE POLICE
Police believe Walmsley began planning his escape after an appeal against the severity of his sentence was rejected late last year.
After secretly starving himself, Walmsley managed to shed 25kg, fooling the medical staff in HMP Liverpool into believing he was seriously ill.
As part of his treatment he was referred to specialists at Aintree University Hospital in Liverpool.
But while there, a security lapse allowed him to discover the date of his follow-up appointment, allowing him to organise his escape.
Despite his gangland connections, Walmsley was transferred to hospital in a minicab, accompanied by three prison guards.
As he was leaving the hospital two masked men armed with a machine gun and a machete jumped from a gold-coloured Volvo.
They threatened the guards, who released Walmsley and the gang fled in the Volvo.
Police believe he then switched to a second car, which took him to Cheetham Hill, Manchester.
Walmsley's associates used a gold coloured Volvo which was later found abandoned by police CREDIT: MERSEYSIDE POLICE
He is then thought to have been provided with new identity documents before fleeing the country. He has not been seen since and remains at large.
Merseyside Detective Superintendent Natalie Perischine said Walmsley was a "particularly dangerous individual" who had been able to organise his escape thanks to the availability of a mobile phone in prison.
Last week Merseyside police raided 11 properties, while staff at HMP Liverpool searched nine cells, seizing six mobile phones, in connection to Walmsley's escape.
Perischine said: "Shaun Walmsley is a convicted killer who was sentenced to life for murder with a tariff of 30 years. He is a cold-blooded murderer and a particularly dangerous individual and we are determined to find him.
"If you have assisted him in his escape from custody, or are providing him with the means to evade capture, we will come for you too. So think again about what you are doing and where your actions could lead to in the long term. Do the decent thing and let us know where he is."
CCTV of Walmsley at hospital on the day of his escape. Photo: MERSEYSIDE POLICE
Thirty people, including a man from Liverpool who was on the run in Spain, have been arrested in the investigation into Walmsley's escape.
Although there have been numerous alleged sightings across the UK, police believe he has left the country.
Perischine added: "We believe that Walmsley is probably abroad and therefore will need money to exist. Someone is funding him and in time it could prove to be exceptionally costly.
"My question to the person or persons who are helping Walmsley by providing him with cash for accommodation and general living expenses is this: do you realise how much this will cost you in the long run and for what?
"Are you prepared to risk everything, including your lifestyle, family and friends, because that is what you are doing."
