Milton Keynes prisoner almost ‘beheaded’ in brutal attack

Taras Nykolyn, a 49-year-old Ukrainian national, was serving a prison sentence at HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes after attacking a commuter on Wimbledon Common.

While in custody for this crime, he killed his cellmate with a television.

During his time behind bars in north Buckinghamshire, he was housed in the prison's challenging behaviour unit, which cares for some of the country's most dangerous inmates.

There are currently around 800 inmates housed in the institution.

However, on June 5, 2018, at around 3 p.m., Nykolyn was attacked by Jibreel Raheem, Stephen Boorman and James Brabbs as he entered the prison exercise yard.

He had spoken to the trio shortly before.

He was beaten, kicked, stomped, stabbed and cut with “improvised weapons” before being strangled with a bedsheet.

They also mutilated his body while attempting to “behead” Nykolyn. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Now, more than six years after the attack, Sue McAllister CB of the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has completed her investigation into the incident, which led to the closure of the prison's problem behaviour unit.

Their report, published on September 8, states: “This was a widespread and extremely brutal attack.

“Although it appears to have been planned in advance, I am satisfied that no information was available to staff suggesting that Mr Nykolyn was in danger.

“I am concerned, however, that although the composition of prisoners in the unit was clearly dangerous, all four prisoners trained together, unlike what is common in other special forces units.

“In addition, the unit also had weaknesses in some other aspects of safety and risk assessment.

“I am also very concerned about the lack of coordination and urgency in the response when the attack on Mr Nykolyn began and the fact that there was no contingency plan in place for an incident at the training ground.”

The attack lasted nearly 30 minutes, and during the inquest into Nykolyn's murder in 2021, prison guard Wayne Bird described the incident as “like something out of a horror movie.”

He said: “It was a horrific sight – the mutilation of a person who was already dead.”

After the murder, Raheem, Boorman and Brabbs were sentenced to life imprisonment for their involvement in Nykolyn's death.

Boorman, the leader of the gang, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 35 years.

He was already serving a 15-year prison sentence for stabbing his friend in an argument.

Brabbs, who was serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 29.5 years for stabbing a delivery driver in the neck, was re-sentenced to life in prison, eligible for parole after 10 years.

Eventually, Raheem was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 20 years and nine months.

He was already serving a prison sentence for attempted murder.