Prostitutes murder accused Stephen Griffiths attempts suicide

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A man accused of murdering three prostitutes attempted suicide for a second time in prison, it emerged today.

Stephen Griffiths, 40, was treated for "superficial wounds" at HMP Wakefield in West Yorkshire, where he is being held on remand, a prison service spokesman said.

He was found by prison staff after reportedly slashing his throat with a shard of glass in his cell yesterday morning.

Griffiths, who referred to himself as the "Crossbow Cannibal" when he appeared before magistrates, is charged with murdering Bradford sex workers Suzanne Blamires, Shelley Armitage and Susan Rushworth.

He first attempted suicide in his cell in June when he was reportedly found unconscious on the floor of his cell with a sock tied round his neck.

A prison service spokesman said: "A prisoner at HMP Wakefield received superficial wounds after cutting himself with glass (yesterday morning).

"He was treated in the healthcare centre of the prison after staff intervened."

The criminology student is charged with murdering Ms Blamires, 36, between May 20 and May 25; murdering Ms Rushworth, 43, between June 22 2009 and May 25 this year; and murdering Ms Armitage, 31, between April 25 and May 25 this year.

Ms Blamires was last seen on May 21, Ms Armitage has been missing since April 26, and Ms Rushworth disappeared on June 22 last year.

Body parts belonging to Ms Blamires were found in the River Aire in Shipley on May 25 and tests confirmed that a small piece of human tissue later found in the water belonged to Ms Armitage.

When he was asked for his name during his first appearance at Bradford Magistrates' Court on May 28, Griffiths replied: "The Crossbow Cannibal."

Griffiths, a psychology graduate undertaking postgraduate research in criminology at Bradford University, was arrested on May 24 at a flat on the edge of Bradford's red-light district.