DAVID RICHARDS OF SUDBURY ESCAPES FROM DERBYSHIRE OPEN PRISON IN 2005

David Richards, a convicted murderer and member of the Hells Angels motorcycle club, was allowed to simply walk out of Sudbury open prison in Derbyshire in 2005. He had been serving a life sentence after being jailed in 1984 for the brutal killing of teenager Michael Groves. Richards had hacked Groves to death using a wrench, hammer, and knife, and used the victim's blood to write 'Hells Angels' on a wall.

Despite his escape, authorities did not launch a proper manhunt; police only recorded him as missing on the national database. Richards went on to rent a flat, claimed thousands of pounds in disability benefits, and traveled to Ireland, where he was jailed for three months for robbery—none of which raised alarm about his status as a wanted man in the UK. It was only after the Daily Mail tracked him down and urged police to intervene that he was recaptured. Richards was arrested in Wolverhampton, where his parents lived, and received a sentence of an additional two and a half years in prison for his escape.

Judge Philip Parker QC commented that "the only acceptable sentence was a return to custody," noting that Richards’ escape had greatly affected his chances of early release. As a result, he was now held in a more secure facility. Richards explained that he walked out because he "couldn't handle the stress and bullying in the open prison," while his parents believed he thought he was a free man, unaware that he was wanted and that law enforcement was seeking him again.