Woman married to killer writes book about his life

A HUDDERSFIELD mum who married a Texan killer serving a 75-year sentence has revealed he was once forced to take part in a ‘fight club’ in juvenile detention.

Heike Phelan, 49, married William Matthew Schiffert in November 2012 in a ceremony in a US prison where he is serving a sentence for his part in a fatal knife attack in 2001.

The tattooed convict first went to an adult prison for shooting a man dead when he was just 16.

The mum-of-two has written a book, Child Convict, about his harrowing life behind bars.

She says that Schiffert, also 49, has “calmed down and mellowed a lot” since they wed and now “hates prison so is doing everything he needs to get parole.”

Heike, who went to Colne Valley High School, married Schiffert after they became pen friends while he was a serving prisoner.

She has recently applied to the US Department of Homeland Security to lift her ban on visiting the United States which was imposed when she overstayed on a tourist visa.

At present, she cannot visit her husband in prison.

Schiffert has revealed that he was “in and out” of juvenile detention throughout his childhood after being put into care aged four.

In a question and answer session with his wife, he said: “I was four years old when my parents put me into the foster care system because they didn’t want me, despite having an older and younger sibling.

“I was eight years old when I left the children’s home, having been told I was ‘unfit for American family life.’

“My parents didn’t want me back, but neither would they sign the paperwork for my grandparents to become my legal guardians. My dad refused on the grounds that it would make both myself and my grandfather happy. I was released to the streets to fend for myself.

“My friend Lenny from the children’s home was also released to the streets and we both stayed with my grandfather until he died when I was 13.”

He turned to a life of crime and became addicted to drugs.

“I was 13 and living on the streets. Whenever my dad was away from home, I would go round to the house and my mother would feed me. I would turn up with Lenny quite often, but my mother would get mad because we’d be messing around and making lots of noise whilst she tried to watch television.

“She gave us both a dose of heroin to calm us down, although I didn’t know what it was until later.

“Within two weeks I had an 1,800 dollar a day habit, which lasted for 16 years, then I went cold turkey to stop.”

Schiffert said that life in juvenile detention was “great fun” as he “learned hustles from other boys and tried them out once released.”

He recalled the “secret fight club” run by one of the detention officers.

“One of the officers ran a secret fight club, although many officers and staff knew about it. They would place bets on who would win.

“They were never fair fights though. The officer had his favoured fighters that he took good care off. They were strong, fearless and brutal. The officer would pick on the weakest boys to put in the ring to fight. He didn’t want a fair fight, he wanted to crush the weak, he hated them. I didn’t like that.

“I would always look after the weaker ones where I could. The officer came to hate me because I wouldn’t become one of his fighters, no matter what he offered or threatened.”

At 16 he was given a two-year sentence in an adult prison after he had shot and killed a man.

He recalled: “An angry man came to my door pointing a gun at me and accusing me of stealing from his daughter. What I didn’t know was that Lenny had stolen from his daughter’s house. He called me a liar, cocked his gun and pointed it at me. I picked up my own gun and shot him first.”

Schiffert said he had been frightened about going to an adult prison as he had heard “countless horror stories”.

“I remembered what my grandfather told me – establish your reputation as soon as possible. Challenge the biggest guy on the unit.

“It doesn’t matter if you win or lose the fight, only that you are crazy enough to take them on.

“That advice, as with all his other advice stood me in good stead, and I soon built up a reputation of not to be messed with.”

He added: “It was terrifying walking in there. There were serious hardcore criminals in there. They put me on a maximum security unit, so I was amongst hardcore lifers.

“I was seen as fresh meat and had to start again with proving myself. I made a beeline for the biggest guy I could see and challenged him.

“I slept with a home-made knife under my pillow for a long time. Again, the advice my grandfather gave me was invaluable.”

Child Convict is published by Koehler Books, priced £12.95.