Killer in gun taunt from jail
Murderer’s threatening gesture on Instagram
A MURDERER has been using an illegal mobile phone to post threatening photos on social media and brag about life behind bars.
Haydan O’Callaghan was 18 in 2012 when he stabbed musician and father- of-two Aaron Buron, 29, in Oxford.
When he was sentenced to a minimum 21 years, O’Callaghan threatened his victim’s family from the dock, making a gun gesture towards them as they applauded the verdict.
And in chilling photographs he posted on the social media site Instagram, he makes the same taunt, and also wrote: ‘Gone for a bit but will be back with a bang.’
One of his most recent messages to his 250 followers showed him reclining on a bed with the caption: ‘24 today. Lets get waved!!’ – a slang term which is used to describe getting drunk and smoking cannabis at the same time.
In another photo, seemingly taken by a cellmate, he posed with his arms crossed over his bare chest, while other images showed him wearing a spotless pair of Nike trainers and a T-shirt by the same designer brand.
Mr Buron was repeatedly stabbed in the chest after he stepped in to protect O’Callaghan’s girlfriend when the thug attacked her. Police said he had shown ‘no remorse’ for the killing.
O’Callaghan’s Instagram account was taken down after it was reported to the Ministry of Justice. The matter has also been reported to police and he could now face extra time behind bars. It is a criminal offence to have a mobile phone in prison, and carries a maximum penalty of two years in jail.
A source close to the investigation into Mr Buron’s murder said: ‘I know O’Callaghan is inside where he can’t harm any innocent people but I still find it disturbing and disrespectful to the victim’s family that he is allowed contact with the outside world. It makes me question what prison actually is, because it seems like a home away from home to me.’
A Prison Service spokesman said: ‘This behaviour is completely unacceptable and we have removed the content from social media.’
In 2016 more than 20,000 phones and SIM cards were found in prisons in England and Wales.
A private member’s Bill is currently going through Parliament to make it easier for mobile operators to jam phone signals in jails.
Tory MP Maria Caulfield, who brought in the Bill, said last night: ‘Mobile phones have been banned in prisons for many years but we all know they are being used widely. This is precisely why I brought forward my Bill to block illegal mobile phone signals in prisons so that these phones become useless.’