Teen Wigan killer's sentence extended after horror prison attacks
The schoolboy killer of a Wigan dad in a churchyard robbery and gang attack has had his prison sentence extended for stabbing an inmate, throwing boiling water in the faces of prison officers and then trying to bribe one to drop the charges.
Jayden O’Brien was jailed in 2021 for being part of a group of yobs who killed 34-year-old Steven McMyler outside Wigan Parish Church to steal his £11k Rolex watch.
He could not be named at the time because he was aged only 13 when involved in the attack and 14 when sent down, but he has now turned 18 and so is no longer entitled to the protection of anonymity.
He was given six years’ jail for his part in the savage killing of Mr McMyler, but handed a 27-month extension last year for violence at Young Offender Institute (YOI) Wetherby.
And he was returned to Leeds Crown Court this week where he admitted further incidents at the north Leeds prison.
O’Brien pleaded guilty to malicious wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, two counts of causing actual bodily harm, assault on a prison officer, perverting the course of justice, and two counts of possessing offensive weapons.
He was handed another four years’ jail this week, with the judge telling him that he “sees violence as normal”.
Due to his volatile nature, O’Brien was being held in the Napier unit of the YOI where the most violent and vulnerable offenders are taken, prosecutor Joseph Bell told the court.
On the afternoon of March 28 last year, officers were collecting metal food trays from cells when they arrived at O’Brien’s.
After he failed to respond, they opened the cell door only to have boiling water thrown in their faces, causing burn injuries.
One of those officers was passed a note from O’Brien three months later, telling him he would pay him £2,000 if he dropped the charge, asking for his bank details so the money could be deposited by a friend.
This note was passed to the police.
On July 10, O’Brien was due to be let out for exercise but refused to take off his shoes when the metal detector kept sounding.
He threw punches at one officer, before headbutting him, and told him he knew where he lived and that he would “see him soon”.
Finally, on September 14 last year, he spotted a group of youths being escorted across a yard, smashed a window and charged at the group, stabbing one three inches below his neck with a makeshift weapon - a sharpened piece of plastic.
He also had a shard of glass that he picked up from the broken window.
O’Brien has seven previous convictions for 14 offences.
He was just 13 when he helped kill Mr McMyler in 2020.
He was found guilty of manslaughter and conspiracy to rob the following year. He was one of five jailed for the horrific death caught on CCTV.
They did not know the father-of-two but targeted him due to his expensive watch.
Last year he was given his new 27-month sentence for stabbing an officer with a homemade knife and threw a kettle of boiling water over three other officers in separate incidents at YOI Wetherby.