Matthew Williams: Mentally Ill Argoed ‘Cannibal’ Was Taking Subutex
MATTHEW Williams: a look at reporting on the ‘cannibal’ who killed Cerys Yemm and then, reportedly, ate parts of her face. Williams was then tasered by police at a hostel in Argoed, Caerphilly county. Police hit him with 50,000 volts. He died.
The Sun: “Call me the wolf… I like to eat people”
DEPRAVED Matthew Williams bragged he was a cannibal in jail — weeks before he killed a woman and ate her face. An ex-lag who spent time inside with the 34-year-old said he liked to call himself The Wolf. When asked why, Williams said: “Because I am a cannibal and I eat people.”
Can we trust this ex-lag to be honest?
His ex-cellmate, who did not want to be named, said Williams was hooked on heroin substitute Subutex and had a feared reputation.
He said: “People say all sorts in prison but he seemed to mean it. He said he had already eaten someone. I put it down to talk — until I heard what he’d done.”
What is Subutex? The NHS tells us:
Subutex (Buprenorphine) is a new version of a well established opioid drug, Temgesic. It was redeveloped for people attending drug misuse clinics who are dependent on opiates. It is unique in that it has positive as well as negative effects. This means providing you do not other opioids (methadone) or opiates (heroin or codeine) on top of your prescription, you will get only the positive effects of the drug. These positive effects include prevention of withdrawal symptoms and a degree of euphoria. However, if you use on top of your prescription, will not get any additional benefit and is likely to cause withdrawal symptoms. It is thought that this blocking action helps people to remain on prescribed medication and completely stop, rather than just reduce, their illicit drug use. Subutex comes in tablet form (0.4mgs, 2mgs and 8mgs) and is taken under your tongue. The tablets dissolve quickly, within five to ten minutes, and are rapidly absorbed into the blood stream. You will feel the effects in 30-60 minutes. The drug lasts for up to 48 hours. If you swallow Subutex it is destroyed by the liver and you will get no effect.
Any side-effects?
There are no side effects other than those for other opiate or opioid drugs, such as constipation, disturbed sleep, sweating and headaches. These are only short-lived. Some people may be sensitive to the drug but safe monitoring should pick this up quickly. Although extremely rare side effects that you should be concerned about are problems breathing and hallucinations.
The BBC has more on the failure to monitor Williams:
Police fired a Taser stun gun at him during the attack and Mr Williams, 34, later died. His mother said Ms Yemm’s death could have been prevented. Mr Williams’s mother Sally Ann Williams told BBC Wales her son, who had paranoid schizophrenia, was not prescribed drugs after his release from Parc Prison, Bridgend.
Mrs Williams claims her son had been receiving medication in prison but, despite her asking for help in getting him a prescription, he did not receive one when released less than two weeks ago.
She had feared he would do something that would lead to his arrest without it…
Two days before the attack he told her he was “already hearing voices”, she claimed.
“I said he needed sleep and tried to persuade him to see a doctor but he wouldn’t,” she said. The day before the attack she dropped off shopping at the Sirhowy Arms hostel in Argoed for him. “He was in good spirits – he was troubled but not desperate – we had a hug and a kiss and he said he’d meet me for breakfast,” she said.
And the drugs?
Mrs Williams said her son was a prolific drug taker which made his paranoid schizophrenia, diagnosed at 16, worse… “He would see things that were not there, he would hear voices, say food was trying to poison him and he would hallucinate,” she said. “He was aggressive to people he thought were a threat to him. He should have been in hospital. Every time he came out of prison, we’d go through the same process. He’d be placed in a hostel somewhere with very little supervision and no psychiatric help outside.”
Lessons learned (its the dame old mantra).
Wales Online notes:
Meanwhile, police have launched a murder investigation after the deaths and the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) will also probe the incident. A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice confirmed a serious further offence review will take place to see if lessons can be learned from the case.
But lessons were not learned.
Andy Howell writes:
As soon as I read the name Matthew Williams, saw his age, that he was from Cefn Fforest, had just been released from jail and was staying at a so-called bail hostel at Argoed, I knew this was the career criminal that had burgled and ransacked our house.
We won’t forget September 16 last year because it was my wife’s birthday and Williams even had the audacity to rip open the envelopes containing her cards and take the money in them.
Nor will I forget the damage he caused to our home, turning it upside down in his quest to find and steal any valuables, before making off with a haul of lap-tops, electronic equipment, cash, jewellery, including sentimental family items. None were recovered…
…he was out on licence and under curfew when he burgled our house, apparently to feed his drugs addiction. That’s why he gambled by forcing the backdoor at around 8pm on a Monday evening and just after dusk.
…what happened in Argoed is why, in my opinion, the use of illegal drugs must never be decriminalised for it would lead to more misery, more victims and more tragedies.
But Matthew Williams was not only taking illegal druygs. He was taking drugs supplied by the State…
Posted: 10th, November 2014 | In: Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
