Pentonville prison stabbing: Heartbroken fiancée of prisoner stabbed to death demands answers

Tribute: Melissa Modeste and her fiancée Jamal Mahmoud, who was killed in Pentonville prison
Matt Watts20 October 2016
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

The devastated fiancée of a prisoner knifed to death in Pentonville jail today told of her heartbreak as she demanded answers over his death.

Jamal Mahmoud, 21, was reportedly stabbed with a hunting knife before being thrown over the railings from the fifth floor of the prison’s G-wing at 3.30pm on Tuesday. He was pronounced dead an hour later.

His fiancée Melissa Modeste, an administrative assistant with whom he had a 10-month old son, last night joined a vigil organised by friends.

In an emotional post on Facebook, she wrote: “Sleep tight my darling Jamal. I miss you, I love you, forever and always.”

She added: “I miss you telling me you love me, I miss planning our future together. I miss you making plans for [our son], I miss us talking about having another baby in the future, I miss us planning to get our marriage registered.

"All I have left is a couple of tops and your 50 pairs of trainers. My engagement ring will never leave my finger.”

Mahmoud, from Enfield, was one of two gang members jailed after hiding a loaded Skorpion machine gun in a garden in Enfield.

He is believed to have been a member of Enfield’s Get Money Gang, and the attack is thought to be linked to gang rivalries.

One of Miss Modeste’s neighbours said: “She knows he is no angel but she wants to know how this could have happened in prison where he should have been safe.

The incident has added to pressure for an inquiry into the state of prisons. Detectives are investigating whether the four-inch knife used to kill him had been flown into the prison by drone.

Half of Pentonville’s 200 officers are said to have passed a vote of no confidence in governor Kevin Reilly yesterday.

They claim they are unable to prevent weapons and drugs from being smuggled in while also monitoring the 1,200 prisoners inside. Mr Reilly has said that reducing violence was one of his “top five priorities”.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT