Prisoner Deceived Staff with Pumpkin Decoy to Escape

An inmate who had escaped custody deceived personnel into believing he was asleep by placing a pumpkin and a boiler suit filled with garments in his bed. Aaron Wood remained at large for two days following his abscondment from North Sea Camp near Boston on 22 September. He was apprehended carrying a knife in Skegness, where he asserted he was undertaking a charity walk. The 54-year-old individual, who received a life sentence in 1998 for the murder of a 40-year-old woman, confessed to constructing a “crow man” as a diversion and entered a guilty plea at Lincoln Crown Court on Monday for charges of escaping detention and possessing a bladed article. Testimony presented in court indicated that Wood’s cellmate reported him absent shortly before 08:00 BST on 23 September. Phil Howes, prosecuting, characterized North Sea Camp as an “open establishment” where inmates were “trusted not to leave”. Howes stated, “Wood hid his disappearance by stuffing a boiler suit full of clothing and using a pumpkin as a head.” He added, “This was enough to fool a check at 01:15 BST when a member of prison staff looked through the cell window.” Wood was found approximately 50 miles (80km) away from the correctional facility in the village of South Somercotes around 18:00 on 24 September. Law enforcement authorities were informed of his location after a family member disclosed that they had permitted him to spend the night in their caravan. The court was informed that Wood possessed a record of 29 additional prior convictions for 110 offenses spanning a 17-year duration. These offenses encompassed two prior escapes, nine instances of house burglary, three offenses involving bladed weapons, grievous bodily harm, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Michael Cranmer-Brown, representing Wood, stated that his client suffered from “severe mental health anxieties” and “thought he was never going to get out”. Wood has since been placed under more stringent prison conditions and must wait a minimum of 20 months before being eligible to appear before a Parole Board.