Frank Samuel Mitchell (c. 1929 – 24 December 1966 [possible]), also known as "The Mad Axeman", was an English criminal and friend of the Kray twins who was later murdered at their behest.
[1] As an adult, Mitchell possessed great physical strength and liked to demonstrate it by lifting a grand piano off the floor or picking up two full-grown men, one in each hand.
[13] Ron was keen on breaking Mitchell out of prison, thinking it would help him to publicise his grievance and earn a release date, as well as enhance the Krays' standing in the underworld.
[12] On 12 December 1966, while with a small work party on the moors, Mitchell asked the sole guard for permission to feed some nearby Dartmoor ponies.
[14] Mitchell's escape made national news, led to a political storm over the lax security around a man described in the press as "Britain's most violent convict", and was debated in the House of Commons.
With the aid of Teddy Smith, Mitchell wrote to national newspapers and his plea to be granted a release date was printed in The Times and the Daily Mirror.
To placate him, they brought a woman to the flat: Liza Prescott, a blonde night club hostess, who was known by firm member Tommy Cowley.
[12][18] On 24 December 1966 Mitchell was led into the back of a van by Albert Donoghue, thinking he was to be taken to a safe house in the countryside where he would meet up with Ron Kray.
He also cites the fact that both he and Reg had admitted to the murders of George Cornell and Jack McVitie, as well as numerous other crimes, in the same book as reason to support his account of what happened.
In 1968, the Krays and various accomplices were arrested and put on trial for an array of offences, including the murders of George Cornell, Jack McVitie and Frank Mitchell.
Ron, Reg and Charlie Kray and Freddie Foreman were all acquitted of Mitchell's murder, due to lack of evidence and the perceived unreliability of Donoghue's testimony.
[27] Foreman was arrested and questioned by police after repeating his confession in a 2000 television documentary, but the Crown Prosecution Service announced that it would not be re-opening the case, due to the then extant double jeopardy law.