Christopher Sweeney, a 45-year-old man from Derby, was sentenced to an additional 18 years in prison for attempting to murder his cellmate at HMP Nottingham. The incident occurred in the shared prison cell where Sweeney and 72-year-old Martin Whittle had been housed for just eight days. Sweeney, already serving a long-term sentence for raping a boy under the age of 16 in 2003, became increasingly frustrated with Whittle's nocturnal habits.
According to court proceedings at Nottingham Crown Court, the attempted murder took place around 7am after a night of disturbances. Prosecutor Katrina Wilson detailed that Whittle was struggling to sleep on a noisy air mattress, prompting Sweeney, from the top bunk, to warn him: "If you wake me up again, you will be sorry." When Whittle inadvertently made further noise, Sweeney jumped down, placed a pillow over his cellmate's face, and held it there forcefully for approximately one minute. Whittle fought back and managed to push Sweeney away. Following the attack, Sweeney calmly sat down and asked to use Whittle's vape, remarking: "I guess you are going to tell the officers?" to which Whittle replied that he would have to wait and see.
Whittle promptly reported the assault to prison staff, and when confronted, Sweeney admitted the offence without hesitation, stating: "Yeah, it’s all true. I wanted to kill him because of his farting, coughing and snoring." He described Whittle as a "farting, snoring and coughing horrible man" and expressed no remorse, telling officers he fully intended to kill him. During police questioning, Sweeney also confessed to several previously undetected crimes from 2016 and 2024, including an attempted knifepoint robbery at Burton Road Convenience Store in Derby, another attempted robbery using a hammer concealed in a bag—presented to the victim as an imitation firearm—at a shop in the Cavendish area of Derby, and a burglary at the Bunk Bar in Derby city centre in 2024.
Judge Nirmal Shant KC, handing down the sentence, remarked on Sweeney's unrepentant attitude: "You were unrepentant and told people you wanted him dead." The judge noted Sweeney's candour with police, which led to the detection of the additional offences, potentially providing closure for those victims. Sweeney, formerly of Burton Road in Derby and with 37 previous court appearances for 71 offences—including wounding, arson, robbery, and burglary—has at least 16 convictions for breaching the terms of the sex offender register. He has spent the majority of the past 23 years incarcerated.
Mitigating, Steve Cobley highlighted that Sweeney's admissions to prison staff facilitated the resolution of the 2016 cases, offering "finality" to victims. He described Sweeney's life outside prison as marked by homelessness and substance abuse, making incarceration a tragic preference. The sentence included 13 years' custody plus a five-year extended licence period for dangerousness. Sweeney pleaded guilty to attempted murder, attempted robbery, possession of a knife, possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, and burglary. The case was reported by Derbyshire Live, with details emerging from the court hearing on 6 February 2026.