'Monster Mansion' prison death: How rapist Robin Crago died while serving life sentence at HMP Wakefield

Robin Crago had been jailed for life in January 2006 for raping a teenage girl and carrying out four other rapes, and was transferred to HMP Wakefield in May that year. The Category A prison is known locally as ‘Monster Mansion’ because it houses some of the country’s most serious offenders.

A report published by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman notes that he had a long history of “selective compliance” when it came to healthcare, citing examples of refusing to attend hospital appointments. It said Crago was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in the 1980s and this condition, together with high blood pressure and obesity, had gradually caused organ damage. He was diagnosed with stage 3 chronic kidney disease in 2011 and this progressed to stage four – meaning kidney failure was approaching – in January 2020.

Assistant Ombudsman Louise Richards noted that Crago had said he did not want any treatment that would prolong his life in September 2020 but later underwent some dialysis treatment.

His mobility began to be affected as his health declined and he had several falls in 2022. One such fall on August 15 that year prompted a discussion about end of life care due to his frailty and refusal to attend dialysis appointments.

At that time, Crago said he was not sure that he wanted to die and he agreed to be taken to hospital. He was initially uncooperative with hospital staff but did receive dialysis until August 22 when he refused further treatment. The 65-year-old died in hospital on August 24.

Doctors said the cause of death was end stage renal failure caused by diabetic nephropathy – long term kidney damage caused by diabetes. Sepsis was found to have contributed but was not recorded as a secondary cause of death.

A clinical reviewer said the care he received at HMP Wakefield was of a similar standard to care in the wider community, but “better and more frequent” formal capacity assessments would have been appropriate in light of Crago’s refusals to accept treatment.

Ms Richards recommended that prison healthcare staff carry out mental capacity assessments when appropriate and document them using the formal template available.