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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Harry Cockburn

Convicted murderer used Instagram account to post threats from jail cell

A murderer serving a minimum sentence of 21 years in prison has been running an Instagram account from his jail cell.

Haydan O'Callaghan, now 24, was found guilty of stabbing father-of-two Aaron Buron, 29, to death in the street in 2012.

The pictures show O’Callaghan in his cell making threatening gestures and apparently posing with new trainers.

Burron, a musician, was killed after stepped in to try and stop a fight between O’Callaghan and his girlfriend in Oxford. 

He pleaded guilty to manslaughter, but the jury at Oxford Crown Court returned a guilty verdict for murder.

As Buron's family applauded the verdict when it was read out, O’Callaghan stuck his middle finger up at them and mimed shooting them with his fingers. 

The Instagram pictures show O’Callaghan making the same threatening gesture. ​He posed topless in one photograph, apparently taken by a friend or cellmate and in other photos he wore new Nike trainers.

Other photos show him crossing his arms and scowling.

In one screenshot he posted the words: “There's always a wild shot to an innocent face.”

And in his biography, he wrote: “Gone for a bit but will be back with a bang.”

Biscuits, a bottle of squash and a box of Nesquik could also be seen in the cell, along with a clothes rail with t-shirts on coat hangers.

O'Callaghan, who used Instagram handle "hocally_", had posted nearly 30 times and had 250 followers.

Most of his uploads were posted at various dates throughout 2017 but the most recent showed him reclining on a bed with the caption: “24 today lets get waved !!”

“Getting waved” is a term used to describe the feeling of mixing cannabis and alcohol. 

Haydan O'Callaghan posted on Instagram from his prison cell. (Oxford Mail / Instagram )

The account was deleted after the Ministry of Justice was contacted.

The use of a mobile phone in jail can result in an additional two-year sentence.

A spokesman for the MoJ said: “We are taking decisive action to find and block mobile phones in prison, including a £2m investment to block mobile phone signals.

“It is a criminal offence to bring a mobile phone into prison, or transmit sounds or images from within a prison using a mobile phone.

“These offences carry a maximum penalty of two years in prison.”

SWNS

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