Killer who beat his ex-girlfriend to death has face slashed open in prison

He could be scarred for life

A man who beat his ex-girlfriend to death has had his face slashed open "from temple to chin" after being attacked in prison. In December 2019, Daniel Murtagh beat 30-year-old Nadine Lott to death with his bare hands at her home in Arklow, County Wicklow, in an attack of horrifying brutality. Lott was beaten so severely that her face was barely recognisable, and the emergency response teams that arrived at the scene were apparently left deeply shocked by the scale of her injuries. She suffered "traumatic head, neck and chest injuries," and died three days after the attack. The Irish Times reports that Lott had sustained "extreme and grotesque" facial injuries that had separated flesh from bone. He was sentenced to life behind bars in October 2021 following a two-week trial. After initially pleading guilty to manslaughter, a jury unanimously found him guilty of murder. Now, Murtagh has been attacked in prison, and had to be rushed to hospital after he was slashed across the face and lost a "serious" amount of blood. [caption id="attachment_374959" align="alignnone" width="842"] Murtagh was jailed for life after he beat 30-year-old Nadine Lott, pictured, to death with his bare hands at her home in 2019 (Facebook)[/caption]

A source told Irish newspaper the Sunday World that the murderer has a tendency to get on the wrong side of other inmates, and this "finally came back on him."

"The incident kicked off on the B1 landing at approximately 5pm [on Tuesday]," they said. "Murtagh is an inmate who rubs people up the wrong [way] and it looks like it finally came back on him.

"The lad who attacked him opened him up from his temple all the way down to his chin. Murtagh was losing a lot of blood by the time staff got to him and he had to be rushed to Portlaoise Hospital.

"Despite the best efforts of staff, he lost a serious amount of blood and he's still over there under guard tonight," the source added. "He'll carry the scars of what happened today for the rest of his life."

Murtagh's attacker was restrained and has been segregated from other inmates. He is said to be a relatively low-level criminal with a reputation for violence in the prison. [caption id="attachment_374960" align="alignnone" width="1302"] Nadine Lott and Daniel Murtagh[/caption] It is thought the assault was an attempt by them to establish themselves at the top of the hierarchy inside the facility. Murtagh received a number of death threats during his time at Dublin's Wheatfield Prison. He was then moved to the high-security Midlands Prison in July last year "for his own safety."

During Murtagh's trial, was Lott's neighbour told the court how she found him "in a crouched position" on top of the victim with his hands around her neck and shoulders. She said he was making a "growling noise" and was "vicious with rage" as he attacked her.

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