Linda De Sousa Abreu, 30, is reportedly locked up with evil killer nurse Lucy Letby at HMP Bronzefield. The former HMP Wandsworth prison guard was jailed for 15 months this week
The shamed prison guard who was filmed having sex with an inmate is facing a “horrific” time behind bars alongside Lucy Letby.
Linda De Sousa Abreu, who hails from Fulham, South West London, was sentenced to 15 months behind bars this week following her over the video filmed within HMP Wandsworth.
The mother had admitted to misconduct in public office last year after engaging in sexual activity with burglar Linton Weirich inside his cell while another inmate recorded the act.
However, despite her previous role of enforcing rules on inmates, the 30-year-old now finds herself as one of them. She is reportedly living alongside notorious killers in House Block 4 at HMP Bronzefield, Surrey.
Here’s a closer look at what awaits Abreu inside the wing.
House Block 4, Bronzefield
HMP Bronzefield, which opened its doors in 2004, holds the distinction of being Britain’s first purpose-built prison for women. It has housed infamous inmates like Rose West and the most dangerous women are kept in what is known as H Block 4.
The prison accommodates around 450 inmates and is divided into four house blocks, including a mother and baby unit. However, those serving life sentences reside in H4, where they enjoy better conditions such as en-suite showers due to good behaviour.
This block is also used to segregate high-profile prisoners from the general population. As reported in The Sun, baby killer Letby has reportedly become friends with Sara Sharif’s murderer stepmother Beinash Batool in the infamous unit.
De Sousa Abreu is now holed up in the clink after being slapped with a sentence that’ll see her spend half her time behind bars and the rest on licence.
Former inmate
Former drug dealer Francesca Fattore, who earned her spot in House Block 4 for good behaviour, spoke about life inside alongside notorious inmates like Mairead Philpott and Joanna Dennehy.
On her YouTube channel, Francesca didn’t mince words about the grub at Bronzefield: “In Bronzefield, it was horrific. The food was cr*p, the portion size was cr*p, you would be very lucky if you got extras.”
Despite the grim menu, Francesca had a sweet spot for the Sunday chocolate doughnuts, confessing: “Every Sunday we would get chocolate doughnuts. Everyone who knows me on the outside knows they are my favourites. By the end of the day I would have like eight chocolate doughnuts on a plate.
“I would probably have five of them and I don’t know how I lost weight in prison, I definitely ate more inside than I do outside.”
Another former inmate reminisced about the porridge and hard-boiled eggs on Sundays. But it wasn’t all treats and nostalgia; Francesca admitted she doesn’t miss the “b*tchiness” of jail life, where betrayal is as common as breakfast, saying in an interview “girls will stab you in the back”.
Staying sane
Francesca also faced the daunting task of sharing a cell wall with notorious inmate Mairead Philpott in Bronzefield prison.Philpott infamously set fire to her home, resulting in the tragic deaths of her six children.
Released in 2020 after serving half of her 17-year sentence and now living under a new name, Francesca revealed to the Daily Star how she coped with being on the same wing as some of the most hardened criminals.
She initially enjoyed the “real privilege” of the enhanced wing and its private shower but was soon disturbed by the company she kept.
Francesca continued: “I remember being there and the girls were like ‘oh that girl is here for terrorism’ and ‘that old lady used to beat her kids and make them eat dinner off the floor’. Then I was like ‘don’t tell me any more’ because I didn’t want to know. This wasn’t who I wanted to be around, I am not that person so I asked not to be told any more.”
However, her attitude shifted after a few anxious days, saying: “I decided I needed to know who those people were.
“I needed to know because then I won’t talk to the people I don’t need to. I would never kick off on the wing because in my head when I went to prison that was it for me, I was going to change so I had to behave.”
Francesca’s resolve to transform herself meant suppressing her instincts: “I had to take my feelings aside of what you would want to say, what you’d want to do to somebody and just be a better person. When I learned my next door neighbour was that woman (Mairead) you just start thinking, ‘wow I am in with some crazy, evil, nasty people’.”
Francesca, who now heads up UkExFemalePrisoner to aid reformed women offenders, revealed: “Literally you just have to think that if I am spoken to by them then just don’t speak back or keep it as minimum as possible. You have to switch off (from their crimes) because you have no choice.”
Despite her unease around other prisoners, Francesca pointed out some guards also caused trouble, explaining: “And then I don’t also miss certain officers, there were a lot of good officers but there were certain officers that would play with you and provoke you and try and get you to blow up or snap. They would push your buttons just for their own benefit.”
Other ex-inmate
Another former inmate, Emily Duff got banged up in HMP Bronzefield due to drug-related crimes. She used to share a wing with Shauna Hoare, infamous for assisting her partner Nathan Matthews in the brutal killing and dismemberment of 16-year-old Becky Watts.
While doing hair and beauty courses together five days a week, Emily felt something was off about Hoare. .
Emily divulged to the Daily Star: “She was very calm, came across very timid and it was probably difficult to understand that she could have done something like that. But there was something about her that I just wasn’t quite sure of.”
Emily added, bearing her suspicions: “I had this feeling, I don’t know whether it’s because in the back of my head I knew what she had been a part of, but there was an aura she gave off. She could be chatty but not overly and she never got overly friendly with lots of people.”
Hoare, who’s out on licence, has reportedly been spending “hours playing board games” and belting out tunes in karaoke sessions with none other than the notorious Lucy Letby, a source disclosed to the Mirror.