Prison Worker Charged with Misconduct

Hay­ley Jones, a 33-year-old prison work­er, has appeared in Wim­ble­don Mag­is­trates’ Court in UK is fac­ing charges of mis­con­duct in pub­lic office. 

The charges stem from an alleged inap­pro­pri­ate rela­tion­ship with Jor­dan McSweeney, the con­vict­ed killer of Zara Aleena, while he was incar­cer­at­ed at HMP Belmarsh.

Details of the Alleged Relationship

The court heard that Jones, a work­shop instruc­tor at the high-secu­ri­ty prison, alleged­ly engaged in a month-long rela­tion­ship with McSweeney between March 6 and April 7, 2023. This charge car­ries a poten­tial life sen­tence if proven.

Jordan McSweeney’s Involvement

McSweeney, serv­ing a life sen­tence for the mur­der of Zara Aleena, also faces charges. He is accused of encour­ag­ing or assist­ing the com­mis­sion of an indictable offense. 

The 31-year-old appeared in court via video link from HMP Long Lartin in Worcestershire.

Background on Zara Aleena’s Murder

Zara Aleena, a 35-year-old law grad­u­ate, was bru­tal­ly mur­dered by McSweeney in East Lon­don in June 2022. McSweeney had been released from prison just nine days before the attack. 

He was sen­tenced to life impris­on­ment with a min­i­mum term of 38 years, lat­er reduced to 33 years on appeal.

Legal Proceedings and Next Steps

Jones was grant­ed con­di­tion­al bail with restric­tions on con­tact­ing McSweeney or vis­it­ing his cur­rent prison. The case has been adjourned to Wool­wich Crown Court, with the next hear­ing sched­uled for Sep­tem­ber 25, 2024.