Sadistic prison killer strangled inmate to death during laundry massage, then played basketball

A “sadistic” former Titans junior football player with a history of sickening violence lured an inmate to the laundry with a promise of a massage before strangling him and then going to play basketball.

A “sadistic” prisoner at the Woodford Correctional Centre lured another inmate to the jail laundry with the promise of a massage before he wrapped a bedsheet around the man’s neck and strangled him to death.

Carl William Sedgwick Bloomfield then went to play a game of basketball, leaving his victim’s body to be discovered by another prisoner.

The harrowing details of the death of Duke Schafer were revealed in the Brisbane Supreme Court on Friday after Bloomfield, 26, pleaded guilty to murdering his fellow inmate.

Prison murder victim Duke Schafer, 36.

Crown Prosecutor Dzenita Balic said the victim had only been in prison for about six months serving a sentence for drug offences when he was killed by Bloomfield who provided an “irrational” explanation for the murder.

Bloomfield, a former Gold Coast Titans under 16’s squad player, claimed Mr Schafer had said something in jest the day before which he took exception to, prompting him to kill the man the next day on May, 2020.

“Mr Bloomfield and Mr Schafer attended the laundry area of prison, it is within that laundry area that Mr Bloomfield then gave Mr Schafer a massage, in the context of that he then used a piece of a bedsheet that he had earlier cut with a razor to strangle Mr Schafer,” Ms Balic said.

“That took perhaps in entirely some two and a half minutes.

“Mr Schafer then died as a result of the strangulation and was placed in the laundry area after which time Mr Bloomfield left the laundry and continued on with his other activities in prison eventually returning to play a game of basketball.”

Ms Balic said while Bloomfield was not honest with investigators at first, he eventually made a fulsome confession in which he described how he killed his victim.

The prosecutor said Bloomfield was a “dangerous man” with a history of violence who was serving time for a horrific attack on two teenage boys.

Inmates in Woodford Correctional Centre where the horrific attack took place. Photo by Chris McCormack.

The court heard Bloomfield had pushed a pair of scissors through one boy’s tongue before slicing off the other child’s ear during a “particularly violent robbery”.

Justice Martin Burns noted that the attack was of such severity that the Crown had sought Bloomfield be given an indefinite sentence but that was not ordered and he was instead sentenced to serve 80 per cent of a nine year prison term which he was serving at the time of this murder.

“You have a history of extreme violence and you are capable of sadistic acts,” Justice Burns said.

“The offence before this court this murder was planned, it remains unexplained. You decided on when to take the life of another human being.

“Since then you have not demonstrated even one shred of remorse. To the contrary based on the statements you have made to others in letters in the like you appear to have revelled in the commission of this offence.”

A statement from the victim’s father was tendered to the court explaining how the murder had devastated their family.

“As the victim’s father said this killing was senseless, it robbed good people of their grandson, son and brother,” Justice Burns said.

“The victim’s whole family have suffered a great deal in consequence of your senseless act and will continue to do so for a very long time.”

Inside Woodford correctional centre. Picture: Chris McCormack.

Bloomfield was sentenced to life in prison and was jovial throughout his court appearance, waving and smiling at people in the gallery and telling his supporters he loved them.

“Having regard to the circumstances of this offence and your previous history for violence, the parole authorities will need to think long and hard before ever considering you suitable for release,” Justice Burns told him.

Court documents from Bloomfield’s previous sentence revealed the sickening details of the attack in which he told his victims: “I love the taste of humans and I love the smell of blood”.

Bloomfield then sliced off half of a teenage boy’s ear with blunt scissors before handing the severed piece to his bleeding victim and then used his phone to calmly photograph the wound.

He later told psychiatrists he considered eating the 16-year-old boy’s severed ear and had considered cutting out the tongue of the 15-year-old boy and had “enjoyed” attacking the children.

“I was thinking I wanted to cut his tongue out … I was feeling no emotions,” he told the psychiatrist.

The doctor’s report revealed Bloomfield had considered “cutting up his victim to a greater extent” but the scissor blade was too blunt.