Ivan Milat

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Article at AAP January 26 2009

Serial Killer Ivan Milat has been rushed to hospital after cutting off his little finger and attempting to mail it to the High Court of Australia.

Milat was taken to Gouldburn Hospital for surgery to reattach the finger , New South Wales Department of Corrective Services spokeswoman said.

The 64-year-old , who is serving a life sentence at the Supermax facility inside Gouldburn jail for the murder of seven backpackers , seemed calm after severing his finger inside his cell and did not exhibit any symptoms of shock , senior prison officers said.

Milat "cut off the little finger on his left hand and placed in an envelope he had addressed to the High Court of Australia , which he handed to a prison officer during lock-up time , around 3pm today",a corrective services statement said.

Four extreme high risk escort officers have accompained Milat to Gouldburn Base Hospital.

He was handcuffed , shackled , and attached to a monitoring device.

Medical staff were unable to say whether the severed finger , which had been placed on ice , could be saved.

An investigation has been launched into the incident , New South Wales Commisioner for Corrective Services Ron Woodham said Milat would still die in jail.

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He was grinning on the front page of yahoo yeterday , as far as Wanda is concerned a very good viewing , try the book by i think Allan Whittaker title Wanda.

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From dailytelegraph.com.au Authors Kara Lawrence and Alison Rehn

Ivan Milat used a razor blade and plastic knife to slice off his left little finger Doctor's last night who assessed Milat decided the finger could not be saved.

Milat spent more than three hours in hospital under heavy guard before he was escorted out through the emergency room exit shortly after 9pm.

A source who did not want to be identified told the Daily Telegraph last night Milat arrived by ambulance with a bloodied hand and it looked like he had cut off part of his little finger below the knuckle.

The scource said the nurses were on edge and nervous having the serial killer in the hospital. Milat was heavily guarded , with the security team believed to have been armed with Taser stun guns.

With bandages covering his mutilated left hand , a frail and dishevelled Milat emerged smiling from the hospital , flanked by Corrective Services guards.

He was quickly ushered into a waiting unmarked Land Cruiser parked about 2 meters from the exit , until four police officers standing by to escort the vehicle back tom the jail. Once secured inside the vehicle , Milat was driven away to be returned back to his jail cell.

Corrective Services Commissioner Ron Woodham had no sympathy for Milat ''He probably couldn't count to 10 anyway before the incident '', he said.

Milat is a serial self mutilator , which he claims are protests about but authorities suspect they are nothing more than bids by him to be taken to hospital from where he could attempt an escape.

It's unlikely Milat's sick parcel would have made it to the High Court , as Super Max prisoners mail and phone calls are all closely monitored by prison authorities.

Milat has been in Super Max since the 70-bed facility opened in 2001. That year he swallowed razor blades , staples and a chain from a set of nail clippers in an apparent suicide attempt.

In 2003 he required 24 stitches to the fingers of his left hand when he slammed it in a prison door in what was suspected to be a bid to get an off site hospital escape.

In 2006 he threatened suicide when a television set and toasted sandwich maker were removed from his cell after a report in the daily telegraph.

''Whether Ivan Milat has decided to sever his finger or not it doesn't alter the fact that he is a serial murderer who will die in jail,'' Mr Woodham said.

Live news.com.au 27/1/2009

Serial Killer Ivan Milat cut off his little finger , upset about the lack of air conditioning at the Super Max jail in Goulburn , New South Wales Commissioner for Corrective Services Ron Woodham has told 2GB Radio , Milat complained the heat gave him a rash on his forehead.

''He was writing to everbody complaining about this until we went down and had a look a bit of footage the officers had of him rubbging his head against the bricks.