The Soham killer was bludgeoned repeatedly around the head with a metal bar in a prison work shop. His injuries were so severe that he will not return to Frankland jail
Twisted child murderer Ian Huntley is facing major changes if he recovers from the horrific head injuries sustained in the recent prison attack.
Huntley, 52, remains in a serious condition in the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle six days after he received life-threatening head injuries. The Soham killer was bludgeoned repeatedly around the head with a metal bar in a prison work shop.
His injuries were so severe that he will not return to Frankland jail in Durham, instead he is set to be moved to Ashworth Secure Hospital. “The most likely destination for him if he gets out of hospital is Ashworth,” said a source. “His injuries are such that he is unlikely to Frankland, at least initially.”
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Ashworth was said to be best equipped to deal with his needs. Huntley will be at the centre of a huge security operation if he is moved, involving a police escort for an ambulance on the three-hour, 170-mile journey to Ashworth.
The other options would be Broadmoor Hospital in Berkshire, and Rampton, another secure hospital facility in Nottinghamshire. At Ashworth he will be closely monitored away from the rest of the prison population. The hospital has art and music workshops, pottery and cooking classes, and social events such as bingo and film nights.
Every patient is encouraged to engage in some sort of social activity as part of their daily treatment and nobody is allowed to sit in isolation. There are no steel doors, staff do not wear prison uniforms and patients are encouraged to venture outside to enjoy the surrounding open green spaces.
Rooms have music players, photos and books, with an en-suite toilet. Huntley would treated alongside more than 200 other patients held under the Mental Health Act. It costs the taxpayer around £300,000-a-year for every individual held there and they are treated as patients rather than prisoners.
Huntley was at Rampton for six weeks after his 2002 arrest but deemed fit to move to a prison. He would be moved back into prison as soon as he was well enough to do so. He was so close to death after an inmate battered him that he had to travel by road rather than by air to hospital.
A paramedic and a doctor flew to Frankland in Durham and stabilised him at the scene. They placed him in an induced coma because of the severity of his injuries after he was attacked with a metal pole in a prison workshop, allegedly by a triple killer.
An ambulance took him to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle so medics could continue working on him en route if his condition deteriorated. The air ambulance took off from the prison and landed at the RVI to collect the medics after Huntley reached the hospital following the 30-minute, 19 mile journey. Armed police formed an escort at the front and back of the vehicle. Two prison guards and an armed police officer were inside the ambulance during the high security operation.
“He was placed in an induced coma because he was so close to death,” a source said. “The team from the helicopter travelled with him but he could not be evacuated by air in case of any complications. He was transported by road because he was in a coma; this helps to keep him stable. The helicopter then travels to the hospital to collect the medics. Two armed officers are guarding Huntley around the clock at the hospital.”
One source told the Mirror, “Medical staff must be professional no matter who they are dealing with. With a high-profile prisoner like Huntley, the patient’s name is not released before arrival at the jail. Once the medical staff get there, they may recognise the patient but must put that to the back of their minds.”
Durham Police said on Tuesday that Huntley remained in a serious condition in hospital. Before the assault, his third during 24 years in prison, Huntley had become paranoid that fellow inmates were poisoning him. He was left in a pool of blood following the attack shortly after 9 a.m. last Thursday. Police and prison authorities have not confirmed the identity of the suspect, named as triple killer Anthony Russell.
Huntley, who worked as a cleaner on A wing at Frankland, had given up prison food because he was so convinced his fellow inmates were “out to get him.” Instead, he bought fast food and confectionery from the shop, causing his weight to balloon.
Huntley is serving a life sentence for the murders of 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman after they left a family barbecue to buy sweets in Soham, Cambridgeshire, on August 4, 2002.
He dumped their bodies in a ditch and fell under suspicion after giving media interviews about the police investigation. He is serving a minimum 40-year term. “He knew that he was a target,” according to one insider. “That is why he was so paranoid about his food.” The bodies of Holly and Jessica were found two weeks after they disappeared in August 2002.
Huntley was convicted in December 2003 following a trial at the Old Bailey. His girlfriend Maxine Carr, a teaching assistant at the girls’ primary school, was also jailed in 2003 after being found guilty of conspiring to pervert the course of justice.
She was freed from jail and given a new identity in May 2004. After his arrest, it emerged Huntley had been able to work with children despite facing rape and sexual assault complaints. Humberside Police had received serious allegations against him. An inquiry led to criminal checks on anyone working with children.
Huntley was scalded with boiling water at HMP Wakefield in 2005. He was moved to Frankland, where robber Damien Fowkes slashed him in 2010. The neck wound was seven inches (18 cm) long and required 21 stitches. Fowkes asked a prison officer: “Is he dead? I hope so.”
