Soham murderer Ian Huntley, 52, was rushed to hospital this morning with serious head injuries but the killer has been attacked several times while locked up
Child murderer Ian Huntley was rushed to hospital today after he was attacked, but this isn’t the first time the evil killer has been targeted while locked up.
Huntley, 52, has faced at least three other attacks as he serves out his life sentence for the murders of schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, both aged 10, in August 2002. The child killer tonight is in a “serious condition” after he was attacked during a workshop at HMP Frankland, in County Durham, at around 9am. The prolific killer was jailed in 2003 for the horror case that shocked the nation, and has led to his turbulent two decades behind bars.
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READ MORE: Ian Huntley prison attack UPDATES: Police issue update on killer’s condition
Huntley had boiling water thrown over him by fellow killer Mark Hobson, in 2005. Hobson had been jailed for murdering his girlfriend, her twin sister and an elderly couple.
This inmate-on-inmate attack happened at HMP Wakefield, in West Yorkshire, and Hobson was thrown into solitary confinement for three months after the targeted scalding. At the time, a spokesperson for Prison Services said “it’s impossible to prevent incidents of this nature occasionally happening”.
In 2010, Huntley had his throat slashed with a makeshift knife by armed robber Damien Fowkes, at HMP Frankland. The caretaker turned murderer was rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries after Fowkes inflicted a seven inch long wound on his neck – Huntley had been working on the healthcare wing at the jail.
The child killer later recovered but a court heard it was in “good fortune” the knife missed anything vital in his neck. Huntley later said: “It was 2mm away from my jugular. The only thing I could think of was get a message to my family to say I was OK.”
Prosecutor Graham Reeds told Hull Crown Court that Fowkes asked a prison officer if Huntley had died before adding “I hope so”. The armed robber had “since expressed a particular hatred for child killers”.
Fowkes was later sentenced to a minimum of 20 years for the attempted murder of Huntley and the manslaughter of child killer Colin Hatch, 38 – who had been locked up for killing Sean Williams, 7, in 1994.
Another inmate allegedly attempted to slit Huntley’s throat in May 2017. The Soham murderer, in a recording leaked to The Sun, said an attacker “came in with a razor blade on a toothbrush”. He added: “There was an attempt on my life last year. I have no problems telling you his name, it was a prisoner who tried to kill me.
“He came into my cell armed with a weapon and tried to cut my throat. I managed to kick him in the chest and then to the stomach. I took the weapon off him and he was on the floor.” Official details of this apparent incident were not made public.
Durham Police, on Thursday evening, said a prisoner in his mid-40s has been identified as a suspect in the attack on the Soham murderer. A spokesman for Durham Constabulary said: “The 52-year-old prisoner who was injured during this morning’s assault in the workshop at HMP Frankland remains in a serious condition in hospital following treatment for head injuries.
“Police forensic teams have examined the scene of the attack throughout the day to gather evidence. A suspect, a male prisoner in his mid-40s, has been identified by officers investigating the incident. He has not been arrested at this stage but remains in detention within the prison.”
