Child killer Ian Huntley has died after being attacked by a fellow prisoner. In the 23 years since he killed Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, the murdered expressed no regrets and continued to taunt their families from jail
Soham killer Ian Huntley has died nine days after being bludgeoned in jail, but his death will not be mourned.
The 52-year-old was left lying in a pool of blood on a wing at HMP Frankland, County Durham before being placed in a medically-induced coma that he would never wake up from.
It was the latest in a long string of attacks at the hands of other inmates. Back in 2005 at HMP Wakefield, convicted mass murderer Mark Hobson attacked Huntley with boiling water. Then, in 2010 his neck was slashed by convicted armed robber Damien Fowkes, two years after his transfer to HMP Frankland.
He became one of the UK’s most notorious murderers after he was convicted for killing ten-year-old best friends Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells in his home in Soham, Cambridgeshire on August 4, 2002.. At the time, he was working at the time as a school caretaker – despite previous allegations of sexual violence against young women and teenage girls.
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The evil killer even joined in the search for the two girls and brazenly took part in media interviews when police officers descended on the sleepy Cambridgeshire town.
Huntley has been incarcerated at the Category A prison HMP Frankland in County Durham since 2008. Dubbed ‘Monster Mansion’ the prison’s inmates have a fearsome reputation – including the prisoner alleged to have attacked Huntley last week.
Anthony Russell was convicted in 2022 for the murder of Julie Williams and her son David, and the horrific rape and murder of pregnant Nicole McGregor, in a terrifying week-long crime spree near Leamington Spa in 2020. He is serving a whole life order for his crimes.
Russell is alleged to have said, “I’ve done it, I’ve done it. I’ve killed him, I’ve killed him,” as he was taken away in handcuffs. Huntley, meanwhile, was airlifted to a nearby hospital for treatment and was, a source said, in a “terrible state”.
Given the nature – and notoriety – of his crimes, the Soham killer has never been popular with his fellow inmates.
“He’s up there with one of the most hated prisoners. It could have been anyone. The majority would attack him for the reputation, not because of what he has done. They will want to be the one that done in Ian Huntley,” a source told the Chronicle.
“It’s not the first time it’s happened. It’s always going to happen. If he survives it’s always going to happen every few years. If he has annoyed someone really bad or someone wants to be able to say they have killed him. He’s probably one of the most famous prisoners in the country.”
Another prison source previously described Huntley as an “up and down” person, whose moods swing from extremes – acting the “big man” towards his fellow prisoners one moment and then becoming incredibly moody and reclusive.
One anecdote from sources behind bars claims Huntley flew into a fit of rage after lags taunted him over his beloved Manchester United shirt – the same kind his victims were wearing when he killed them. Huntley later cut the shirts from their bodies and tried to hide them in a bin.
In a warped twist, his shirt was also emblazoned with the number 10, according to The Sun – the same age as Jessica and Holly were when he murdered them. Guards searched his cell after hearing his fellow inmates chanted, “Huntley, Huntley, where’s your shirt?”
Framed photos of Maxine Carr – the girlfriend who provided him with a false alibi – were also reportedly confiscated. A source claimed: “They’re shouting insults and calling him ‘sicko’ and stuff. They’ve also mocked him about losing the Carr pictures. Huntley’s livid. He’s been going up the wall.”
Meanwhile, Huntley previously pleaded with a female penpal to send him a photograph of her in a Manchester United shirt as he awaited trial. The Daily Mirror revealed how he asked the penpal three times, and on one occasion told her from prison that he would be “punishing” her if she didn’t do as he asked.
In other penpal letters, he admitted he could lose his temper with a “bang”. “When I’m down, I’m a miserable git and when I’m cheerful I’m a barking woof woof. All I can say is that I hope my future has plenty of woof woof woof moments. God I am nuts,” he reportedly wrote.
At one point, Huntley is also said to have tried to use a secret code to send messages to co-accused Maxine Carr – a tactic used by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley. Carr provided a false alibi for Huntley, claiming she was with him in Soham when the murders occurred, but was actually in Grimsby. She was sentenced to 42 months for perverting the course of justice.
