Soham murderer Ian Huntley has died after a brutal prison attack left him in a medically induced coma. As the world hears of his demise, we look at what his lover Maxine Carr is up to now
She was the most hated woman in Britain, having tried to cover up the unimaginable crimes of her killer boyfriend Ian Huntley.
But now, two decades since she was freed from prison under a new identity, Maxine Carr will be hearing of his grim death with the rest of the world – alongside her ‘besotted’ husband.
Carr was imprisoned for providing her murderous lover with a false alibi on 4 August 2002 – the night he brutally killed schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, before dumping their bodies in an irrigation ditch in Soham, Cambridgeshire.
Carr attempted to protect Huntley by claiming she was at home on that dreadful night – when in reality, she was in Grimsby. Holly and Jessica, both aged 10, had left a family barbecue to buy sweets when they mysteriously disappeared, only to be tragically discovered dead 13 days later.
At trial, she and Huntley – who was abusive in the relationship – turned against each other and are believed to have had no contact since. While Carr rebuilt her life after her release, Huntley spent his final years languishing in jail. After enduring a string of violent assaults inside, he was attacked for the final time last Thursday.
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Huntley was rushed to hospital last after a fellow inmate allegedly bludgeoned his head with a metal pole. He was initally assumed dead when prison officers found him lying on the ground in a pool of blood at HMP Frankland, otherwise known as ‘Monster Mansion’.
The child killer sustained severe injuries – including skull fractures, brain damage and a broken jaw. His grim last days were spent in a medically induced coma, with a ventilator to help him breathe. His mother Lynda Richards, who snuck in to visit her dying son, apparently couldn’t recognise Huntley after the attack.
On Friday night, medics reportedly withdrew the ventilator that was keeping him alive, following consultations with his mother. Sources told The Sun that the decision was taken at around lunchtime after brain tests showed he was in a vegetative state. They also claimed his mum was by his bedside. Today, the Ministry of Justice confirmed the killer’s death, aged 52.
The search operation to locate Holly and Jessica was one of the largest the nation has ever witnessed. Carr and Huntley even participated in the hunt, talking to the media and assisting locals, as well as 400 police officers and US Air Force personnel, in scouring the countryside for the missing best friends. Sick Huntley even comforted Holly’s father as the search went on.
In one interview, Carr – who was the girls’ teaching assistant – boasted about her significance to Holly and showed reporters a card Holly had made for her on the last day of term. In a conversation with a television journalist, Carr expressed: “No one believes they would ever run away. They were very close to their families. This is something that I will keep for the rest of my life. It’s what Holly gave me on the last day of term and there’s a poem written inside saying ‘to a special teaching assistant’ and that we will miss her and we will see her in the future. That was the kind of girl she was, she was just really lovely.”
Every registered sex offender in Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire was questioned, yet there appeared to be no sign of the primary school pupils. A substantial media campaign ensured Holly and Jessica remained on every newspaper’s front page and in every news broadcast for 13 days, leaving no stone unturned.
It emerged that Huntley, already under police scrutiny, had returned to the location where he discarded the bodies to remove the girls’ unique Manchester United shirts and attempted to burn them. He subsequently disposed of the shirts in a bin at his place of work, concealing them beneath another rubbish bag, but the authorities discovered them in a pivotal breakthrough for the investigation.
Huntley was found guilty of murder and received two life sentences, with a minimum term of 40 years imprisonment. Carr was sentenced to three-and-a-half years for perverting the course of justice. Upon completing half of her sentence, she was released and granted a new identity.
She walked free from Foston Hall prison in Derbyshire in May 2004 with a new idenity for her own protection. Over the next two years, Carr was relocated to over 10 different safe houses for protection, and in 2011, reports emerged that she had welcomed her first child – a baby boy – whilst in a secure location. By 2012, she was understood to have embarked on a committed relationship with a partner who knew about her disturbing history and was reportedly ‘absolutely besotted’ with her.
By 2014, she was believed to be residing in a coastal town. The Channel 5 true crime drama – entitled Maxine – portrays her living beside the sea, with somebody calling out her name, claiming they recognised her. Authorities cannot disclose the town’s identity due to the permanent anonymity order bestowed upon Carr by the High Court over a decade ago.
She remains one of only four former UK prisoners shielded by lifelong anonymity – alongside James Bulger’s killers Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, and child murderer Mary Bell. That same year she established her coastal existence, Carr allegedly wed a man in a secret ceremony complete with all the bells and whistles.
According to the Daily Mail, the couple exchanged vows at an undisclosed hotel, with the bride donning a £2,000 ivory gown. Her future husband escorted her down the aisle, insiders revealed, noting that guests enjoyed a three-course wedding breakfast and sipped £10 bottles of fizz before the newlyweds jetted off to a family-oriented resort for their honeymoon.
The revelation is believed to have been a tough blow for the devastated mums of Holly and Jessica, who were denied the chance to watch their daughters carve out their own lives. “The families of Holly and Jessica will never get to see their daughters marry,” an insider revealed to the newspaper. “They will never get to enjoy their big day. They have nothing to look forward to. Why should she?”.
The publication reports that the total sum of protect Carr’s identity has reportedly skyrocketed above £2million, with taxpayers covering the bill for her to change her appearance with cosmetic surgery and thousands of pounds worth of dental work, as well as money to change her style and hair colour.
While Huntley spent his final years as a hated figure at ‘Monster Mansion’, he remained obsessed with the ongoings of Carr. He was said to be “devastated” after learning that Maxine had kissed two other men while in Grimsby on on the weekend the girls died.
He wrote: “I was totally devastated. I have written to her and asked for an explanation and to find out how true it is.” He admitted he hated not knowing what Carr was up to, writing in another: “I feel sick with worry. I feel so lonely without her.” And he was incapable of acknowledging his guilt, as he mused in another on who might play him in a film about the case.
“One of the staff here said someone might make a film about what me and Max have gone through. What a horrible thought. I would like to have the part of James Bond or Tom Cruise in Top Gun. That would be amazing,” he wrote. In another, he raved: “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.”
Huntley also kept a photo of his ex in the cell, and erupted into a rage after it was removed by officers. On another occasion, he reportedly offered treats from his weekly jail cookery classes to any prison inmate who would help him send a photo of himself to Carr. But the monster was so hated that prisoners tipped off jail staff.
An insider said before his death: “Huntley made inquiries with other inmates whether anyone had a mobile phone or could get their hands on one, so he could take his own picture and send it to Carr. No one would help him because he is so detested. He offered a substantial payback from the canteen for the favour. He’s got access to grub because he does weekly cookery classes. He didn’t want to get the phone himself because if he was caught he knew he’d risk being moved out of Wakefield. He likes it here.
“But Huntley is hated and no one was prepared to stick their neck out for him. He’s always looking for ways of sneaking round the system. Every time he’s rumbled a new rule comes in. It’s left him feeling like he’s in control of the jail. They have created a monster – if he wasn’t one already.”
