Notorious UK Child Killer Ian Huntley Dies After Prison Attack
One of Britain’s most infamous child killers, Ian Huntley, has died days after being attacked by a fellow inmate at a maximum-security prison in England.
The 52-year-old, who was serving a life sentence for the 2002 murders of two schoolgirls, had been on life support after he was repeatedly struck with a metal bar in a workshop at Frankland Prison in northeast United Kingdom on February 26.
Huntley was convicted in 2003 of killing 10-year-old best friends Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, whose disappearance from the village of Soham shocked the nation.
The girls vanished on August 4, 2002, after leaving a family barbecue to buy sweets. Their disappearance triggered a massive police search lasting nearly two weeks, during which a photograph of the pair wearing matching Manchester United shirts became widely circulated across British media.
Thousands of people visited Soham during the search, leaving flowers outside the village church in a show of public concern and solidarity.
The search ended 13 days later when hikers discovered the girls’ bodies near a wooded path a few miles from the village.
In a statement, the UK Ministry of Justice described the killings as “one of the most shocking and devastating cases in the nation’s history,” extending sympathy to the victims’ families.
Huntley had denied the murders but was found guilty at Central Criminal Court in 2003 and given a life sentence with a minimum term of 40 years.
During his imprisonment, Huntley survived several attacks and was held under strict protection due to the notoriety of his crimes. In 2010, another inmate slashed his throat in a separate assault.
At the time of the murders, Huntley lived with Maxine Carr, a teaching assistant at the girls’ school. Carr later served 21 months in prison for providing Huntley with a false alibi and has since been living under a new identity.
British media reports suggest that fellow inmate Anthony Russell, a convicted murderer and rapist, carried out the latest attack that led to Huntley’s death.
Police from Durham Constabulary are investigating the incident, with a case file expected to be submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service to determine whether further charges will be filed.
