Ian Huntley, the convicted murderer of schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, has died in hospital following a violent attack in prison. The 50-year-old was assaulted with a metal pole in a workshop at HMP Frankland last week, sustaining serious brain injuries that left him in a medically induced coma. He died on Friday after life support was withdrawn.
Huntley's biological daughter, Samantha Bryan, 27, expressed relief at the news. Speaking to The Sun on Sunday, she said: 'I started crying because I thought he was dead - it was an overwhelming sense of relief. Being his daughter has been a heavy burden. It felt like I could breathe again.' Bryan only discovered Huntley was her father at age 14 during a school crime project.
Huntley had refused to meet his daughter after she requested a visit, sending a letter that read: 'Given the probable length of my future and your current motives I doubt there will be enough time for a significant shift in circumstances in order for us to ever meet.' Bryan described him as a 'pitiful, twisted, manipulative coward' and said there is 'a special place in hell waiting for dad'.
Huntley was serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 40 years for the murders of 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in Soham, Cambridgeshire, in August 2002. The former school caretaker had discarded their bodies in a ditch.
Nusrit Mehab, a former police superintendent and criminology lecturer, told the Mirror that Huntley's remains will be subject to a post-mortem and inquest, as is mandatory for deaths in custody. His body will be released to his next of kin for a funeral, despite his notoriety.
