Ian Huntley, the school caretaker who murdered 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, has died in hospital after being attacked at HMP Frankland, a maximum security prison in County Durham. The 52-year-old was assaulted with a spiked metal bar in a workshop on 26 February and suffered severe brain trauma. He was taken off life support on Friday after his condition deteriorated.
Huntley was serving two life sentences for the murders of Holly and Jessica, who were killed in Soham, Cambridgeshire, on 4 August 2002. The girls had left a family barbecue to buy sweets. Their bodies were found 13 days later in a ditch near an RAF base. The case became one of the most intensive in British criminal history, involving 400 police officers.
Huntley became a suspect after his agitated behaviour and questions about DNA evidence aroused suspicion. His then partner, Maxine Carr, initially provided an alibi but later broke down under questioning. Police found charred pieces of the girls' Manchester United shirts in Huntley's workplace, linking him to the crime.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: 'The murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman remain one of the most shocking and devastating cases in our nation’s history, and our thoughts are with their families.' Durham Constabulary confirmed Huntley's death in hospital and said an investigation into the incident is ongoing, with a file being prepared for the Crown Prosecution Service.
HMP Frankland is a category A prison holding high-profile inmates including Michael Adebolajo, Levi Bellfield and Wayne Couzens. Violent attacks are not uncommon; in April last year, three prison officers were seriously injured in an attack by Hashem Abedi, brother of the Manchester Arena bomber.
