Cheers and football-style chants erupted among prisoners at HMP Frankland as news spread that double child killer Ian Huntley had died, according to prison sources. Inmates had been demanding three cheers each morning for Anthony Russell, the convicted murderer who allegedly attacked Huntley with a metal bar. A source said Huntley was widely loathed inside the high-security jail, known as Monster Mansion, because he considered himself a 'celebrity'.
Huntley, 52, was left unconscious in a pool of blood after being bludgeoned during a workshop on February 26. He was rushed to hospital, but medics switched off his life support on March 6 after brain scans confirmed he was in a vegetative state. Russell is said to have struck Huntley at least 15 times while shouting, 'I've done it! I've killed him!' as prison officers surrounded him.
The Soham murderer was serving life for the 2002 killings of 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, a case described by the Ministry of Justice as 'one of the most shocking and devastating in our nation's history'. Huntley had faced multiple violent attacks during his imprisonment, including a 2010 stabbing and a scalding by serial killer Mark Hobson.
A Durham Constabulary spokesperson confirmed Huntley's death and said an investigation is ongoing, with a file being prepared for the Crown Prosecution Service. The Ministry of Justice expressed condolences to the victims' families but said no one who dealt with Huntley was 'shedding a tear'. His mother, Lynda, 71, was present when life support was withdrawn.
