Ian Huntley, the convicted Soham murderer, spent his final years oscillating between arrogant swagger and cowering fear, while his physical condition deteriorated dramatically due to a prison diet dominated by fast food and confectionery. The 52-year-old died after sustaining severe injuries in a brutal attack at HMP Frankland, a Category A prison known as 'Monster Mansion'.
A Life Ended in Violence
Huntley was rushed to hospital last Thursday after a fellow inmate allegedly attacked him with a metal pole. Prison officers initially found him lying in a pool of blood, assuming he was dead. The assault resulted in skull fractures, brain damage and a broken jaw. His final days were spent in a medically induced coma on a ventilator.
On Friday night, following consultations with his mother Lynda Richards, medical staff withdrew life support after brain tests confirmed a vegetative state. The Ministry of Justice has since confirmed his death. Richards reportedly visited her dying son but struggled to recognise him after the attack.
The Prison Diet That Changed His Appearance
In his later years, Huntley became increasingly paranoid about being poisoned, refusing to eat standard prison meals. Instead, he purchased fast food and snacks from the prison shop, leading to significant weight gain. Prison sources revealed he survived largely on items like cheesy Wotsits, believing this ensured his food hadn't been tampered with.
"He would not eat the prison food because he was convinced an inmate would poison him," a source told The Mirror. "So he bought snack food from the shop so he knew exactly what he was eating."
Another source described his transformed appearance: "He does not look like the man we saw on TV all those years ago. He is much, much heavier, his weight has ballooned because of his diet." Standing approximately 5ft 2in, Huntley reportedly weighed over 15 stone.
Prison Life: Between Arrogance and Fear
Fellow inmates witnessed Huntley's unpredictable behaviour – sometimes striding corridors mockingly, other times shuffling as a reclusive, pitiful figure. He avoided group activities and the prison yard, often lingering by kitchens complaining about food. His pastimes included watching television and playing video games on consoles bought with prison earnings.
Huntley had been targeted before in prison, surviving a boiling water assault and a neck slashing. In 2005, he attempted suicide. His paranoia about poisoning stemmed from these ongoing threats.
Confrontations and Consequences
In 2017, Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe confronted Huntley, calling him a "child killing b*****d" and ordering him to leave. Sutcliffe's brother Carl revealed the killer viewed himself as "a higher class of killer than Huntley", though Carl noted "a murderer is a murderer in my eyes."
In November 2019, Huntley was placed in solitary confinement after swearing at an official and kicking a guard – an act described as 'pathetic' by a jail source. This resulted in lost privileges, including his £20-a-week painting job and favourite fish and chip meals. An insider said he became "almost unrecognisable... like a skinny old man with no fight left in him."
The Crimes That Defined Him
Huntley was convicted in December 2003 for the August 2002 murders of 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in Soham, Cambridgeshire. He received two life sentences with a minimum 40-year term. The girls disappeared from a family barbecue; Huntley, then a school caretaker, participated in the search while secretly having murdered them.
He lured the girls into his home by claiming his girlfriend Maxine Carr – a teaching assistant at their school – was inside. After killing them, he hid their bodies in an irrigation ditch near an RAF base. Huntley later returned to remove and burn their Manchester United shirts to destroy DNA evidence, but police recovered them from his workplace bin, crucial to his conviction.
Carr was acquitted of aiding and abetting but sentenced to three-and-a-half years for perverting justice. After serving half her sentence, she was given a new identity upon release.
