Few, if any, will mourn the death of Ian Huntley, the Soham murderer whose heinous acts are among the most horrific in British history. However, for his parents, the news is likely to evoke complex emotions.
Huntley was 28 when, in August 2002, 10-year-old Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman disappeared. The caretaker portrayed himself as a worried local, joining the search while knowing the girls' bodies were hidden in an irrigation ditch. He was later convicted of their murders and died this month following an assault in prison.
Mirror journalist Nathan Yates, who interviewed Huntley before his guilt was known, recalled speaking with his parents, Kevin Huntley and Lynda Richards. They showed childhood photos and insisted he was a 'totally normal kid'. However, Yates was struck by their 'odd' choice of words: 'We're 99 per cent sure that it wasn't him.'
Yates said: 'That's a really odd thing to say because usually people say, "It can't possibly be, we're 100 per cent sure". So they knew there was something in his background that meant it could have been him.' The parents suggested an American from a nearby airbase was responsible.
Yates felt pity for them as they were ostracised by the public, despite not committing the murders themselves.
