The Soham murderer was attacked in prison with a makeshift weapon last month
Ian Huntley, the former school caretaker who murdered two 10-year-old girls, has died following an attack in prison. The 52-year-old suffered significant head trauma after being attacked with a makeshift weapon, understood to be a metal bar, by another inmate at HMP Frankland on February 26 and had been on life support in hospital.
He had been serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 40 years for murdering best friends Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in 2002 in Soham, east Cambridgeshire.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said their thoughts were with Holly and Jessica’s families.
It is reported that Huntley’s life support was switched off at lunchtime on Friday, March 6, after brain tests showed he was in a vegetative state. For the biggest stories in Wales first sign up to our daily newsletter here
The attack left Huntley blind, according to the Sun, and it quoted a source saying: “Huntley never recovered from the battering and never stood much of a chance of doing so.”
Murderer and rapist Anthony Russell, 43, reportedly shouted, “I’ve done it, I’ve done it” after Huntley was attacked in the recycling area of the prison.
Durham Constabulary has not identified the suspect but it said on the day of the attack that a man in his mid-40s had been detained.
The brutality of Huntley’s crimes made him a target in prison and he had been attacked several times previously.
After his death in hospital was confirmed, 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.”
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