Ian Huntley inquest remains suspended pending murder trial

Huntley was allegedly attacked with a metal bar in a workshop at the maximum security Frankland Prison near Durham on February 26.

Huntley was taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle, where he died on March 7.

A brief inquest hearing in Crook, County Durham, was held where coroner Jeremy Chipperfield was told criminal proceedings had begun and a trial was due to start on November 23.

Anthony Russell, 44, has been charged with murder and has appeared in court previously.

Mr Chipperfield asked whether Russell had entered pleas and was told by his coroner’s officer that psychiatric assessments have been carried out on behalf of the prosecution and defence.

The coroner said the inquest will remain suspended until the completion of the criminal proceedings and it will then be considered whether it was necessary to complete the inquest.

Mr Chipperfield said: “That cannot happen until we know the shape of any trial.”

He adjourned the inquest proceedings until December 16 for a further brief hearing.

Huntley was serving a life sentence for the 2002 murders of 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.

The ex-school caretaker killed the best friends after they left a family barbecue to buy sweets in Soham, Cambridgeshire, on August 4 2002.

He dumped their bodies in a ditch 10 miles away.

They were not found for 13 days despite a search involving hundreds of police officers.

At the time, Huntley lived with Maxine Carr who was a teaching assistant at Holly and Jessica’s primary school.

He denied murdering the girls but was convicted after a trial at the Old Bailey in 2003.

He was jailed for life with a recommended minimum term of 40 years.