Ian Huntley inquest to open next month after murderer died days after prison attack

It is believed that the child killer’s ashes will be scattered in secret

An inquest is scheduled open in April for Soham killer Ian Huntley, who died days after a prison attack. The 52-year-old died in the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle on March 7 after he was allegedly attacked with a metal bar in a workshop at HMP Frankland in Durham on February 26.

The County Durham and Darlington Coroner has posted details of an inquest opening hearing, due to be held in Crook, County Durham, on April 14. Listed under the name Ian Kevin Huntley, the inquest opening will be heard by senior coroner Jeremy Chipperfield.

It has been reported there will be no funeral service for the child killer. The Sun has said it understood Huntley’s family will scatter his ashes in secret.

Anthony Russell, 43, has been charged with murdering Huntley at the maximum security jail. He will attend Newcastle Crown Court on April 24 for a pre-trial preparation 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 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.

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.

Carr gave Huntley a false alibi and was jailed for 21 months for perverting the course of justice. She is now living under a new identity.