Soham murderer Ian Huntley dies after prison attack

Huntley suffered significant head trauma from his injuries and his life support was switched off at lunchtime on Friday (March 6) after brain tests showed he was in a vegetative state, The Sun said.

A spokesman for Durham Constabulary said: “A man who was attacked at HMP Frankland in Durham last week has died in hospital this morning.

“Ian Huntley, 52, was taken to hospital with serious injuries following an incident in the workshop on the morning of Thursday, February 26.

“A police investigation into the circumstances of the incident is ongoing.

“A file is being prepared for the Crown Prosecution Service for consideration for charges.”

Durham Constabulary has not identified the suspect, but on the day of the attack, the force said a man in his mid-40s had been detained.

After the death of Huntley in hospital, 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.”

Sources told the BBC Huntley was found lying in a pool of blood after being bludgeoned with a make-shift weapon at a prison workshop at HMP Frankland – the high security prison in County Durham.

Why was Ian Huntley imprisoned?

The disappearance and murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in Soham, Cambridgeshire, captured the attention of the nation in 2002.

Huntley killed both 10-year-olds after they left a family barbecue to buy sweets, and then dumped their bodies in a ditch.

He was their school caretaker and put himself forward as a volunteer to help search for them after they went missing, and was interviewed by reporters on camera.

The efforts to locate the girls in the 13 days after they disappeared have been described as one of the most intense and extensive in British criminal history.

Huntley was convicted of murdering both girls in December 2003 and sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment.

His girlfriend Maxine Carr was also jailed in 2003 after being found guilty of conspiring to pervert the course of justice for giving him a false alibi. She has since been released.

In 2010, robber Damien Fowkes slashed Huntley with a home-made weapon, causing a “severe, gaping cut to the left side of his neck” with a 7in (18cm) wound which required 21 stitches.

Fowkes asked a prison officer: “Is he dead? I hope so.”