Soham murderer Ian Huntley has died in hospital after being attacked at HMP Frankland in County Durham, police said, prompting a criminal investigation into the prison assault that left one of Britain’s most notorious killers on life support.
Huntley, 52, was assaulted in the prison workshop on Thursday, Feb. 26, and suffered severe head injuries after being struck repeatedly by an inmate wielding a metal bar, according to earlier reports. He was transferred to hospital and placed on life support before his death.
- Advertisement -
Durham Constabulary said in a statement that a police investigation into the circumstances of the incident is ongoing and that a file is being prepared for the Crown Prosecution Service for consideration of charges.
Huntley’s daughter, Samantha Bryan, 27, said she felt “relieved” when told his life support had been withdrawn. “I didn’t cry. I smiled. I was over the moon to be honest,” she told The Sun On Sunday. Bryan, from Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, added that he “shouldn’t have the dignity of a funeral and grave,” saying, “We should flush his ashes down the toilet.”
Her mother, Katie Bryan, 45, said she had considered visiting the hospital to confirm Huntley’s identity, telling The Sun On Sunday she had feared “an elaborate hoax in order to give him a new identity and protect him.” She said she was relieved he would never meet their daughter and that she no longer had to live in fear.
Huntley was serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 40 years for the 2002 murders of 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in Soham, Cambridgeshire. The girls vanished on Aug. 4, 2002, after leaving a family barbecue to buy sweets, triggering a massive search over 13 days that involved hundreds of officers and gripped the country.
At the time of the killings, Huntley lived with Maxine Carr, a teaching assistant at the girls’ primary school. He denied murder but was convicted at the Old Bailey in 2003. Carr admitted providing Huntley a false alibi and was jailed for 21 months for perverting the course of justice; she has since been living under a new identity.
Huntley’s death in custody raises further questions about safety and security in high-security prisons, particularly for inmates convicted of crimes that provoke widespread public revulsion. Authorities have not released details about any suspects in the attack or the precise events leading up to the assault in the Frankland workshop.
Police have asked anyone with information relevant to the prison incident to come forward as their investigation continues. No timetable has been given for potential charging decisions.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
