Soham murderer Ian Huntley seriously injured in prison attack

Ian Huntley, the man convicted of the murders of schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in August 2002, is currently receiving medical treatment following an assault by another prisoner. The 52-year-old remains incarcerated at HMP Frankland, a high-security prison in County Durham, where the incident took place in a workshop within the facility.

According to the Prison Service, Huntley sustained serious head injuries and was transported to hospital on Thursday morning. Durham Constabulary reported that a male inmate, believed to be in his mid-40s, is suspected of carrying out the attack. Although the suspect remains in custody, the police have not formally arrested him at this stage. An air ambulance was initially dispatched to the prison, but the injured prisoner was eventually taken to hospital by road.

The police confirmed that an investigation is ongoing, with detectives working closely alongside prison staff. A spokesperson for Durham Constabulary stated: “Police were alerted to an assault which had taken place within HMP Frankland in Durham this morning. A male prisoner suffered serious injuries during the incident and was transported to hospital.”

The original crime committed by Huntley shocked the nation. In 2002, the two 10-year-old girls, Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, went missing in the Cambridgeshire town of Soham. Huntley, originally from Grimsby and employed as a caretaker at Soham Village College, lured the girls into his home before murdering them. Their bodies were discovered in a ditch near an airbase in Lakenheath, Suffolk, approximately two weeks later. During his trial at the Old Bailey, Huntley was described as “ruthless” by prosecutor Richard Latham QC, who called Huntley’s version of events “desperate lies.” Ultimately, Huntley admitted to killing Jessica by smothering her to silence her cries and confessed to disposing of the bodies and attempting to burn them.

Convicted on 17 December 2003, Huntley’s girlfriend at the time, Maxine Carr, was also imprisoned for conspiring to pervert the course of justice, though she was released in 2004 and given a new identity. After the murders, revelations emerged that Huntley had previously been able to work with children despite prior rape and sexual assault complaints against him. This prompted a wider inquiry resulting in the implementation of criminal background checks for individuals working with children. Huntley has been serving time in various prisons, moving to HMP Frankland, a Category A men’s prison, in 2008. This current assault is not the first instance of him being harmed while incarcerated

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