Ian Huntley replace from police 5 days after Soham baby killer attacked in jail
Police have given an update on Soham killer Ian Huntley five days after he was allegedly attacked in the workshop of a maximum security jail by an inmate with a metal bar
Ian Huntley pictured in September 2006. (Image: Andy Stenning/Daily Mirror)
Soham murderer Ian Huntley remains critically ill in hospital five days after being assaulted in the workshop of a high-security prison by an inmate wielding a metal bar. Durham Constabulary confirmed on Tuesday that there had been no improvement in the 52-year-old’s condition following the brutal attack at HMP Frankland, near Durham, last Thursday.
The force stated: “There has been no change in the 52-year-old man’s condition overnight – he remains in hospital in a serious condition.”
Reports suggest that triple murderer Anthony Russell allegedly yelled “I’ve done it, I’ve done it” after Huntley was repeatedly struck over the head with a piece of metal in a recycling area.
Whilst the force has refrained from identifying the suspect, they did confirm on the day of the alleged assault that a man in his mid-40s was apprehended.
Following the attack, Huntley’s sole daughter Samantha Bryan, 27, told The Sun on Sunday: “There’s a special place in hell waiting for him.”
Former school caretaker Huntley murdered 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman after they left a family barbecue to buy sweets in Soham, Cambridgeshire, on 4 August 2002. He discarded their bodies in a ditch.
Russell received a whole-life sentence in 2021 for the murders of Julie Williams, 58, her son David Williams, 32, at separate flats in Coventry, and pregnant Nicole McGregor, 31, who was discovered in woodland near Leamington Spa three days later.
Russell also sexually assaulted Ms McGregor.
Thursday’s brutal assault marked the most recent attempt on Huntley’s life, with authorities believed to have been monitoring him closely to prevent such incidents.
Back in 2010, robber Damien Fowkes attacked him with a makeshift blade, inflicting a “severe, gaping cut to the left side of his neck” – a 7in (18cm) gash that needed 21 stitches.
Fowkes asked a prison officer: “Is he dead? I hope so.”
He branded Huntley a “notorious child killer, both inside prison and in society in general”.
Huntley’s life sentence recommended he serve at least 40 years for the Soham murders.
