Ian Huntley to be ‘cremated in secret’ after being battered to demise in jail
After perverted Ian Huntley’s death behind bars, strict prison procedures ensured his final moments were carefully documented, with a full investigation and postmortem
Ian Huntley died behind bars(Image:
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Soham killer Ian Huntley will be likely be cremated in a secret ceremony and his remains quietly disposed of, it has been claimed. The child murderer – who died a week after being hit 15 times over the head with a metal pole –will have “low key” ceremony, insiders say.
Nusrit Mehab, a former superintendent with the Metropolitan police and a senior lecturer in criminology and criminal justice, said Huntley may have expressed wishes on what do with his body before his death.
She added: “It will be very low key, from what I can tell. If nobody claims the body, then the prison service [and] local authority will arrange it, depending on where he’s from.”
She said that when someone dies in prison, their final moments are closely recorded, their death is treated as a crime scene, and an independent investigation and postmortem are always carried out. After that, his body will be released to the next of kin.
She added: “I don’t know what his situation was – he’s been in prison for a long time and doesn’t have a lot to do with his family. But if they are the next of kin, they still have a right to claim the body. Unless he’s put a will in, or asked somebody else.
She warned there will be security risks if his family choose to have a funeral. She told the Mirror: “If his family are next of kin, they can take the body, do a private funeral, a cremation, whichever they want.
“It will be a very high profile death, so there will still likely be security concerns. So they might want a private burial in an undisclosed location, which usually happens, with minimal attendance. They might even just choose a cremation.
“It will be very low key, from what I can tell. If nobody claims the body, then the prison service [and] local authority will arrange it, depending on where he’s from.
“So that will be a low cost funeral or cremation – on the taxpayer. There’d be no public ceremony and it will likely be a quiet cremation rather than a funeral, in my experience.
“They do a cremation because they don’t want to give him a grave. His ashes would go to the family if they are next of kin. If not, they could be scattered by the local authority. Or – and this has happened before to my knowledge – they just get stored and put down as unclaimed.
“With high risk criminals, they receive anonymous, unpublicised disposals, that’s the term, to avoid public attention. So it will be done very quietly if they do dispose of them.”
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