Ian Huntley has been given a “5% chance to live” after he was allegedly struck in the head by a ‘metal spike’ during a brutal prison attack.
Huntley, one Britain’s most notorious child killers, has had a target on his back since he was convicted of the 2002 murders of 10-year-old girls Jessica Chapman Holly Wells. He’s survived getting his throat slit – twice – and getting covered in boiling water while serving a life sentence, but yesterday (February 26) at around 9am at HMP Frankland Huntley received possibly the most brutal attempt on his life yet.
An inmate is believed to have battered the Soham sicko, 52, with a grim makeshift weapon in the prison’s workshop. The attack left Huntley in a pool of his own blood and he was airlifted to a hospital where urgent treatment is being administered.
Here’s everything we know about the assault, as further information comes to light….
(Image: Shutterstock)
‘5% chance of survival’
It’s reported that he was placed into a coma on Friday where doctors initially gave him just a 5% chance of survival, but after “working miracles” managed to keep him breathing.
Speaking to The Sun, one source claimed that medical personnel believed he was dead when they first encountered him. They added: “The prison nurses and staff who first saw him thought he was gone. And medics said there was only a five per cent chance of survival after an attack like that.
“It is still touch and go, and he could get worse. But it is extraordinary that he is still alive. When it first happened, he was totally unresponsive and could not breathe.”
(Image: PA Archive/PA Images)
Attacker’s ‘celebration’ and previous crimes
Anthony Russell, from Coventry, is suspected of carrying out the attack, following a brief argument between the two men. The lag is a triple murderer, currently serving a whole life sentence with no chance of parole.
Russell is believed to have screamed out: “I’ve done it! I’ve done it! I’ve killed him! I’ve killed him!” as officials closed in around him.
During a week-long spree in October 2020, Russell killed David Williams, 32, under the mistaken belief that he was having an affair with his girlfriend. He then murdered Williams’ mother Julie, 58, to stop her from contacting the police, and raped and strangled pregnant Nicole McGregor, 31, in a woodland area.
At his sentencing, Mr Justice Wall labelled Russell as “exceptionally dangerous and manipulative,” stating: “You will remain in custody for the rest of your life.”
True motive for assault
Huntley previously caused outrage by donning a plain red football top with the number 10 on the back, thought to be a perverse reference to his 10-year-old victims, who were dressed in matching Man United shirts when he killed them.
It’s also been reported that he had been at odds with alleged assailant Anthony Russell in the weeks leading up to the violent attack, and was said to have been trying to intimidate him. Russell, a rapist and triple murderer, is believed to have shouted “I’ve done it, I’ve killed him” after his assault on Huntley in a prison workshop.
‘Recycled’ weapon
The Mail claims multiple sources have confirmed Russell was the one who launched the assault on Thursday morning, with one source telling the publication Huntley was working in the segregated wing when he was smashed in the head with a metal bar produced from the recycling.
They said: “Huntley was working in waste management with other prisoners from Wing A, the segregated wing for prisoners who can’t be in the normal jail population for their own protection.
“The other prisoner got a metal bar from the waste metal crates and smashed Huntley three times in the head with it. It was a very, very serious injury, having been struck on the skull like that.”
(Image: ITV)
Mother’s damning verdict
Huntley’s mum Lynda Richards, 71, travelled 175 miles to sit by the evil killer’s bedside after he’d had surgery.
She said: “just wants to be free of it” and is fully aware “flags will fly high” if he dies but she is “still his mother”. However, secretly she is understood to have confided in her friends: “Part of me hopes he passes away this time”.
Extent of injuries
The Sun reports Lynda is understood to be stunned by the severity of her son’s wounds, which include brain damage and a fractured jaw. He is believed to be connected to a life support machine and being sustained with the assistance of a ventilator.
A source told the newspaper: “It’s an extraordinarily difficult thing for her to come to terms with. Part of her just hopes he passes away this time. But he’s still her son, regardless of what happened, and they have remained very close.”
Durham Constabulary stated: “There has been no change in the 52-year-old man’s condition overnight – he remains in hospital in a serious condition.”
‘Ripped apart like a rat’
One woman visiting a prisoner housed alongside Huntley in the segregated wing told the publication that the child murderer appeared to have been “ripped apart like a rat”. She added: “He’s in a bad, bad way. I shouldn’t say it, but it’s what he deserves.”