One of Britain’s most hated child killers is to receive a “pauper’s funeral” with no one there to mourn his death.
Plans are being put in action to “quietly dispose” of the body of Ian Huntley, who died at the weekend.
Doctors made decision to switch off the life support machine currently keeping Ian Huntley alive after a brutal beating by a fellow lag in prison, the Daily Star revealed on Friday. And now we can exclusively reveal the tragic and pathetic funeral plans being put in motion to finally get rid of the monster’s body.
Insiders have claimed that normal protocol would be a quiet burial or cremation in the home town of a prisoner, but that has been ruled out because of the sheer level of hatred for the man in his former home town of Soham.
Huntley was left with “catastrophic” brain injuries after he was smashed in the head with a metal pole in a prison workshop at Monster Mansion, HMP Frankland.
And now it is claimed he will be cremated in a quiet ‘after hours ceremony’ with only his mother there to witness it.
“He will not be buried,” the insider claimed. “He cannot be, not even in an unmarked grave because of the fears of attacks on his final resting spot.
“His body was so battered at the time of his passing anyway that he was unrecognisable, but the thoughts of the powers that be is that this saga needs to end.
“There has been so much coverage about his days behind bars, his attacks and now this, that they all just want it to go away. They want it to die with Huntley and put this whole sorry affair behind them.”
It is believed Huntley will be cremated in a ‘pauper’s ceremony”, a simple cremation, with just his mother in attendance at a top secret location released to only a handful of people in a “need to know” basis.
It is being organised by the prison service and the local authority.
Our insider claimed: “Normally it would be the local authority where he had lived before but it will not be able to take place in Soham, people would be on high alert for it now he is dead and it would start a riot. It is likely they will take the authority from where he has been living all these years, near Durham.
“The thinking is that this just needs to happen quickly and quietly. The ceremony will likely happen after hours in the hours of darkness. They want no drama.”
Huntley’s ashes will then be released to his mother, and if she does not want them they will be “disposed of anonymously in an unpublicised disposal to avoid public attention.”
“This will all be done very quietly,” they added.
It is believed the funeral will cost “hundreds” rather than thousands and is deemed a Pauper’s funeral. The bare minimium, with no ceremony attached at all.
The most recent Ministry of Justice guidelines for prisons state: “Prisons must offer to pay a contribution towards reasonable funeral expenses of up to £3,000. The only exceptions to this are where the family has a pre-paid funeral plan or is entitled to claim a grant from other government departments e.g., Department of Work and Pensions.”
Huntley was given life for murdering ten-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in 2002, and had been dependent on life support machines and ventilators since the assault at the prison, dubbed “Monster Mansion”.
He was given just a 5% chance of survival after being hit 15 times over the head with a metal pole by a fellow lag who reportedly boasted as other inmates watched: “I’ve done it! I’ve done it! I’ve killed him, I’ve killed him!”
Huntley’s head was said to have been “split in two” and it is understood the attack was so severe he was left virtually “unrecognisable”. Triple killer and rapist Anthony Russell, 43, is suspected of carrying out the beating in a prison workshop.
It is expected charges will be brought against the assailant shortly.
The Daily Star previously exclusively reported how plans were being put in place in the eventuality that Huntley did survive which would have made him Britain’s most VIP prisoner. Plans included the killer being taken to a top-secret prison wing if he recovered, insiders revealed. A jail source told us a plan was being drawn up to shield him from another beating.
“The VIP prisoner has now long gone,” the insider claimed. “This is the last act of a top secret life of him being shielded. It is over.”