- Welcome to The Crime Desk, the Daily Mail’s true crime channel packed full of exclusives on the cases you can’t stop thinking about
- To get a free exclusive article with new revelations about one of Britain’s most notorious child killers Ian Huntley, sign up to our newsletter HERE
- What kind of cases do you want to read more about? Let us know at: crimedesk@dailymail.co.uk
An inmate accused of murdering Soham killer Ian Huntley has appeared in court.
Anthony Russell, 43, who is serving a whole life term for murder, spoke only to confirm his name and his age in the five-minute hearing before Newton Aycliffe magistrates’ court in County Durham.
Russell was remanded in custody overnight to appear on Thursday at Newcastle Crown Court.
Huntley, 52, died last Saturday morning, a week after an attack with an iron bar in the workshop at the top security HMP Frankland in County Durham left him with serious head injuries.
He was serving a life sentence for murdering 10-year-old friends Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman at his home in Soham, Cambridgeshire, after they left a family barbecue to buy sweets on August 4 2002.
When paramedics attended Huntley in Frankland on February 26 he was barely breathing and covered in blood.
He was taken to hospital by ambulance and placed on a ventilator, but given only a five per cent chance of survival
Huntley died on Saturday after doctors withdrew his life support. His mother Linda Huntley was reportedly by his bedside and was consulted on the decision.
Huntley, 52, died last Saturday morning, a week after an attack with an iron bar in the workshop at the top security HMP Frankland in County Durham
Anthony Russell was charged with Huntley’s murder and has appeared before magistrates
Russell, pictured in a court artist sketch, appeared before magistrates via video link
Prosecuor Chris Atkinson told Newton Aycliffe magistrates today: ‘This court has no power to grant Mr Russell bail, but in any event he is serving a whole life term so the matter is somewhat academic.’
Russell, who wore a grey prison-issue tracksuit and appeared via videolink from Frankland, was told he faces a single charge of murdering Ian Huntley at HMP Frankland on March 7. He did not enter a plea.
District Judge Steven Hood told Russell: ‘The offence of murder can only be heard in the crown court, therefore I am sending this matter to Newcastle Crown Court tomorrow morning.
‘The reason for that is that in matters such as murder the magistrates courts cannot consider anything other than a remand in custody and the law says a person must appear within 48 hours before a crown court judge.’
Russell confirmed that he understood before being escorted from the private room back to his wing.
Huntley was jailed for life with a minimum sentence of 40 years in December 2003 after he was found guilty of the two SOham murders.
He dumped his victims’ bodies in a ditch 10 miles away and they were not found for 13 days, sparking a search involving hundreds of police officers.
At the time, Huntley lived with Maxine Carr who was a teaching assistant at Holly and Jessica’s primary school.
Huntley killed ten-year-old girls Holly Wells (left) and Jessica Chapman (right) in August 2002
Maxine Carr (pictured) was sentenced to three and a half years in prison for conspiring to pervert the course of justice, having given her killer boyfriend Ian Huntley a false alibi
He denied murdering the two 10-year-olds but was convicted after a trial at the Old Bailey in 2003.
Carr gave Huntley a false alibi and was jailed for 21 months for perverting the course of justice. She is now living under a new identity.
The former school caretaker’s life sentence recommended he serve at least 40 years for the Soham murders.
Before his death, Huntley had previously survived at least two other attacks in jail.
In 2005 an inmate threw boiling water over the former school caretaker while he was on the healthcare wing of Wakefield Prison and in 2010 he underwent emergency surgery after his throat was cut with a homemade weapon.
Huntley’s daughter this week said there was a ‘special place in hell’ for her father.
Samantha Bryan said she was ‘glad’ to hear he had been attacked and started crying with an ‘overwhelming sense of relief’ because she thought he was dead.
Ms Bryan added: ‘It felt like I could breathe again. I felt if he died, that burden died with him.
‘I have always been judged for being his daughter – it has been a very difficult thing to deal with over the years.’
Christopher Atkinson from the Crown Prosecution Service said: ‘The Crown Prosecution Service has decided to prosecute Anthony Russell with murder following a police investigation into a fatal attack on Ian Huntley at HMP Frankland.
‘Our prosecutors have worked to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring the case to trial and that it is in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings.
‘We have worked closely with Durham Constabulary as they carried out their investigation.’
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: ‘The murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman remains one of the most shocking and devastating cases in our nation’s history, and our thoughts are with their families.’