Soham killer Ian Huntley died in the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle on March 7 days after he was allegedly attacked while at HMP Frankland in Durham as an inquest into his death has now opened
Soham child killer Ian Huntley died from blunt trauma injuries days after being struck over the head multiple times with a metal bar ,an inquest heard.
An inquest has opened into the death of Ian Huntley today (April 14), who died days after a prison attack.
The 52-year-old died in the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle on March 7 just days after the evil killer was allegedly attacked in a workshop at HMP Frankland in Durham on February 26. His life support was switched off eight days after the attack.
The County Durham and Darlington Coroner held the inquest in Crook, County Durham. Listed under the name Ian Kevin Huntley, the inquest opened was opened by senior coroner Jeremy Chipperfield.
The inquest heard that Huntley was born on January 31, 1974 in Grimsby, and his last employment status was given as ‘prisoner’.
Coroner’s officer Bradley King said: “I understand the circumstances to be that Mr Huntley was struck over the head multiple times by another prisoner with an object described as a metal bar.
“The assault left Mr Huntley with significant head injuries. He would later pass away at the RVI in Newcastle on March 7.”
Mr King said Home Office Pathologist Dr Jennifer Bolton conducted a post mortem on March 9 and gave the cause of death as “blunt head injury”. The inquest hearing was adjourned until May 24.
Anthony Russell, 43, has been charged with murdering Huntley at the maximum security jail. He will attend Newcastle Crown Court on April 24 for a pre-trial preparation hearing.
Huntley was serving a life sentence for the 2002 murders of 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman. The ex-school caretaker killed the best friends after they left a family barbecue to buy sweets in Soham, Cambridgeshire, on August 4 2002.
He dumped their bodies in a ditch 10 miles away. They were not found for 13 days, despite a search involving hundreds of police.
At the time, Huntley lived with Maxine Carr, who was a teaching assistant at Holly and Jessica’s primary school. He denied murdering the girls but was convicted after a trial at the Old Bailey in 2003. He was jailed for life with a recommended minimum term of 40 years.
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.
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