Anthony Russell suspected in attack that left Ian Huntley with serious head injuries

Soham double murderer Ian Huntley, 52, remains in hospital in a serious condition after being attacked at HMP Frankland, and anthony russell, 43, is suspected of carrying out the assault. Huntley has suffered significant head trauma and is undergoing treatment.

Found in a pool of blood at the HMP Frankland workshop on Thursday

Huntley was found lying in a pool of blood after being bludgeoned with a makeshift weapon at a prison workshop at HMP Frankland, the high-security prison in County Durham. The assault happened on Thursday and he was taken to hospital with significant head trauma, where he remains in a serious condition and is undergoing treatment.

In an update on Friday, Durham Constabulary said there had been "no change in the 52-year-old man's condition overnight - he remains in hospital in a serious condition. " The force also confirmed a police investigation is under way and that detectives are liaising with staff at the prison.

Anthony Russell, 43, is suspected and is serving a whole-life term

The suspected attacker is triple killer Anthony Russell, 43, who is suspected of attacking Huntley. anthony russell is serving a whole-life prison term for the murders of Julie Williams, her son David Williams and Nicole McGregor, whose body was found in woodland near Leamington Spa.

Russell admitted those murders during a week-long spree in October 2020.

Suspect remains in detention within the prison while police investigate

Police earlier said a male prisoner in his mid-40s suspected of carrying out the attack was in detention but had not been arrested at this stage. The force described the prisoner as remaining in detention within the prison while investigators pursue enquiries, and detectives are liaising with prison staff as part of the inquiry.

Huntley would normally be held under Rule 43, in the prison's unit for vulnerable inmates, a unit that typically houses sex offenders and police informants.

Huntley’s history of previous assaults inside prison

This is not the first time Huntley has been attacked while incarcerated. In 2005 he was attacked at HMP Wakefield when a convicted murderer threw boiling water over him. In 2010 he was slashed across the throat and required 21 stitches.

Following that incident, an inmate who slashed Huntley with a makeshift knife was jailed for life in 2011. Damien Fowkes was later sentenced to a minimum of 20 years for the attempted murder of Huntley in March 2010 and for the manslaughter of child killer Colin Hatch. Court records state Fowkes inflicted a wound seven inches long on Huntley's neck and that it was only "good fortune" the weapon missed anything vital.

Soham murders, public memory and the prison environment

Huntley is serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 40 years for murdering ten-year-old Holly Wells and ten-year-old Jessica Chapman in Soham, Cambridgeshire, in August 2002. The girls had been at a family barbeque and are believed to have been on their way to buy sweets when Huntley, then aged 28, lured them back to his home and killed them.

The photograph of Holly and Jessica in their red Manchester United football kits remains etched in public memory. As Huntley lies in hospital with serious injuries from this latest attack, many will be remembering the horror of what he did more than 20 years ago.

HMP Frankland is nicknamed "Monster Mansion" and houses some of the most dangerous criminals, including murderers and rapists. Prison and policing material notes that any prisoner convicted of a child sex crime is a target for other inmates and that, from his first day inside, there was a price on Huntley's head — not a monetary one, but the promise of "respect" for anyone who attacked him.