Ian Huntley Dead: ian huntley dead — Soham murderer remains in serious condition after prison attack

Ian Huntley Dead searches have surged after the Soham double murderer was left critically hurt in custody. The 52-year-old remains in hospital in a serious condition after an alleged attack at HMP Frankland.

Attack at HMP Frankland

Huntley, 52, 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 killer was found in a pool of blood at HMP Frankland in Durham on Thursday and was taken to hospital following the attack.

Police response and detention

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". 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" and a police investigation is under way with detectives liaising with staff at the prison. A Durham Constabulary spokesperson added: "He remains in hospital in a serious condition. "

Suspect Anthony Russell named

The understands that triple killer Anthony Russell, 43, is suspected of attacking Huntley. Russell is serving a whole-life prison term for murdering Julie Williams, her son David Williams and Nicole McGregor, whose body was found in woodland near Leamington Spa. He had admitted the murders during a week-long spree in October 2020.

Huntley's injuries and treatment

Huntley has suffered significant head trauma and is undergoing treatment. He was found after being bludgeoned and is receiving hospital care; the force said detectives are liaising with prison staff as the inquiry continues. The Sky account noted he was found in a pool of blood and taken to hospital after the alleged attack by an unknown inmate on Thursday. The force also said: "He has not been arrested at this stage but remains in detention within the prison. "

Past attacks and sentences

This is not the first time Huntley has been attacked in custody. He was slashed across the throat in 2010 and needed 21 stitches. In 2005 a convicted murderer threw boiling water over him at HMP Wakefield. In a separate case, an inmate who slashed Huntley's throat with a makeshift knife was later jailed for life in 2011. Damien Fowkes was sentenced to a minimum of 20 years for the attempted murder of Huntley in March 2010 and the manslaughter of child killer Colin Hatch; Fowkes inflicted a wound seven inches long on Huntley's neck and the court was told it was only "good fortune" that the weapon missed anything vital.

Victims and memories

Huntley is serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 40 years for murdering schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in August 2002. In the commuter town of Soham in Cambridgeshire, he killed two ten-year-old girls in the summer of 2002. Holly and Jessica had been at a family barbeque and it is believed they were on their way to buy sweets when Huntley, then aged 28, lured them back to his home and killed them. The photo of the girls he killed — in their red Manchester United football kits — is etched in the minds of many who vividly remember their disappearance and murder.

Prison environment and rule 43

HMP Frankland — nicknamed Monster Mansion — houses some of the most dangerous criminals including murderers and rapists. Huntley would have been on Rule 43, held in the prison's unit for vulnerable inmates, mostly sex offenders, but police informants too. Commentary in the coverage also noted 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. " An account in coverage described an infamous villain who said he had witnessed a planned prison knife attack on a child sex offender and recalled it with relish.

As the inquiry continues, the 52-year-old remains in hospital in a serious condition and investigators are continuing to question the circumstances of the assault at HMP Frankland.