Is Ian Huntley Still Alive — ian huntley still alive after HMP Frankland attack
Questions of whether ian huntley still alive have been renewed after the Soham killer was found injured at HMP Frankland and taken to hospital. The 52-year-old remains in a serious condition following an alleged assault that left him with significant head trauma.
Is Ian Huntley Still Alive
He was found in a pool of blood at HMP Frankland in Durham on Thursday and was taken to hospital after the alleged attack by an unknown inmate. A Durham Constabulary spokesperson said there had been no change in the 52-year-old's condition overnight and that "He remains in hospital in a serious condition. " Police earlier said that a man in his mid-40s was being investigated over the incident and that "He has not been arrested at this stage but remains in detention within the prison. "
Prison assault and injuries
Coverage of the incident says Huntley was bludgeoned with a makeshift weapon in a workshop at HMP Frankland, leaving him with significant head trauma. He was found in a pool of blood and taken to hospital; the force handling the case described his condition as serious. The attack is the latest in a series of assaults on Huntley in custody.
Police update and detention
A Durham Constabulary spokesperson confirmed the investigation into a man in his mid-40s who remains in detention within the prison. The force said the suspect "has not been arrested at this stage but remains in detention within the prison. " The spokesperson also said there had been no change in the 52-year-old's condition overnight and that "He remains in hospital in a serious condition. "
Earlier attacks and legal history
The brutality of Huntley's crimes has made him a target in prison and he has been attacked several times. In 2011 an inmate who slashed Huntley's throat with a makeshift knife was jailed for life. 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; the court was told it was only "good fortune" that the weapon missed anything vital.
Commentary in the coverage noted that any prisoner convicted of a child sex crime is a target for other inmates. It was also noted 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. " In the violent world of a top security jail, the promise of respect for attackers and descriptions of inmates calling such prisoners "the lowest of the low" were offered as context for repeated attacks on Huntley.
Huntley would have been on Rule 43, held in the prison's unit for vulnerable inmates, mostly sex offenders, but police informants too.
The Soham murders timeline
Ian Huntley, a former school caretaker, murdered schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman. The girls were both 10 years old and best friends who vanished after leaving a family barbecue in 2002 in their small town near Cambridge. They went missing on 4 August 2002, having left the barbecue to go for a walk. The girls were pupils in the same class at Soham's junior school and the image of them side by side in their matching Manchester United football shirts became ingrained on the nation's consciousness.
A fortnight after searches began, the youngsters' bodies were found in a ditch about 10 miles away, near RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk; they had been asphyxiated. Their disappearance made national headlines and led to police appeals and tireless searches of the town and the flat countryside of The Fens.
Suspicions were raised about Huntley after he gave detailed interviews to the media during the search. He was described at the time as a cruel and calculating man who feigned concern for the girls during TV interviews. His trial judge later said he had added to the families' grief by pretending to help and offering words of sympathy to Holly's father. TV reporter Debbie Tubby gave evidence during the trial and said that four days after the girls went missing, Huntley asked her if police had found their clothes. He also told her that police had searched his house and he believed he was the last person to see the girls alive. Huntley gave another media interview at the College Close home he shared with girlfriend Maxine Carr and came out of his house in Soham and sat in his car shortly after speaking to a journalist.
Huntley was jailed for life in 2003 and was sentenced to at least 40 years in custody; a judge told him he had "little hope of release" for the killings that shocked a nation.
Huntley's hospitalisation after the latest attack at HMP Frankland has left the long-running question of his status in custody in focus, with police confirming his serious condition and an inmate in his mid-40s remaining in detention while inquiries continue.
