Prisoner Charged Over Death of Soham Killer Ian Huntley
A fellow inmate at a high-security jail has been charged with murdering Ian Huntley, the notorious killer of schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman. Huntley died in hospital after a savage assault at HMP Frankland in County Durham.
Brutal Attack in Maximum-Security Prison
Anthony Russell, 43, was charged by Durham police following Huntley’s death on the morning of Saturday, 7 March. The Soham murderer, 52, had been critically injured nine days earlier in a prison workshop attack on 26 February. Huntley suffered severe brain trauma and was placed on life support until tests confirmed he was in a vegetative state. His mother, Lynda Richards, was at his bedside when life support was withdrawn.
“Emergency services were called to reports of an assault in the workshop on the morning of Thursday, February 26. Ian Huntley, 52, was taken to hospital with serious injuries but died on the morning of Saturday, March 7. Anthony Russell, 43, of HMP Frankland, has been charged with murder,” confirmed Durham Constabulary.
Legal Proceedings and Public Interest
Christopher Atkinson from the Crown Prosecution Service said prosecutors had gathered enough evidence to bring Russell to trial. “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,” he stated.
