The 52-year-old was reportedly struck multiple times over the head with a metal bar while in the work shop at the prison
Child murderer Ian Huntley remains in a serious condition in hospital almost a week on from being attacked at HMP Frankland. The 52-year-old was reportedly struck multiple times over the head with a metal bar while in the work shop at the prison in County Durham.
He was rushed to the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) in Newcastle following the attack, which occurred on Thursday (February 26). He still remains at the hospital in a serious condition.
Triple murderer Anthony Russell has been named as the main suspect. However police and prison officials are yet to formally confirm this.
A spokesperson for Durham Constabulary said on Wednesday: “There has been no change in the 52-year-old man’s condition overnight – he remains in hospital in a serious condition.”
Huntley is serving a life sentence after being convicted of murdering 10-year-old schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in Soham, Cambridgeshire in August 2002. He was jailed in 2005 and is unable to seek parole until 2042.
Holly and Jessica’s disappearance on August 4, 2002 sparked one of the biggest manhunts the country has ever seen. Huntley worked as a caretaker at St Andrew’s Primary School where the two girls were students.
Prior to his arrest, he took part in the two-week search for them and told reporters he was the final person to encounter them alive. He gave TV interviews and asked his then-girlfriend Maxine Carr to provide a false alibi.
Police later discovered he had lured them to his home and murdered them before cutting off their clothes, dumping their bodies in a ditch and burning them. Their remains were discovered by a gamekeeper.
Carr, a teaching assistant at the girls’ school, was found guilty of conspiring to pervert the course of justice and jailed for 42 months. She was given a new identity when she was released from prison in 2004.
Chronicle Live previously reported how Huntley may be moved to a ‘therapeutic’ secure hospital, such as Ashworth Secure Hospital in Liverpool, instead of Frankland prison if he recovers from the attack. A source told The Mirror: “The most likely destination for him if he gets out of hospital is Ashworth. His injuries are such that he is unlikely to Frankland, at least initially.”
Other options include Broadmoor Hospital in Berkshire and Rampton in Nottinghamshire.
