Ian Huntley, the former school caretaker convicted of murdering two young schoolgirls in one of the U.K.’s most notorious crimes, has died after being brutally attacked inside prison.
Huntley, 52, suffered severe brain injuries after another inmate assaulted him with a makeshift weapon at the maximum-security HMP Frankland prison in Durham, England. The violent attack reportedly happened on Feb. 26 in the prison’s workshop area.
According to reports from BBC, The Guardian, and Sky News, Huntley was found lying in a pool of blood after the assault. Prison staff rushed him to a hospital where he was placed on life support as doctors attempted to treat his injuries.
However, his condition quickly worsened.
Huntley was taken off life support on March 6 and died the following day, authorities confirmed.
Investigators believe he may have been attacked with a metal bar. Another inmate, 43-year-old Anthony Russell — who is also serving time for murder — is suspected of carrying out the assault.
Durham Constabulary confirmed that a full investigation into the incident is ongoing.
“Police investigation into the circumstances of the incident is ongoing and a file is being prepared for the Crown Prosecution Service for consideration of charges,” officials said in a statement.
Huntley had been serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 40 years after being convicted of the 2002 murders of 10-year-old girls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in Soham, England.
The two friends disappeared after leaving a family barbecue to walk to a nearby store to buy sweets. Their disappearance sparked a massive nationwide search that gripped the U.K.
Investigators later determined Huntley had lured the girls to his home before killing them. Their bodies were later discovered in a ditch roughly 10 miles away near RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk.
The shocking case devastated the nation and remains one of the most infamous crimes in modern British history.
In a statement following Huntley’s death, the U.K. Ministry of Justice acknowledged the lasting impact of the tragedy.
“The murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman remain one of the most shocking and devastating cases in our nation’s history, and our thoughts are with their families,” officials said.
Huntley had previously been targeted in several violent incidents during his time behind bars. In 2010, he was slashed across the throat by another inmate and required more than 20 stitches.
Five years earlier, another prisoner attacked him with boiling water while he was being held at HMP Wakefield.
Authorities are continuing to investigate the latest attack that ultimately led to his death.
Reaping what he sowed