Ian Huntley, the convicted murderer of two schoolgirls in 2002, is reportedly in critical condition after being attacked at HMP Frankland in County Durham.
According to reports, the 52-year-old was airlifted to hospital following an assault by another inmate at around 9am on February 26. Sources claim he was found seriously injured and required urgent medical treatment.
Huntley is serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 40 years for the murders of 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in August 2002. The girls disappeared in Soham, Cambridgeshire, after leaving a house to buy sweets. Their route took them past Huntley’s home, where he worked as a school caretaker. Their bodies were discovered two weeks later in a ditch in Lakenheath, Suffolk.
At the time, Huntley told police he had briefly spoken to the girls shortly before they vanished, saying they had asked about his partner’s job application at the school. He was later arrested and convicted of their murders. His fiancée, Maxine Carr, received a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence for providing him with a false alibi.
Following the recent attack, a source described Huntley’s condition as “touch and go,” suggesting a weapon may have been used. The source claimed the incident caused significant disruption inside the prison and expressed surprise that anyone had been able to reach him, as he is typically closely guarded.
Huntley has reportedly been targeted by other inmates several times in recent years, with at least one previous assault resulting in hospitalization.