Ian Huntley, the 52-year-old Soham killer currently serving a life sentence, suffered serious head injuries after being attacked by a fellow inmate during a prison workshop.
Huntley, known as the Soham killer for killing two schoolgirls, Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in August 2002, was taken to hospital for treatment on Thursday morning.
According to Durham Police, the suspect, aged in his 40s, behind the attack was in custody and had not been formally arrested at this time.
According the sun, Huntley was attacked by a metal pole and due to the severity of his injuries, an air ambulance was sent to HMP Frankland, a high security prison in County Durham. However, the patient was taken to the hospital by road.
A Durham Police spokesperson said: “Police were alerted to an assault that had taken place inside HMP Frankland in Durham this morning. One prisoner suffered serious injuries during the incident and was transported to hospital.”
This is not the first time Huntley has been attacked since he was formally convicted and sent to prison on December 17, 2003.
He had been attacked twice while serving a life sentence:
- In September 2005, he was scalded with boiling water at HMP Wakefield.
- Huntley was transferred to HMP Frankland in 2008 and, in March 2010, a fellow prisoner attacked him and slit his throat.
What were the Soham murders?
The Soham murders were a double child murder committed in Soham, Cambridgeshire, England, on 4 August 2002, carried out by Huntley. He lured the two girls, Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, to his home and killed them before dumping their bodies in a ditch near an airbase in Lakenheath, Suffolk.
During the investigation, he admitted trying to burn the girls’ bodies and lying to the police to cover his tracks.
Huntley was sentenced to life in prison and ordered to serve a minimum of 40 years before being considered for release.
