Inmate charged with murdering Soham killer Ian Huntley in prison

An inmate has appeared in court charged with the murder of Ian Huntley, the Soham killer, following an attack at HMP Frankland near Durham. Huntley, 52, was attacked with a metal bar in a workshop on 26 February and died at a hospital in Newcastle.

Anthony Russell, 43, appeared by videolink at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates’ Court, County Durham, charged with a single offence of murder. He spoke only to confirm his name and that he understood he would appear at Newcastle Crown Court the next morning.

District Judge Steven Hood remanded him in custody and explained that the offence of murder can only be heard in the Crown Court, with the case scheduled to move there for a future hearing.

Huntley was serving a life sentence for the 2002 murders of 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in Soham, Cambridgeshire. The girls disappeared while on a family trip and were found 13 days later after a large-scale search.

Meanwhile, justice minister Sarah Sackman denied that the state would pay £3,000 toward Huntley’s funeral, saying it would be a basic funeral and that coverage would not be provided by the state.

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