Prison inmate charged with Huntley murder appears in court

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Anthony Russell, a prisoner charged with the killing of Ian Huntley, has made a court appearance. The 43-year-old was formally charged earlier this week following the death of Huntley, who passed away in hospital after being assaulted at HMP Frankland in County Durham in late February.

Ian Huntley, aged 52 at the time of his death, had been transferred to the hospital on February 26 due to injuries sustained during the attack and died nine days later, according to police reports. Russell appeared remotely at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, where he confirmed his identity and place of residence. No plea was entered during this session, and he is scheduled to appear at Newcastle Crown Court on Thursday.

At the time of his death, Huntley was serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 40 years. He was convicted for the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, two 10-year-old schoolgirls who disappeared in Soham in August 2002 after attending a family barbecue. It is understood they were on their way to buy sweets when Huntley, who worked as a school caretaker and was 28 years old then, lured them to his home where he killed them.

The girls’ disappearance gained national attention, prompting extensive police appeals. Their bodies were discovered in a ditch approximately two weeks after they went missing, and Huntley was arrested on the same day. Huntley’s then-girlfriend Maxine Carr was later jailed in 2003 for conspiring to pervert the course of justice by providing a false alibi, though she has since been released and given a new identity. The Ministry of Justice has described Huntley’s crime as “one of the most shocking and devastating cases in our nation’s history,” expressing sympathy for the victims’ families. Notably, the recent assault that led to Huntley’s death was not his first attack in prison; in 2010, he was previously assaulted and required 21 stitches

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