A trial date has been set for a prisoner accused of killing Ian Huntley, the convicted murderer known as the Soham killer. Anthony Russell, aged 44, made a remote appearance at Newcastle Crown Court from HMP Frankland on Wednesday. He faces a charge of murdering Huntley, who was allegedly assaulted with a metal bar in a workshop at the high-security prison on February 26.
Huntley, 52, was taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle following the attack and passed away on March 7. He was serving a life sentence for the 2002 murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, both aged 10, at the time of his death. Huntley committed the heinous crimes after the two girls went missing from a family gathering in Soham, Cambridgeshire, on August 4, 2002. Their bodies were discovered 13 days later, despite extensive search efforts involving numerous law enforcement officers.
During the period of the murders, Huntley lived with Maxine Carr, a teaching assistant at the primary school attended by Holly and Jessica. Although he initially denied the charges, Huntley was found guilty following a trial at the Old Bailey in 2003 and was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 40 years.
