The grim truth behind Ian Huntley’s murder: ‘He wasn’t killed for justice’

Soham killer Ian Huntley has become one of thousands of inmates killed inside jail walls – and the public agrees ‘justice has finally been served’.

Huntley, who was behind bars for the murders of 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in 2002, was attacked inside a workshop at HMP Frankland last week.

He was bludgeoned in the head with a metal pole, leaving him ‘brain dead with no expectation of survival’.

And the British public is delighted. Comments online read ‘karma has arrived’ and ‘justice has been served’.

But the prison officers who worked at HMP Frankland, nicknamed ‘Monster Mansion’ due to the infamy of its inmates, say the attack was not done just justice for Huntley’s two young victims.

Instead, it was done for ‘notoriety within the prison and the press’.

‘Forget what you know about prison hierarchies’

One ex-officer at HMP Frankland told Metro: ‘At best, the attack happened because they had got into a spat about the washing machine.

‘But the grim reality is these people like hurting other people. They wanted to get into the papers again disguised as punishing someone.

‘The romanticisation of prison attacks has gone too far. Seeing people on Facebook go “the other prisoners will see to them” just p***es me off. Because they are just among their own kind.’

One of the most common beliefs about the prison hierarchy is those who have harmed children are ‘at the bottom of the food chain’ and subject to frequent assaults.

‘But that just isn’t true, it’s all about personality types and how beefy you are,’ the ex-officer said.

‘When I was at Frankland there was a 6ft brute who raped two children. But he was the most feared because he was this big strong bloke who used to bully the other inmates.’

The prison is home to the UK’s worst criminals, ranging from those involved in the London and Manchester bombings, and more recently Wayne Couzens who raped and murdered Sarah Everard.

In 2012, child rapist Mitchell Harrison was tortured and disembowled inside Frankland by two prisoners Michael Parr and Nathan Mann.

When exiting his cell, they nonchalantly told officers ‘there’ll be one less for the count tonight’.

But the pair, who planned to eat Harrison’s body, were already serving long sentences for murder and attempted murder.

‘But if you have already got a life sentence, you really don’t have anything left to lose,’ the officer said. ‘And the two officers walked in on the scene, have been left with horrendous PTSD.’

Family plead: ‘He is as bad as Huntley’

The prisoner who has been named as a potential suspect in Huntley’s killing is triple murderer and rapist Anthony Russell, 43, who is serving a whole life order for his crimes.

Even his family have pleaded with people online to think of him as ‘the scumbag he is’, rather than a hero.

One close relative told the Daily Mail: ‘As far as we’re concerned, they’re as bad as each other.

‘Anthony is no hero for doing this. He committed a very bad crime himself – that’s why he’s on the same prison wing as Huntley.’

Huntley has faced a number of other attacks during his time inside jail, despite being segregated from the main population as a ‘vulnerable prisoner’ (VP).

VP status is given to ‘big names’ whose crimes dominated the news, and those who committed serious sexual or terror offences.

In 2010 robber Damien Fowkes slashed Huntley with a home-made weapon, causing a ‘severe, gaping cut to the left side of his neck’ with a 7in (18cm) wound which required 21 stitches.

The ex-officer added: ‘He also wore sunglasses for a while after getting undiluted cleaning fluid thrown in his eye.

‘But because he was such a notorious name, people were after him so they can get their moment of fame on social media and the chance to be called a hero.

‘But it’s bad enough for th epoor families trying to get on with their lives, who are now seeing Huntley’s face again whenever they look at the news.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Comments Add as preferred source