Soham killer Ian Huntley’s mum ‘couldn’t even recognise him’ after prison attack
Soham murderer Ian Huntley’s mum has paid a secret visit to his bedside as he continues to cling to life in hospital after being bludgeoned with a metal bar in prison.
Lynda Richards, 71, is said to have told friends she could not even recognise her son after he suffered massive brain injuries in Thursday’s attack at HMP Frankland.
Huntley, 52, who killed 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in a case that horrified the country in 2002, remains seriously ill following the ambush by another inmate.
Ms Richards reportedly made the cross-country trip to his bedside after surgeons operated on him.
A source told The Sun: ‘Lynda couldn’t recognise her own son when she saw him in the hospital, his injuries are that extensive.’
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Huntley suffered a broken jaw, skull fractures and brain injuries in the attack, according to the paper.
Triple killer Anthony Russell, 43, has been widely named as the prime suspect, with reports saying launched the attack following an argument in a workshop.
Inmates are said to have cheered as Russell was led away in handcuffs shouting: ‘I’ve done it, I’ve done it. I’ve killed him, I’ve killed him.’
Police declined to identify the suspect but said on Thursday that a man in his mid-40s had been detained in the prison. He has not yet been arrested.
Russell was sentenced to a whole life tariff in 2021 for the murders of Julie Williams, 58, and her son David Williams, 32, at separate flats in Coventry, and pregnant 31-year-old Nicole McGregor, who was found in woodland near Leamington Spa three days later.
Russell also raped Ms McGregor.
Thursday’s assault was the latest attempt on Huntley’s life and he was thought to have been kept under close observation to prevent similar attacks.
In 2010, robber Damien Fowkes slashed him 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.
Fowkes asked a prison officer: ‘Is he dead? I hope so.’
He described Huntley as a ‘notorious child killer, both inside prison and in society in general’.
Huntley is serving a life sentence with a recommendation that he serves at least 40 years for the Soham murders.
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