Ian Huntley’s daughter says murderer’s ashes ‘should be flushed down the toilet’
The daughter of Soham killer Ian Huntley said she was so happy to learn he had died and his ashes had to be flushed down the toilet.
Samantha Bryan said after his death: “I was relieved. I didn’t cry. I smiled. I was demoralized, to be honest.”
Huntley died in hospital on Saturday after being attacked by an inmate in the workshop of a maximum security prison.
The 52-year-old former school caretaker suffered severe brain trauma in the attack at HMP Frankland, Durham, on February 26.
Huntley was convicted of murdering 10-year-old schoolgirls Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells in Soham, Cambridgeshire, in 2002 in a case that shocked the country. The girls had left the family barbecue to get candy before they were killed by Huntley.
Samantha Bryan is Huntley’s only child. Her mother, Katie Bryan, was in a relationship with Huntley when she was 15, before getting pregnant at 16 and leaving the relationship.
By the way with Sun, Samantha, 27, learned who her father was when she was 14 and doing research for a school crimes project.
After his death, he told the newspaper: “I’m so glad he’s gone. When I heard he was seriously injured last week it wasn’t as much of a shock as I thought he was dead.”
“So I was waiting for this call. But it was also a shock to be told that your biological father was dead. He is nothing to me except biology.”
He added: “I have cried many times over the years thinking about Holly and Jessica and what their families have been through. I don’t want Holly and Jessica to ever be forgotten.”
Huntley, one of Britain’s most criticized murderers, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 40 years’ duty in December 2023. Huntley lured Holly and Jessica to his home in Soham, Cambridgeshire, where he lived with Maxine Carr, a teacher’s assistant at the girls’ school.
Because Carr was away for the weekend, Huntley killed the girls and dumped their bodies in a ditch 10 miles away. Their disappearance sparked a search involving hundreds of police officers.
As national media flocked to Soham to report on the disappearances, Huntley gave interviews to journalists; A Press Association reporter, Brian Farmer, later became so concerned he went to the police.
During his trial at the Old Bailey, Huntley tried to convince the jury that Holly had a nosebleed and drowned in the bath, and killed her while trying to silence Jessica’s screams.
They did not believe him and he was found guilty of two murders.
A spokesman for Durham Constabulary said a police investigation into the circumstances surrounding Huntley’s death was ongoing and a file was being prepared for the Crown Prosecution Service to consider charges.
