Ian Huntley detective says ‘biggest disappointment’ is killer’s refusal to share truth about murdered schoolgirls
The police officer prosecuting the case against child murderer Ian Huntley has expressed his “mixed feelings” about his murder in prison, saying he was disappointed that the Soham killer never told the truth about his crimes.
Chris Stevenson said he wished the former school caretaker had the “decency” to explain what happened to Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, whom he killed after luring them to his home in 2002.
Huntley, 52, died in hospital after he was reportedly attacked with a 3ft spiked metal pole at a waste management workshop on Saturday. He suffered brain and skull injuries and remained on life support for nine days.
Retired detective superintendent Stevenson (76) said: Times: “I have mixed feelings about Huntley. I always wanted him to spend the rest of his life in prison and wake up every morning wondering what he did. My biggest disappointment was that he never had the decency to tell the whole truth about what happened on that fateful day in 2002.”
Huntley was serving a minimum 40-year life sentence and had been the target of prison attacks before.
In August 2002, Holly and Jessica were reported missing by their parents after going out to buy candy.
A large-scale search operation was launched, with Huntley identified as the suspect within a few days. Their burned bodies were found in a ditch 13 days later.
During the Old Bailey trial in 2003, Huntley claimed Holly accidentally drowned in the bathroom and killed Jessica by covering her mouth to prevent her from screaming.
His ex-girlfriend, teaching assistant Maxine Carr, was jailed for perverting the course of justice after she knowingly gave him a false alibi.
To talk Sun on SundayHuntley’s only child said she did not want a burial or memorial stone for him so as not to attract the attention of “freaks or weirdos.”
Samantha Bryan said: “Funerals and graves should not have the dignity. Funerals should be about celebrating someone’s life and there is nothing to celebrate about them. There is no point in having a funeral as he will burn in hell. There is no place for him in heaven. The devil is waiting.”
She said she learned that she was Huntley’s daughter when she was 14, when her mother Katie Bryan, who met the killer when she was 15, informed her.
Ms Bryan, 45, added: “Christian burial is for good people and he is the devil. He is evil. I know he will burn in hell.”
Huntley’s mother, Lynda Richards, is said to have been at his bedside at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle when he was taken off life support.
The attacker is alleged to be triple murderer Anthony Russell, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for the 2021 murders of Julie Williams, 58, and her son David, 32, and the rape and murder of pregnant Nicole McGregor, 31, near Leamington Spa.
A Durham police spokesman said of Huntley’s death: “The police investigation into the circumstances of the incident is ongoing. A file is being prepared for the Crown Prosecution Service.”
