Ian Huntley Inquest Opens in Crook After Prison Attack
A post-mortem gave Huntley a provisional cause of death as blunt head injury, while a fellow inmate faces a murder charge in the prison attack.
- On Tuesday, Senior Coroner Jeremy Chipperfield formally opened an inquest into Ian Huntley's death in Crook, County Durham, immediately suspending proceedings until May 27 due to an active criminal investigation.
- Huntley, 52, died on March 7, 2026, at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle following a February 26 assault at HMP Frankland where he was struck multiple times with a metal bar.
- Home Office Pathologist Dr. Jennifer Bolton conducted a post-mortem on March 9, provisionally attributing death to a "blunt head injury," corroborating the inquest account of the metal bar attack.
- Inmate Anthony Russell, 43, faces a single charge of murder and is scheduled to appear at Newcastle Crown Court on April 24 for a pre-trial preparation hearing.
- The prisoner was serving a life sentence for the 2002 murders of 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in Soham, a conviction carrying a recommended minimum term of 40 years.
23 Articles
23 Articles
Soham killer Ian Huntley died from head injury following prison attack, inquest hears
Huntley, who was serving a life sentence for the 2002 murders of 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, died last month after he was allegedly attacked with a metal bar in a workshop at HMP Frankland in Durham
Soham killer Ian Huntley died from blunt head injury, inquest hears
Huntley was serving a life sentence for the 2002 murders of 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman. Soham killer Ian Huntley died as a result of a blunt head injury, an inquest has heard. The 52-year-old died in the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle on March 7 after he was attacked with a metal bar in a workshop at HMP Frankland in Durham on February 26, an inquest opening hearing was told. The County Durham and Darlington Coroner Jere…
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