Soham murderer Ian Huntley remains in hospital after prison attack
The 52 year old was attacked in the workshop of a maximum security jail by an inmate with a metal bar
Last updated 27th Feb 2026
Soham killer Ian Huntley remained seriously ill in hospital 24 hours after he was attacked in the workshop of a maximum security jail by an inmate with a metal bar.
According to reports, triple killer Anthony Russell allegedly shouted "I've done it, I've done it" after 52-year-old Huntley, from Grimsby, was repeatedly smashed over the head at HMP Frankland, Durham, on Thursday morning.
On Friday, Durham Constabulary said: "There has been no change in the 52-year-old man's condition overnight - he remains in hospital in a serious condition."
The force declined to identify the suspect but on Thursday it said a man in his mid-40s had been detained in the prison, but he had not yet been arrested.
Former caretaker Huntley killed 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman after they left a family barbecue to buy sweets in Soham, Cambridgeshire, on August 4 2002, then dumped their bodies in a ditch.
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.
He is serving a life sentence with a recommendation that he serves at least 40 years for the murders.
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.
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".
Manchester Arena bomb plotter Hashem Abedi is accused of carrying out "terrorist" attacks on prison officers at the maximum security jail with hot cooking oil and makeshift weapons.
He denies three counts of attempted murder after four officers were injured on April 12.
Former Lostprophets frontman Ian Watkins died after an alleged attack last October at HMP Wakefield, where he was serving a 29-year sentence for child sexual offences.
On Monday, Killamarsh killer Damien Bendall was handed another life sentence after he admitted the attempted murder of another Frankland inmate who he attacked with a claw hammer in a prison workshop.
A prison officer who witnessed the attack thought Bendall, who murdered his partner and three children with a hammer and is serving a whole life tariff, had killed his victim, but he survived.