The 52-year-old, who suffered severe brain trauma after he was attacked inside a maximum security prison in England, died on March 7

File photo dated 10/08/02 of Soham killer Ian Huntley, whose life-support machine has reportedly been switched off. The Sun newspaper said the 52-year-old suffered severe brain trauma in the attack at HMP Frankland, Durham, on February 26. The former school caretaker, who murdered 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in 2002, had been kept on life support in hospital after being hit repeatedly over the head by an inmate armed with a metal bar. Issue date: Friday March 6, 2026. 83763549

Ian Huntley in 2002.Credit : Press Association via AP Images

 

Ian Huntley, a former school caretaker convicted in 2003 of killing two U.K. school girls in 2002, died on March 7 after a recent prison attack.

The 52-year-old suffered severe brain trauma after he was attacked by another inmate wielding a makeshift weapon at maximum security prison HMP Frankland in Durham, England, on Feb. 26, according to BBC, The Guardian and Sky News.

He was reportedly found lying in a pool of blood, sources told BBC. The Durham Constabulary confirmed Huntley’s death in a statement to Sky News saying that Huntley was “taken to hospital with serious injuries following an incident in the workshop” of the prison.

He was placed on life support, but his condition quickly deteriorated. Huntley was taken off of life support on March 6 and died the next day, according to The Guardian and BBC.

Huntley attack case. Undated file photo of Ian Huntley. Damien Fowkes, a prisoner who slashed Soham murderer Huntley across the neck with a makeshift knife, leaving him with a gaping wound, will be sentenced today. Issue date: Wednesday October 5, 2011.

Ian Huntley from 2011.PA Wire

It was believed that he was attacked with a metal bar, The Guardian reported. Another convicted killer, 43-year-old Anthony Russell, is suspected of attacking Huntley in prison, per BBC.

The Durham Constabulary confirmed to Sky News that a “police investigation into the circumstances of the incident is ongoing” and a “file is being prepared for the Crown Prosecution Service for consideration for charges.”

PEOPLE has reached out to the Durham Constabulary for comment on this case.

Huntley had been serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 40 years after being convicted of murdering 10-year-old school girls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in Soham, England, in 2002.

The two girls disappeared after leaving a family barbecue in order to buy sweets, according to BBC and The Guardian. Huntley was found guilty in 2003 of luring them back to his home and killing them.

The girls’ bodies were eventually found in a ditch about 10 miles away from where they initially disappeared, near RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, per BBC.

The Ministry of Justice told BBC and Sky News in a statement: “The murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman remains one of the most shocking and devastating cases in our nation’s history, and our thoughts are with their families.”

File photo dated 16/08/02 of police officers seal off the home of caretaker Ian Huntley and his partner Maxine Carr in Soham, Camb. Soham killer Ian Huntley has died in hospital after he was attacked in the workshop of the maximum security Frankland prison by an inmate with a metal bar on February 26, the Press Association understands. Issue date: Saturday March 07, 2026. 83767705

Officers sealing off Ian Huntley’s home amid an investigation in 2002.Press Association via AP Images

According to BBC, Huntley had been attacked multiple times in prison in the past. One such incident happened in 2010 when he was slashed across the throat, and he needed 21 stitches afterward, per the outlet.

He was also attacked in 2005 by a convicted murderer who threw boiling water over him at HMP Wakefield, BBC reported.

SOURCE: https://people.com/ian-huntley-convicted-of-killing-2-school-girls-dies-after-prison-attack-11921564