Ian Huntley died on March 7 at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, after being allegedly attacked with a metal bar in a workshop at HMP Frankland near Durham on February 26, according to multiple reports. Anthony Russell, 43, has been charged with murdering Huntley. Russell appeared at Teesside Crown Court earlier this month and will attend Newcastle Crown Court on April 24 for a pre-trial preparation hearing, though the specific evidence against him has not been disclosed.
Huntley's family said he won't be given the dignity of a funeral out of respect for the families of his victims. According to The Sun, he is set to be cremated and have his ashes scattered in secret by his family, with the exact location undisclosed. Justice minister Sarah Sackman previously denied that the state would be paying £3,000 towards the cost of Huntley's funeral, stating, "This man, Ian Huntley, doesn't deserve anything more than the absolute bare minimum." She added, "We're not spending £3,000. That's the maximum in our policy that it affords."
This man, Ian Huntley, doesn't deserve anything more than the absolute bare minimum.
Huntley was serving a life sentence for the 2002 murders of 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman. He killed the girls after they left a family barbecue to buy sweets in Soham, Cambridgeshire, on August 4, 2002, dumped their bodies in a ditch 10 miles away, and they were not found for 13 days despite a search involving hundreds of police officers. He was jailed for life with a recommended minimum term of 40 years. Maxine Carr, who gave Huntley a false alibi, was jailed for 21 months for perverting the course of justice and is now living under a new identity.
We're not spending £3,000. That's the maximum in our policy that it affords.