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Soham killer Ian Huntley’s mum ‘couldn’t even recognise him’ after prison attack

February 28, 2026 • 5 min read • views
Soham killer Ian Huntley’s mum ‘couldn’t even recognise him’ after prison attack
Soham killer Ian Huntley’s mum ‘couldn’t even recognise him’ after prison attack Sam Corbishley Sam Corbishley Published February 28, 2026 4:18pm Updated February 28, 2026 4:18pm Share this article via whatsappShare this article via xCopy the link to this article.Link is copiedShare this article via facebook Comment now Comments Ian Huntley, 28, who is being questioned by detectives Friday August 16, 2002, about the disappearance of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman. Mr Huntley, the caretaker at Soham Village College, and his partner Maxine Carr, 25, a teaching assistant in Holly and Jessica's class at St Andrews Primary School in Soham until the end of last term, had agreed with police to give witness statements and are at police stations elsewhere in the county. See PA story MISSING Girld. PA Photo: Toby Melville....A...Soham...UK Ian Huntley, 52, who killed 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in a case that horrified the country in 2002, remains seriously ill (Picture: PA)

Soham murderer Ian Huntley’s mum has paid a secret visit to his bedside as he continues to cling to life in hospital after being bludgeoned with a metal bar in prison.

Lynda Richards, 71, is said to have told friends she could not even recognise her son after he suffered massive brain injuries in Thursday’s attack at HMP Frankland.

Huntley, 52, who killed 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in a case that horrified the country in 2002, remains seriously ill following the ambush by another inmate.

Ms Richards reportedly made the cross-country trip to his bedside after surgeons operated on him.

A source told The Sun: ‘Lynda couldn’t recognise her own son when she saw him in the hospital, his injuries are that extensive.’

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Huntley suffered a broken jaw, skull fractures and brain injuries in the attack, according to the paper.

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Geoff Robinson/Shutterstock (388306o) IAN HUNTLEY POLICE TAKING IAN HUNTLEY AND MAXINE CARR FOR QUESTIONING ABOUT THE DISAPPEARANCE OF HOLLY WELLS AND JESSICA CHAPMAN, SOHAM, CAMBRIDGESHIRE, BRITAIN - 16 AUG 2002 Ian Huntley reportedly suffered a broken jaw, skull fractures and injuries to his brain in the attack (Picture: Geoff Robinson/Shutterstock) Undated handout photo issued by West Midlands Police of Anthony Russell, 39, of Riley Square, Coventry, who had murdered three people in six days has been convicted of raping his final victim, who was five months pregnant. Anthony Russell had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of 58-year-old Julie Williams and her son David Williams, 32, at separate flats in Coventry on October 25 and October 21 2020 respectively. He had also admitted the October 26 murder of 31-year-old Nicole McGregor, who was found in woodland near Leamington Spa three days later. Issue date: Thursday March 10, 2022. PA Photo. After a retrial at Warwick Crown Court, Russell was unanimously found guilty on Thursday of raping Ms McGregor, after just an hour and 23 minutes of deliberations by the jury. See PA story COURTS Coventry. Photo credit should read: West Midlands Police/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. Anthony Russell has been widely named as the prime suspect in the ambush (Picture: PA)

Triple killer Anthony Russell, 43, has been widely named as the prime suspect, with reports saying launched the attack following an argument in a workshop.

Inmates are said to have cheered as Russell was led away in handcuffs shouting: ‘I’ve done it, I’ve done it. I’ve killed him, I’ve killed him.’

Police declined to identify the suspect but said on Thursday that a man in his mid-40s had been detained in the prison. He has not yet been arrested.

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.

EMBARGOED TO 0001 FRIDAY DECEMBER 29 Undated handout photo of Holly Wells (left) and her best friend, Jessica Chapman. Prime minister Tony Blair resisted calls for a public inquiry following the Soham murders of schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, according to newly released official files. The killing of the two 10-year-olds in the summer of 2002 in a quiet Cambridgeshire village by school caretaker Ian Huntley shocked the country. Issue date: Friday December 29, 2023. PA Photo. See PA story RECORDS Soham. Photo credit should read: Handout/PA Wire Best friends Holly Wells (left) and Jessica Chapman pictured together shortly before they disappeared (Picture: PA)

In 2010, robber Damien Fowkes slashed him 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.

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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’.

Huntley is serving a life sentence with a recommendation that he serves at least 40 years for the Soham murders.

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