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HMP Frankland prison inmate charged with murder of Soham killer Ian Huntley

An inmate has been charged with the prison murder of Soham killer Ian Huntley, police have said.

Anthony Russell, 43, will appear before magistrates charged with murdering the 52-year-old at HMP Frankland, near Durham. Huntley was reportedly attacked with a metal bar in a workshop at the maximum security jail on February 26.

The ex-school caretaker was serving a life sentence for the 2002 murders of 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman. He was taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle, where he died on Saturday morning.

Undated handout file photo originally issued on 07/08/02 by Holly Wells (left) and her best friend, Jessica Chapman, both 10 and who disappeared from Soham, Cambridgeshire, pictured in their Manchester United shirts.  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. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: PA/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used 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.placeholder image
Undated handout file photo originally issued on 07/08/02 by Holly Wells (left) and her best friend, Jessica Chapman, both 10 and who disappeared from Soham, Cambridgeshire, pictured in their Manchester United shirts. 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. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: PA/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used 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.

Russell will appear before Newton Aycliffe Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday afternoon via a videolink.

Christopher Atkinson of the Crown Prosecution Service said: “Our prosecutors have worked to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring the case to trial and that it is in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings. We have worked closely with Durham Constabulary as they carried out their investigation.”

The CPS said it was “vital” there was no “reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in anyway prejudice these proceedings”.

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