A date has been set for the trial of Anthony Russell, who has been charged with the murder of Soham killer Ian Huntley.
Ian Huntley’s alleged killer will stand trial(Image: ENTERPRISE NEWS AND PICTURES)
A trial date has been scheduled for an inmate charged with the prison murder of Soham killer Ian Huntley.
Anthony Russell, 44, appeared at Newcastle Crown Court by videolink from HMP Frankland, near Durham, on Wednesday for a brief hearing during which he did not enter a plea.
Russell is charged with a single offence of murdering the 52-year-old, who was allegedly attacked with a metal bar in a workshop at the maximum security jail on February 26.
Huntley was taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, where he died on March 7. The ex-school caretaker was serving a life sentence for the 2002 murders of 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman at the time of his death.
Court artist sketch of Anthony Russell appearing via video link at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates’ Court, where he is charged with the murder of Ian Huntley.(Image: PA)
Huntley killed the two best friends after they left a family barbecue to buy sweets in Soham, Cambridgeshire, on August 4 2002. He then dumped their bodies in a ditch 10 miles away after killing them.
It took 13 days for Holly and Jessica’s bodies to be found after their murder, despite an extensive search involving hundreds of police officers.
At the time, Huntley lived with Maxine Carr who was a teaching assistant at Holly and Jessica’s primary school.
He denied murdering the girls but was convicted after a trial at the Old Bailey in 2003.
He was jailed for life with a recommended minimum term of 40 years.
