Ian Huntley is the convicted murderer of two schoolgirls, Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, who died in the ‘Soham murders’ in 2002. Details explored.
Soham, with a population of 12,336 as of 2021, is a town and civil parish in the district of East Cambridgeshire, in Cambridgeshire, England, just off the A142 between Ely and Newmarket.
On 4 August 2002, residents learned about a horrific murder that gained the media’s attention.
Dubbed “Soham murders”, it is a double child murder committed in Soham, Cambridgeshire, England.
The victims involved are just ten year old girls who were killed a man named Ian Huntley.
In 2002, the disappearance and murders of school friends Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman horrified the nation.
The victims involved are just ten year old girls who were killed a man named Ian Huntley.
Prosecutors claimed he had a sexual motive for the killing – a belief supported by his sordid past and the fact he laundered his bedclothes after the girls’ deaths.
Ian Huntley later admitted that he killed Jessica Chapman, but denied repeated suggestions that he had sexually assaulted the 10-year-old or her friend Holly Wells.
Here we take a look at what happened to the schoolgirls and where those connected to the case are now.
Who were Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells?
Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells, both aged 10, were school friends who lived in Soham.
Holly was the daughter of parents Kevin and Nicola Wells, and Jessica was born to parents Sharon and Leslie Chapman.
A photo of the pair in their matching Manchester United football tops was taken mere hours before they went missing.
What happened to Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman?
Holly and Jessica went missing from a family BBQ in the Cambridgeshire village of Soham on August 4, 2002.
At the time, a man named Ian Huntley was living at Five College Close, in the same town with his then girlfriend Maxine Carr, a teaching assistant in the two girls’ class.
The pair were lured into school caretaker Huntley’s home after he claimed his partner Maxine Carr was in the property.
During a two-week appeal to find the girls, Huntley gave TV interviews and joined in searches while his then-girlfriend Carr gave him a false alibi.
The former classroom assistant kept up the lie for two weeks until it emerged she was at a club with another man.
Nearly two weeks later, Holly and Jessica’s remains were discovered in a ditch at an air base 14 miles away at Mildenhall, Suffolk.
Who are Ian Huntley and Maxine Carr?
As mentioned above, Huntley was a caretaker at Soham Village College – a secondary school in Soham, Cambridgeshire.
He was originally born into a working class home in Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, on January 31, 1974.
Huntley’s then girlfriend Maxine Carr worked at the school the girls attended as a teaching assistant.
Also originally from Grimsby, Carr was born on February 16, 1977.
In her younger years, Carr was viewed by her peers as a timid outcast, with few friends and performed poorly academically, but always aspired to become a teacher.
Where is Ian Huntley now?
Ian Huntley is alive and still in jail terms.
Huntley was convicted in 2003 of the girls’ murders and is serving two life terms.
Huntley has been serving his time at HMP Frankland in Durham since 2008.
Before that, he was caged in HMP Wakefield in West Yorkshire.
In 2005, while serving time in HMP Wakefield, Huntley was scalded with boiling water by convicted spree killer, Mark Hobson.
The killer will not be considered for release until 2042.
Carr was jailed for perverting the course of justice and released in 2004 with a new identity.
In March 2020, it was reported that Carr had gone into hiding after her new identity was exposed.