Soham killer Ian Huntley died in hospital from a head injury following an attack days earlier at HMP Frankland, an inquest into his death has heard.
The 52-year-old died in the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle on 7 March after he was allegedly attacked with a metal bar in a workshop at the maximum security jail in Durham on 26 February.
Senior coroner Jeremy Chipperfield opened the inquest, listed under the name Ian Kevin Huntley, in Crook, County Durham, on Tuesday.
The proceedings lasted less than five minutes before being adjourned, PA reported.
Coroner’s officer Bradley King read a statement in which he said: “This 52-year-old male was born on January 31 in 1974 in Grimsby.
“His last employment status and occupation is recorded as being a prisoner.
“He resided at HMP Frankland.
“He died on March 7, 2026 at the Royal Victoria Infirmary.
“I understand the circumstances to be that Mr Huntley was struck over the head multiple times by another prisoner with an object described as a metal bar.”
He added: “The assault left Mr Huntley with significant head injuries.”
Mr King said Home Office Pathologist Dr Jennifer Bolton conducted a post mortem on 9 March and gave the cause of death as “blunt head injury”.
Huntley’s body was formally identified on the day he died.
Anthony Russell, 43, has been charged with murdering Huntley and will attend Newcastle Crown Court on 24 April for a pre-trial preparation hearing.
Huntley was serving a life sentence for the 2002 murders of 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.
The former school caretaker killed the best friends after they left a family barbecue to buy sweets in Soham, Cambridgeshire, on 4 August 2002. He dumped their bodies in a ditch 10 miles away. They were not found for 13 days, despite a search involving hundreds of police.
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.
At the time, Huntley lived with Maxine Carr, who was a teaching assistant at Holly and Jessica’s primary school. Carr gave Huntley a false alibi and was jailed for 21 months for perverting the course of justice. She is now living under a new identity.
Last month it was reported that there would be no funeral for Huntley, and his family would scatter his ashes in private. The family also declined a government-funded service out of respect for the families of the victims.
Huntley’s daughter Samantha Bryan said, after learning of his death: “I felt relieved. I didn’t cry. I smiled. I was over the moon to be honest.” She suggested his ashes should be flushed down the toilet.
