Chilling audio recordings reveal that Soham child murderer Ian Huntley was aware he would remain imprisoned for life.
The notorious killer passed away at age 52 on Saturday after an assault by fellow inmates at approximately 9:30 a.m. on February 26. The incident occurred during a waste management workshop at HMP Frankland.
Huntley had been serving a life sentence for the brutal 2002 murders of ten-year-old schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman at his residence in Cambridgeshire.
Sources within the prison suggest that the attack on Huntley may have been carried out by Anthony Russell, a 43-year-old triple murderer.
Back in 2002, a leaked phone conversation between Huntley and a friend surfaced, wherein he expressed remorse for the heinous crimes, stating he had no reason to feign remorse since he would ‘never’ be released.
In the recording, his voice trembled as he conveyed, “What I will say is that I am so terribly, terribly sorry for what I have done.”
‘I know the people of Soham took me into their community, they trusted me, gave me a job and a home, and I betrayed them in the worst possible way.
‘And I am sorry for what I have done, sorry for the pain I have caused to the families and friends of Holly and Jessica, for the pain I have caused my family and friends, and for the pain I have caused the community of Soham.
‘I am genuinely, genuinely sorry and it breaks my heart when it is reported I have no remorse, that I relish something. I do not.
Huntley, 52, was serving life for murdering 10-year-old schoolgirls Holly and Jessica in his home in Soham, a Cambridgeshire market town made infamous by his vile crimes in 2002
It is suspected that Anthony Russell (pictured), a 43-year-old triple murderer, was the one who led the assault
‘I can’t change anything. I cannot remove that day from history, what I have done. I know those girls would be 26 this year with families of their own, jobs and lives.
‘I thought about them when they were turning 21 and when they were turning 18.
‘I know no matter what I say that people are not going to think any better of me … but I would much rather people have the truth about how I feel.
‘I have nothing to gain by saying these things.
‘I know I am never getting out. I have accepted that from day one.’
Huntley was transported to hospital after being targeted in a behind-bars ambush on his prison wing, which saw him hit with the metal weapon and ‘ripped apart like a rat’, according to a woman who visited the prison previously. He was left with catastrophic skull injuries.
The Ministry of Justice confirmed that Huntley died at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary yesterday morning, at around 8.45am.
Security around him had been downgraded on Tuesday when doctors realised Huntley would not come out of his coma and survive.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: ‘The murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman remains one of the most shocking and devastating cases in our nation’s history, and our thoughts are with their families.’
In the leaked audio from 2002, he went on to insist he would never apply for parole because he did not want to cause any more pain to Holly and Jessica’s families.
‘I accepted a long time ago my life was in jail,’ he said. ‘I don’t really think about getting out, it is a non-starter. I hear about other prisoners coming up for parole. That makes you think a bit.
‘I will never apply for it. I want it made quite clear that I never ever, despite legal advice, thought about appealing against [my] sentence.
‘Because I did not want to cause the families any more pain, I did not want to prolong things.
‘I will never ever apply to leave prison. Never ever apply for parole. I will die in prison. I accept that.’ He added: ‘I don’t believe I should be free. Not because I believe I am a danger but because two young girls are dead and I do not deserve to be released.’
Holly Wells (left) and Jessica Chapman (right) were both murdered by Huntley in Soham, Cambridgeshire in 2002
HMP Frankland on February 26, after Ian Huntley was attacked inside by another inmate
Huntley murdered the two girls at his home in Soham, Cambridgeshire.
They had been at a family barbecue in August 2002, when they left to walk to a nearby sweet shop.
Their bodies were found nearly a fortnight later, around 14 miles away in a ditch near Lakenheath, Suffolk.
Holly and Jessica’s families were subjected to a full court hearing in 2003 because Huntley refused to plead guilty.
He was later sentenced to two life terms, with a minimum 40-year tariff at the maximum security Frankland prison in Durham.
Huntley whined in the tape about food in prison and said he spent his time playing chess and painting.
‘Prison is a very strange thing,’ he said. ‘You develop acquaintances more than friends … The prison food is shocking. We send out for meals like fish and chips every weekend.
‘I am a painter, I play chess, I play scrabble, do crosswords. I used to be a good chess player but I keep getting all these headaches.
‘Everybody knows I have had suicide attempts and I have been in a coma. I have had a lot of health problems since and they have deteriorated over the years to the point now where I am really struggling. Nobody can seem to figure out what is wrong with me.
‘Every time they put me on medication, my body reacts very badly to it. They keep saying it is down to stress.’
The murderer then spoke about things he misses while in prison, such as ‘cuddling a girlfriend’ and alcohol, adding: ‘Prison is difficult, and the reason it is difficult, I mean they take away your independence and, believe me, people don’t realise what that is until you lose it.’
Huntley said he spent his days reflecting on his offences.
‘I think about why I am in almost every day,’ he said. ‘When you don’t read papers or see documentaries … you lose contact with the reality of the situation … because it is like a totally separate world out there to what I have in here.’
The killer said he was ‘answerable to the family and friends of Holly and Jessica, to the community of Soham and to my family and friends’, but added: ‘I understand and accept what I did did affect the country as a whole and I am sorry for the way I made the country feel and for how it has affected people.’
