The last visible trace of Ian Huntley’s evil in the village of Soham, Cambs, disappeared more than 20 years ago but, as he fights for his life today after an attack in prison, no one here will grieve should he lose the battle.
The convicted child murderer was rushed to hospital after being attacked in a workshop at HMP Frankland this week.
The tied house on private school land where Soham Village College caretaker Huntley lured schoolgirls Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells, both 10, to their deaths in 2002, was demolished two years later.
And today, one resident living nearby told the Daily Mail she would not glorify the killer by speaking his name.
‘He was not from Soham, and there’s nothing left of him here apart from the spaces he left in two grieving families’ hearts,’ said the woman who asked not to be named.
‘The house he lived in has long since gone, and if he dies because of this attack, then good riddance to him.
‘It’s been a long time coming, but he will have got what he deserved, though it doesn’t sound like the prisoner who attacked him is any better than him.’
Another local who lives near Huntley’s former house at 5 College Close said bluntly: ‘He will be going straight to hell and I only wish it had happened sooner.
The tied house on private school land where Soham Village College caretaker Huntley lured schoolgirls Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells, both 10, to their deaths in 2002, was demolished two years later
Cambridgeshire County Council feared the property could be a permanent reminder of the girls’ deaths if left standing
The house on 5 College Road was razed to the ground in 35 minutes, but residents say the ‘memories will never go away’
The last visible trace of Ian Huntley’s evil in the village of Soham, Cambs, disappeared more than 20 years ago but, as he fights for his life today after an attack in prison, no one here will grieve should he lose the battle
Holly Wells (left) and her friend Jessica Chapman (right) were lured in to 5 College Close where school caretaker Huntley lived with his partner Maxine Carr
‘It’s been a long road for this village recovering from the aftermath of his crimes, but if he does die, then I suppose it will be some kind of closure. I’m glad they didn’t put up a memorial at the site of his old house.
‘It wouldn’t have been right to commemorate the girls on that spot where they would always be associated with such an evil man.
‘And later generations of children should be able to go to school without being reminded of what happened here every day.’
Most of the interior of the house was ripped out by police searching for evidence in Huntley’s trial at the Old Bailey, which saw him sentenced to 40 years in 2005.
Now, the space where the house stood is just mud and grass after the school, in consultation with villagers, decided that any memorial would risk becoming a constant reminder to pupils of the grisly events which took place.
Howard Gilbert, the former head teacher who employed Huntley, said at the time the destruction of the house was ‘a symbolic sign for the community and a relief that it is now gone’.
‘It’s another chapter finishing, but the memories will never go away,’ he said.
A garage belonging to Huntley, close to the property, was also demolished, along with an outbuilding where the girls’ Manchester United shirts were found.
A garage belonging to Huntley, close to the property, was also demolished, along with an outbuilding where the girls’ Manchester United shirts were found
Most of the interior of the house was ripped out by police searching for evidence in Huntley’s trial at the Old Bailey, which saw him sentenced to 40 years in 2005
A photo showed the dining room of the house
Contacted by the Daily Mail today, Mr Gilbert declined to comment, adding: ‘I said all I wanted to say at that horrible time.’
Contractors charged with demolishing the house were even required to sign confidentiality agreements to prevent anything from the house being sold to ghoulish collectors.
The girls’ parents were not present to witness the destruction of the house.
Cambridgeshire County Council feared the property could be a permanent reminder of the girls’ deaths if left standing.
The council said the rubble would be ‘crushed into dust and taken away to secret locations’.
A spokesman added: ‘But there will be no bricks left. The last thing we want is for bricks from this house to be sold as souvenirs.’
The two best friends’ bodies were discovered in a copse near RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk, almost two weeks after they disappeared.
Multiple prison sources suspect that Anthony Russell, a 43-year-old triple murderer and rapist serving a whole life prison sentence, was the person who launched the attack on Huntley, now 52.
Howard Gilbert, the former head teacher who employed Huntley, said at the time the destruction of the house was ‘a symbolic sign for the community’
The space where the house stood is just mud and grass after the school, in consultation with villagers, decided that any memorial would risk becoming a constant reminder to pupils of the grisly events which took place
After Huntley was beaten around the head three times, witnesses claim Russell was held by prison officers and shouted in celebration: ‘I’ve done it, I’ve done it. I’ve killed him, I’ve killed him.’
Police have confirmed that he is gravely ill in hospital – but is alive.
A Durham Constabulary spokesperson said: ‘There has been no change in the 52-year-old man’s condition overnight – he remains in hospital in a serious condition.’
Huntley was found with catastrophic head injuries in a pool of his own blood around 9.30am on Thursday, with many inmates said to have cheered rather than rush to his aid.
Insiders claim there had been a ‘queue’ of inmates who wanted to kill Huntley, including Darren Osborne, the Finsbury Park Mosque attacker. They said Huntley ‘was trying to bully’ Anthony Russell and ‘turn others against him’ – but Russell got to him first.
It is believed a fight broke out between the two prisoners before Russell swung at Huntley with the metal pole, hitting him with such force that part of the bar was lodged inside of his head.
Another prison source told the Daily Mail: ‘Huntley was working in waste management with other prisoners from Wing A, the segregated wing for prisoners who can’t be in the normal jail population for their own protection.
‘The other prisoner got a metal bar from the waste metal crates and smashed Huntley three times in the head with it. It was a very, very serious injury, having been struck on the skull like that.’
