A 43-year-old inmate already serving a whole-life order for three murders has appeared before a magistrate, charged with killing one of Britain’s most notorious child murderers, Ian Huntley, inside a maximum-security prison.
Anthony Russell, described by a judge in a previous case as “exceptionally dangerous and manipulative,” spoke only to confirm his name during a five-minute video-link hearing at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday afternoon. Wearing a grey sweatshirt, he was told the single charge of murder could only be dealt with by a crown court.
District Judge Steven Hood remanded Russell in custody and sent the case to Teesside Crown Court, where he is due to appear on Thursday for a preliminary hearing. Court officials clarified the venue after initially stating it would be Newcastle Crown Court.
A lethal history collides with an infamous inmate
The man now accused of Huntley’s murder is himself a convicted triple murderer and rapist. Anthony Russell, from Coventry, is serving a whole-life prison order for the October 2020 killings of Julie Williams, her son David Williams, and Nicole McGregor over a seven-day spree. The court heard he murdered David Williams due to a mistaken belief he was in a relationship with Russell’s girlfriend, then killed Julie Williams because he believed she knew too much. He later raped and murdered Nicole McGregor after luring her with drugs.
Russell’s history of violence extends further back, including a 12-month sentence in 2014 for a “truly terrifying” assault on his then-girlfriend, where he throttled her, held a knife to her throat, and tried to smother her. He also has convictions for violence from 2003 and 2006.
His alleged target, Ian Huntley, 52, was serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 40 years for the 2002 murders of 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in Soham, Cambridgeshire. The former school caretaker had been held at HMP Frankland in County Durham, a facility that houses some of the country’s most dangerous offenders. Due to the infamy of his crimes, Huntley had been kept under close protection and was the subject of a previous serious attack in 2010, when his throat was slashed.
A brutal prison assault and a death in hospital
The fatal incident occurred on February 26 this year in a workshop within HMP Frankland. According to reports, Huntley was attacked with a spiked metal bar or pole, sustaining severe brain trauma and injuries that reportedly left him blind. He was taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle and placed on life support.
After brain tests showed he was in a vegetative state, his life support was withdrawn. He was confirmed dead on the morning of Saturday, March 7. Following the attack, a prison source claimed Russell shouted, “I have done it. I have killed him,” with reports that other inmates cheered.
The Crown Prosecution Service stated it had decided to prosecute Russell after a police investigation, concluding there was sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction and that it was in the public interest to do so.
The enduring shadow of the Soham murders
Huntley’s crimes two decades ago left a permanent scar on the national conscience. He killed Holly and Jessica after they left a family barbecue to buy sweets on August 4, 2002, dumping their bodies in a ditch 10 miles away. A 13-day search involving hundreds of officers ensued before they were found.
At the time, Huntley lived with Maxine Carr, a teaching assistant at the girls’ primary school, who provided him with a false alibi. Carr was jailed for 21 months for perverting the course of justice and is now one of only four former UK prisoners granted lifelong anonymity. She is reported to be living under a new identity, having married and had a child.
The fallout from the Soham murders led directly to the Bichard Inquiry, which resulted in major reforms to vetting procedures and the sharing of intelligence on those working with children and vulnerable people.
As the legal process begins anew, the case places a spotlight on the volatile environment of the high-security prison estate. HMP Frankland has been the site of other serious incidents, including an attack on prison officers by Hashem Abedi, the brother of the Manchester Arena bomber, in April 2025.
