Ian Huntley ‘to be cremated in secret’ with no funeral service – UK Times

There will be no funeral service for double murderer Ian Huntley, according to a report.

Huntley, 52, died in early March after allegedly being attacked with a metal bar at the maximum security HMP Frankland.

The Sun has now reported that he will be cremated and his ashes will be scattered in secret by his family.

The newspaper also reported that it understands Huntley’s family has declined to hold a government-funded service.

That decison was made out of respect for the families of his victims, the report said.

Justice Minister Sarah Sackman previously denied that the state would be paying £3,000 towards the cost of Huntley’s funeral.

Speaking to LBC earlier this month, she said: “This man, Ian Huntley, doesn’t deserve anything more than the absolute bare minimum.

“We’re not spending £3,000.

“That’s the maximum in our policy that it affords.”

Huntley’s daughter Samantha Bryan earlier said that she was “over the moon” to find out that he had died – and that his ashes should be flushed down the toilet.

Anthony Russell, 43, has been charged with murdering Huntley, who died on 7 March at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle, where he was taken after the alleged attack.

Russell appeared at Teesside Crown Court earlier this month 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 ex-school caretaker killed the two best friends after they left a family barbecue to buy sweets in Soham, Cambridgeshire, on August 4 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 officers.

At the time, Huntley lived with Maxine Carr, who was a teaching assistant at Holly and Jessica’s primary school.

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.

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.