THE small town of Soham was shocked when in 2002, two young girls were found murdered after being missing for two weeks. 

School caretaker Ian Huntley was sentenced to a minimum of 40 years in prison for his crimes.

Who is Ian Huntley?

Ian Huntley was a caretaker at Soham Village College in Cambridgeshire, East Anglia.

He was born in Grimsby, Lincolnshire on January 31, 1974.

After the bodies of the two ten-year-old girls were found near an RAF base on August 17, 2002, Huntley was arrested.

He was eventually convicted in 2003 of the girls' murder and sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment.

A High Court later set a minimum term of 40 years in jail.

Huntley's girlfriend at the time, Maxine Carr, was the young girls' teaching assistant at St Andrew's Primary School – she was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison for perverting the course of justice after giving him a fake alibi.

After Huntley's conviction it was revealed he had previously been investigated for sexual offences and burglary.

It was revealed that Huntley had a daughter, Samantha Bryan, from an abusive relationship he had with then 15-year-old Katie.

He had groomed Katie, who left him before Samantha was born.

more on Ian Huntley

When did he murder Holly and Jessica?

10-year-old girls Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells were reported missing on Sunday, August 4, 2002, after going to a family barbecue.

They had left the house while playing together and on the way home walked past Huntley's house.

The caretaker invited them into his house, it is believed he used the children's connection to Carr to lure them inside.

He claims that Holly's death was an accident but that he could not let Jessica leave after witnessing the death of her friend.

Around 8pm on Sunday, Holly's mother noticed they were missing and grew concerned.

Hundreds of volunteers, including Huntley, and over 400 police officers were involved with the search for the missing children.

Their bodies were not found until around 12 days later, over 10 miles from Soham.

When was Ian Huntley arrested?

Huntley was already under suspicion when on August 17, 2002, the bodies of Jessica and Holly were found.

He has helped with the search for the missing girls but police grew suspicious of his questioning, especially when he asked how long DNA evidence lasts.

The clothes of the victims were found in the Soham Village College grounds and prompted the police to arrest Huntley and Carr.

By the end of August, 2002, the police had enough physical evidence from Huntley's house, car and the college to charge him with two counts of murder.

Huntley was given two life sentences with a minimum time of 40 years.

This means he will not be eligible for parole until 2042, at the age of 68.

Where is Ian Huntley now?

Huntley, still in jail, has begged for forgiveness saying: “I think about them every day.”

In a confession recorded behind bars and leaked to The Sun in February 2018, Huntley also apologised for the immense pain he caused through his crimes.

He said: “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.”

The killer, now 47, confessed on the tape to deliberately killing Jessica to stop her from raising the alarm after Holly died in the bath in what he insists was an accident.

Holly and Jessica’s families were put through the ordeal of a full court hearing in 2003 because Huntley refused to plead guilty.

Huntley also claimed former girlfriend Maxine Carr told lies in court to “distance herself from me.”

He has previously claimed from prison that it was Carr who orchestrated the cover-up after the murders in Soham, Cambridgeshire.

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