Inmate Anthony Russell appears in crown court charged with Ian Huntley’s murder
An inmate has appeared before a crown court judge after he was charged with the prison murder of Soham killer Ian Huntley.
Anthony Russell, 43, appeared at Teesside Crown Court via a videolink from HMP Frankland, near Durham, for a 10-minute preliminary hearing.
Russell, who has links to the West Midlands, is charged with a single offence of murdering the 52-year-old who was allegedly attacked with a metal bar in a workshop at the maximum security jail on February 26.
Huntley was taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle, where he died on Saturday morning.
Durham Constabulary announced on Tuesday that Russell had been charged with murder.
During the hearing before Judge Francis Laird KC on Thursday, Russell confirmed his name and date of birth.
Sitting at a table in a conference room, he followed the proceedings in court.
He was not asked to enter a plea and was told there will be a pre-trial preparation hearing on April 24 at Newcastle Crown Court.
The judge confirmed with Tyrone Smith KC, defending, that Russell was on the link and cooperating fully with the proceedings.
Concluding the hearing, Judge Laird said: “Mr Russell, that is the end of the case today.
“You will next be before the court on April 24 and I direct you may attend that hearing remotely.
“If your lawyers feel there is merit in you being at Newcastle Crown Court then they will be at liberty to apply to the court administratively to ensure your attendance at that hearing.”
Russell replied: “Thank you.”
Ian Huntley life sentence
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 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.
