A trial date has been set for a prisoner accused of murdering Ian Huntley, the notorious Soham murderer.
Anthony Russell, aged 44, made a virtual appearance at Newcastle Crown Court from HMP Frankland, located near Durham. During the brief hearing on Wednesday, he refrained from entering a plea.
Russell faces a single charge of killing the 52-year-old Huntley, who was reportedly assaulted with a metal bar in a workshop at the high-security prison on February 26.
Huntley was taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, where he passed away on March 7. The former school caretaker was serving a life sentence for the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, two ten-year-olds, back in 2002 when the incident occurred.
Huntley committed the gruesome act after the two girls left a family gathering to buy sweets in Soham, Cambridgeshire, on August 4, 2002. He then disposed of their bodies in a ditch 10 miles away following the murders.
Despite an extensive search involving numerous law enforcement officers, it took 13 days to locate the bodies of Holly and Jessica after their tragic deaths.
At the time of the murders, Huntley was living with Maxine Carr, who worked as a teaching assistant at the primary school attended by Holly and Jessica.
Although he denied the killings, Huntley was found guilty following a trial at the Old Bailey in 2003 and was sentenced to life imprisonment with a recommended minimum term of 40 years.
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