The Soham murders were awful and shocking, and the public outrage which followed justifiably focussed on the fact that Ian Huntley, Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells' killer, had worked as a caretaker at the girls' school, and did so despite various authorities being aware of allegations against him of indecent assault and underage sex. Ian Huntley, 29, jailed for life last week for the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, was a caretaker at Soham Village College. Referencing Carr's conscious efforts to deceive the police and media alike, Latham stated: "She had the prospect of marriage, a baby, a nice home and a new start. [9] By 3:15p.m., both girls had changed into distinctive replica Manchester United football shirts, one of which belonged to Wells, and the other to her older brother, Oliver. (CRB) check which was initially introduced in 2002 in order to check the background of people working with children or vulnerable . [200] Shortly thereafter, the couple moved to a ground-floor flat in Scunthorpe, where Huntley formally proposed to Carr in June 1999. He was again the target of physical and verbal bullying at this school, but did form a few friendships via a shared interest in computer games. 1 second ago. The stated purpose of the Bichard inquiry was: Urgently to enquire into child protection procedures in Humberside Police and Cambridgeshire Constabulary in the light of the recent trial and conviction of Ian Huntley for the murder of Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells. Latham stated neither body showed signs of compressive neck injuries, knife wounds, drugging or poisoning, and that both girls had most likely died of asphyxiation. [240], An added complication in these criminal vetting procedures was the fact that Huntley had applied for the caretaker's job under the name of Ian Nixon, although he divulged on the application form for this position that he was previously known as Ian Huntley. [14] As a result of this complaint, further rumours regarding Huntley's sexual violence also became community gossip,[176] resulting in Huntley being fired from his job and forcing him to move into his mother's home. [50], In July 1998, police were notified that Huntley had sexually assaulted an 11-year-old girl in September 1997, having also threatened to kill the child if she informed her mother. [85][86], In the weeks following the disappearances, Huntley reluctantly[87] granted several television interviews to media outlets such as Sky News and the regional BBC News programme, BBC Look East, speaking of the general shock in the local community and his dismay at being the last person to see the children alive. This was widely reported double murder which occurred in Soham, Cambridgeshire, England on August 2002. [189], By the time Capp entered adolescence, she was slightly overweight, leading her to become insecure about her physical appearance. In his early years, he frequently threw tantrums in order to get his mother's attention; childhood friends later remarked how afraid he was of his stern father. Alfred seldom maintained contact with his wife and children, and refused to provide any financial support for his daughters. 3 minutes to read. "[109] According to Carr, Huntley then informed her the children had entered their home in order that Wells could stanch her nosebleed. She briefly worked alongside her mother in a fish processing plant as she considered which career path she should choose before enrolling at the Grimsby Institute of Further & Higher Education, having chosen to study general care. [114][n 11] She was further charged with two counts of assisting an offender on 17 January 2003. "[82] In reference to Carr's attempts to pervert the course of justice, Latham stated that "as surely as night follows day" the two had conspired to concoct a false alibi to divert suspicion from Huntley,[82] but warned the jury Carr could only be convicted of assisting an offender if they believed she had known Huntley had murdered the girls, adding that her motive for providing lies to police with reference to the charge of perverting the course of justice was irrelevant. [54], Police were suspicious of Huntley's account. Three staff at Holly Wells' and Jessica Chapman's old school have still not had their backgrounds checked for any criminal convictions eight days before the girls' classmates return for the new term. I'll rot in here, I know it. The costs of imposing this order have been reported by differing tabloid newspapers as being between 1million and 50million. [43], Several members of the public reported having seen the children in the early days of the investigation. [133] Latham then closed his statement by again bringing the jury's attention to Huntley's claim that both deaths had been accidental, remarking, "We pose this question: Two of them?" Thu 24 Jun 2004 07.35 EDT. . [38] These appeals for information on the whereabouts of Wells and Chapman produced over 2,000 phone calls and tips from the public, with all information obtained entered into the investigation's HOLMES 2 database. [24], Huntley's car was also forensically examined on 16 August. [60], Ian Huntley, interviewed by Sky News correspondent Jeremy Thompson. 7. The Soham murders were a double child murder committed in Soham, Cambridgeshire, England on 4 August 2002.The victims were two 10-year-old girls, Holly Marie Wells and Jessica Aimee Chapman, who were lured into the home of a local resident and school caretaker, Ian Kevin Huntley, who subsequently murdered the childrenlikely via asphyxiationbefore disposing of their bodies in an . [96], When questioned about his failure to call emergency services and subsequent, extensive efforts to destroy evidence and divert suspicion from himself, Huntley insisted he had first become preoccupied with whether the police and public would believe the girls' deaths had been accidental, and he had decided to conceal all evidence of the deaths as opposed to either notifying police or paramedics. Miss ya! "[45] A young woman named Karen Greenwood also reported seeing the girls walking "arm in arm" along College Road about two minutes later. [92], On 3 December, Carr went into the witness box to testify in her own defence. It was designed as a response to the Bichard Inquiry . But, whatever he initiated, plainly went wrong. [118] Carr only severed contact with Huntley in December 2002. [89] In one interview with Sky News correspondent Jeremy Thompson during the second week of the search, he claimed to be holding on to a "glimmer of hope"[61] the children would be found safe and well, and that he had last seen the girls walking in the direction of a local library. [30] Police also investigated the possibility that the girls had arranged to meet someone they had contacted via an internet chat room, but this was soon ruled out. In this instance, a woman was raped and Huntleyby this stage suspected by police as being a serial sex offenderwas interviewed. Responding to questioning from her defence counsel, Michael Hubbard QC, Carr briefly discussed her initial acquaintance with Huntley, their subsequent relationship and plans to start a family once they both obtained financial stability before Hubbard directed his questioning toward her return to Soham on 6 August and her discovering Huntley had recently washed their bedding and had evidently cleaned sections of the house. The couple married at Grimsby Registry Office on 28 January 1995. [243], 2002 double homicide in Soham, Cambridgeshire, England, Chapman (left) and Wells (right), summer 2002, 20 August 2002 booking photograph of Carr. That involved at all costs protecting Ian Huntley. Referring to Wells in the past tense, Carr stated, "She was just lovely, really lovely",[93] before making a direct appeal to the children: "Just get on the phone and just come home. Unchecked: 13,000 people working with children - including teachers, caretakers, dinner ladies and lollipop men [140] He further claimed Chapman had witnessed this accident and began repeatedly screaming, "You pushed her! [38], Maxine Carr was born Maxine Ann Capp. Immediately on seeing the corpses, Lawrence turned to his girlfriend, Helen Sawyer, and shouted: "Don't come any closer, Helen! [146], On 10 December, counsel for both prosecution and defence delivered their closing arguments to the jury. This footage depicted them arriving at the local sports centre at 6:28p.m.[33][n 2] A televised reconstruction of the children's last known movements was broadcast nationally on 10 August,[35][36] and both sets of parents granted an interview with presenter Colin Baker on ITV's current affairs programme Tonight, which was broadcast on 12 August. [42], Shortly after the children's disappearance, Staffordshire Police contacted the investigating officers to report their suspicions the girls could have been abducted by the same man responsible for an abduction in their jurisdiction the previous year, in which a six-year-old girl had survived an indecent assault by an abductor who was still at large and whose green Ford Mondeo had number plates which had earlier been stolen in Peterborough. He would typically use guile or force to achieve his desires. Grimsby Institute of Further & Higher Education, "Soham Girls 'Likely to Have Been Asphyxiated', "Maxine Carr Gave Alibi to Save Me; Not to Deceive Police", "Judge Gives Huntley Forty Years And Little Hope", "Caretaker Charged with Murder of Two Girls and Sent to Rampton", "A Long Night Waiting For News That Never Came", "At Night I Sometimes Just Lay There and Cry", "Coroner: Girls' Bodies Were Moved to Woodland", "Ian Huntley Now: What Happened to the Soham Murderer After He Killed Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman", "Mistake Made by Maxine Carr that Showed She Knew Ian Huntley had Killed Soham Schoolgirls", "His Lies and Shallow Charm Fooled Dozens of People but They Hid a Violent, Bitter Man", "As Day Breaks, Huntley's House is Turned Into Dust and Rubble", "Was Jealousy Over Maxine the Trigger for Murder? Each provided witness statements before being placed in a safe house in the village of Histon. As a result, he began rebuffing any offers to socialise with colleagues for fear of being attacked while alone in their company. "[157], Huntley avoided eligibility for a whole life tariff as the passing of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 had been one day after his conviction; thus taking effect on 18 December 2003 and applying solely to murders committed on or after this date. [24] A cover from the rear seat was missing, and the lining of the boot had been recently removed and replaced with an ill-fitting section of household carpet. [15][16] Chapman's Nokia 6110 mobile phone was switched off at 6:46p.m.[17][1][18], At 8:00p.m., Nicola Wells entered her daughter's bedroom to invite the girls to say goodbye to her house guests, only to discover both children were missing. Chaired by Sir Michael Bichard, the Bichard inquiry opened on 13 January 2004. In your attempts to escape responsibility, in your lies and manipulation you have increased the suffering of two families. [226] She was given a secret identity to protect her from threats of attack from vengeful members of the public[227] in addition to being provided with a new home in an undisclosed location. [23], While held on remand at Holloway Prison,[116] Carr regularly enquired as to Huntley's welfare,[117] and wrote several letters in which she professed her continued love for him. [183] Huntley severely restricted and supervised any contact she held with her family or social acquaintances. [14], At the urging of his father, Huntley joined the Air Training Corps at age 13. [160], Huntley was a timid child, and something of a mother's boy. [17], Prosecutors at Huntley's trial contended he had lured the children into his house with a likely sexual motivation, but investigators found no evidence of premeditation in relation to the murders. "[211], By mid-2002, the physical relationship between Huntley and Carr had begun to deteriorate. [6] He stressed that the cause of death was murder, adding: "Ten-year-old girls don't just drop dead. ", "Police Reveal Horrors of Bodies in Ditch", "Last Farewell: Holly Buried in Private Service with Flowers from The Beckhams; Jessica is Laid to Rest 24 Hours Earlier as The Two Families Grieve Alone", "Police Identify Holly and Jessica's Bodies", "Soham Murders: Why Did Ian Huntley Kill Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman? [14] In any event, the cause of death of both girls was later ruled to be asphyxiation. Today's service is a small milestone in our shared journey of grief and sorrow it is our hope that we may perhaps draw a line under one phase of our grieving and begin to look forward. He tearfully claimed he had not attempted to feign insanity upon his arrest, insisting the trauma of the children's deaths had temporarily erased his memory and being in the presence of police had caused his mind to temporarily seize. [153] The results of this inquiry were published that June.[237]. [212], At 9:53a.m. on 4 August, Huntley attempted to phone Carr, but she did not answer her mobile phone. "[141] and that he had then accidentally suffocated her while attempting to stifle her screaming, which had preoccupied his attention as opposed to ensuring Wells did not drown. Shortly thereafter, she briefly worked as a junior care assistant at a care home for the elderly in Grimsby, then returned to work alongside her mother as a labourer at Bluecrest fish processing plant. [74], The following day, Cambridgeshire Deputy Chief Constable Keith Hodder released a press statement to the media confirming the discovery of the children's bodies, adding that both families had been informed of the developments and that although positive formal identification would take several days, investigators were as "certain as [they] possibly could be" the bodies were those of Wells and Chapman. [143], Carr said she had tried to persuade Huntley to contact police and "be open" about his claims to have invited the children into his home for Wells to stanch her nosebleed, but that he had refused to do so, as inviting children into their home had been a violation of the rules imposed by St Andrew's Primary School. [70][71] No clear footprints were discovered at the crime scene. The family regularly experienced financial difficulties, but Shirley would later state she "spoiled" her daughters to the best of her financial ability. [59], On 16 August, twelve days after the children's disappearance, Huntley and Carr were first questioned by police. Enchanced CRB checks will show all arrests and dealings with police, as far as I know. [53] When he had replied Carr had not got the job, one of the girls had said, "Tell her we're sorry" before they both walked along College Street towards a bridge leading towards Clay Street. Section of Mr Justice Alan Moses' sentencing of Ian Huntley. The Vetting and Barring Scheme aims to protect children and vulnerable adults by stopping those who pose a known risk from working with them. Private Lessons and CRB The Maths tutor can now be hired after passing the CRB checks. The CRB ( Criminal Records Bureau) was a ground-breaking service which provided detailed reports of a person's criminal record history. [14] Pathological evidence retrieved from the bodies indicating at least one of the girls had been subjected to a sexual assault either before or after her murder was not disclosed to the jury at Huntley's trial. Huntley was later transferred to London's Belmarsh prison. [175] The criminal charge was dropped a week later after the Crown Prosecution Service, having examined CCTV footage from the nightclub and environs and finding evidence of the two socialising within the nightclub, determined insufficient evidence existed to secure a conviction for this offence. [127], The trial of Huntley for the murders of Wells and Chapman opened at the Old Bailey on 5 November 2003 before Mr Justice Alan Moses; Huntley was charged with two counts of murder, to which he entered a plea of not guilty. ", "Maxine Carr: The Teenage Anorexic Who Loved Working with Children and Nights on the Town", "Arrested Couple Publicly Declared Their Affection for Girls", "Like the Gullible Young Girls Before Her, Carr Fell for Huntley's Evil Spell", "Maxine Carr: The Teenage Anorexic Who Loved Working With Children and Nights on the Town", "Class Helper Failed to Win Full-time Post", "Anyone Facing Jail by the Child Support Agency Compare it With This", "Soham Murderer Ian Huntley Attacked by Jail Inmate", "Ian Huntley Could Get 20,000 Compensation After Prison Attack", "Ian Huntley: Prisoner Admits Attacking Soham Killer", "Ian Huntley Attacker Damien Fowkes Gets Life Term", "Huntley Revealed All in Taped Confession", "Huntley Fooled Prison's Suicide Watch by Hiding 29 Anti-depressant Pills in Teabags", "Huntley Admits Sex Attack on Girl in 1997", "Maxine Carr to Get Police Guard on Release", "PCC Must Act Over Hounding of Maxine Carr", "Mob Torments Scots Woman Mistaken for Maxine Carr", "Blunkett Orders Police Chief's Suspension", "The CRB Explained: How the Criminal Records Bureau Operates", "Mum Mistaken as Maxine Carr Hopes TV Show Will End Ordeal", "Ian Huntley: The 5 Mistakes That Led to The Soham Killer's Downfall Explored in Tonight's Channel 5 Documentary", "Channel 5 Documentary Looks at Soham Murder Case 20 Years On", "Maxine Review: A Show About the Soham Murders that is Both Pointless and Dangerous", "Maxine Viewers Blast Channel 5 Soham Murders Drama for Being in 'Absurdly Bad Taste', detailing Ian Huntley's conviction of the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, detailing the minimum sentence imposed on Ian Huntley, BBC News report Retrospective news article, confessions to the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, actual motive for committing the Soham Murders, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Soham_murders&oldid=1132191908, Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by England and Wales, Articles with disputed statements from November 2021, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. 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