“I’ve Done It!” Killer’s Chilling Boast After Bludgeoning Soham Monster Ian Huntley With Spiked Metal Pole – Head “Split in Two” as Inmates Cheer in Blood-Soaked Workshop Ambush

In the grim heart of one of Britain’s most secure prisons, a scene of raw, vengeful justice unfolded yesterday morning that has sent shockwaves through the criminal underworld and left the nation divided. Ian Huntley, the cold-eyed former school caretaker who slaughtered two innocent ten-year-old girls in the quiet Cambridgeshire village of Soham in 2002, lay unconscious in a spreading pool of his own blood, his skull “split in two” after being savagely battered six times with a spiked metal pole. His attacker, a triple murderer serving a whole-life tariff with nothing left to lose, stood over the crumpled body and screamed triumphantly: “I’ve done it! I’ve done it! I’ve killed him! I’ve killed him!”

The frenzied ambush happened just after 9am on Thursday 26 February 2026 inside the recycling workshop at HMP Frankland, the Category A maximum-security jail in County Durham that houses some of Britain’s most dangerous men. What began as a brief, possibly staged argument exploded into chaos as 43-year-old Anthony Russell grabbed an improvised weapon – a heavy metal pole ripped from a large recycling crate – and rained blow after blow on Huntley’s head. The spike at one end of the pole lodged deep into flesh and bone, turning what might have been a beating into something far more lethal. By the time prison officers stormed in, Huntley, 52, was unresponsive, not breathing, his face a mask of blood. Medics and staff fought desperately for over an hour to stem the torrent of bleeding before he was rushed to hospital in a critical condition and placed in an induced coma.

Inmates who witnessed the attack erupted into applause and cheers as Russell was dragged away in handcuffs, whistling and shouting their approval. The triple killer, described as skinny and unassuming, looked “calm and pleased with himself” according to sources inside the jail. He was immediately taken to the segregation unit but had not been formally arrested last night. One visitor to the prison later told reporters bluntly: “He’s in a bad, bad way. I shouldn’t say it, but it’s what he deserves.” Another insider added: “It was total chaos… he was bashed to bits.”

For many, this brutal assault on Ian Huntley was not a question of “if” but “when”. The Soham monster has been a marked man since the day he arrived behind bars. Hated by fellow prisoners for his arrogance, his child-murdering past, and his recent provocations – including being caught wearing a red Manchester United-style top identical to the shirts worn by his young victims Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman on the day they vanished – Huntley had already survived multiple attempts on his life. In 2010 his throat was slashed by another inmate, leaving a jagged scar from jugular to windpipe. In 2018 he claimed a second razor-blade attack was foiled only because he overpowered his assailant. He has tried to kill himself at least three times. Yet yesterday’s attack felt different – more calculated, more ferocious, and carried out in broad daylight inside a workshop where tools and metal were readily available.

The chilling details emerging from HMP Frankland paint a picture of a prison system stretched to breaking point. Sources inside the jail revealed that officers knew Huntley was a constant target yet were apparently unable – or unwilling – to protect him. “Somebody was bound to get to him at some point,” one told The Sun. “The officers that were on duty will face some pretty harsh questions… They knew Huntley was a target so should have been sticking to him like glue. But prisons are understaffed and many of the officers are not very experienced.” Frankland, home to 850 of Britain’s most dangerous prisoners including Levi Bellfield, Wayne Couzens and Mark Dixie, was immediately placed in lockdown after the assault. Sirens wailed, inmates were banged up in their cells, and forensic teams spent the day combing the workshop for evidence. An air ambulance was scrambled but Huntley was eventually transported by road ambulance to hospital, where he remains in a serious condition.

Anthony Russell, the man accused of carrying out the attack, is no ordinary prisoner. The Coventry-born killer is serving a whole-life order for one of the most shocking murder sprees in recent memory. In October 2020 he went on a week-long rampage that left three people dead: 58-year-old Julie Williams, her 32-year-old son David, and 31-year-old Nicole McGregor, who was five months pregnant. He raped Nicole before murdering her. Crown prosecutor Sati Ruck described the attacks as “deliberate, cold-hearted and designed to achieve his own ends”. Russell admitted the killings but showed no remorse. With no hope of ever walking free, he reportedly told officers after the Huntley attack that he had “killed three people, and this was nothing”. He had “nothing to lose”.

The contrast between the two men could not be starker. Ian Huntley, once a seemingly ordinary caretaker at Soham Village College, became Britain’s most reviled child killer when he lured Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman into his home on 4 August 2002. The girls, best friends wearing matching Manchester United shirts, had been enjoying a family barbecue when they went out to buy sweets and never returned. Huntley, then 28, strangled them both, hid their bodies in a remote ditch near RAF Lakenheath, and spent two desperate weeks pretending to help in the search while police and the nation watched in horror. His lies unravelled when his girlfriend Maxine Carr provided a false alibi. In December 2003 he was convicted of double murder and given a minimum 40-year sentence – meaning he cannot even apply for parole until 2042.

The Soham murders changed Britain forever. The image of two smiling little girls in their red football shirts became seared into the national consciousness. Vigils, candlelit marches, and wall-to-wall media coverage turned the quiet fenland town into a symbol of lost innocence. Holly’s mother, Nicola Wells, and Jessica’s parents, Leslie and Sharon Chapman, have carried their unimaginable grief for more than two decades. Yesterday, as news of the attack spread, one source close to the families said simply: “Part of me hopes he dies this time.” Huntley’s own mother, who still lives in the area, reportedly told friends the same thing.

Yet Huntley has never expressed genuine remorse. Behind bars he has repeatedly infuriated fellow inmates with his entitled behaviour. Last summer he sparked outrage by parading around in that red Manchester United top – a sickening reminder of the shirts his victims wore. Prison bosses eventually cracked down, stripping him of his Xbox, DVDs and magazines after an unauthorised haul was found in his cell last month. Insiders say his arrogance made him a lightning rod for violence. “It was a matter of time,” one prisoner told The Sun. “Everyone despised him.”

The attack on Huntley comes just months after another notorious paedophile met a violent end behind bars. In October 2025, former Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins was stabbed to death at HMP Wakefield. Two inmates have since been charged with his murder. Prison sources now fear a growing culture of vigilante justice inside Britain’s jails. “There is a feeling violence is out of control,” one told reporters. “Russell was taken to segregation and seemed glad about what he had done.”

Durham Constabulary confirmed a 52-year-old prisoner remains in a serious condition with head injuries. A male prisoner in his mid-40s has been identified as the suspect but remains in custody within the prison. A Prison Service spokesman issued a brief statement: “A prisoner is receiving treatment after an incident at HMP Frankland on Thursday morning.” North East Ambulance Service said two crews and the Great North Air Ambulance were dispatched after a 9.23am call.

But behind the official statements lies a darker story of systemic failure. HMP Frankland is supposed to be escape-proof and violence-proof – a fortress for the worst of the worst. Yet time and again high-profile inmates have been attacked. Huntley himself survived throat-slashing in 2010; the attacker, Damien Fowkes, received another life sentence. Justice Secretary Jack Straw at the time refused Huntley’s £100,000 compensation claim. Now questions are being asked about staffing levels, training, and whether notorious prisoners like Huntley should be kept in general population at all.

For the families of Holly and Jessica, the news has reopened old wounds. The girls’ murders led to major changes in child protection laws, police procedures and even the way missing children cases are handled. Yet the monster responsible has continued to breathe, eat, and provoke from behind bars. One former Soham resident said: “We can’t let go of what happened to Holly and Jessica. It changed Soham forever. If this attack finally ends him, many people will sleep easier tonight.”

Others are less comfortable with the idea of prisoners taking the law into their own hands. Prison reform campaigners warned that unchecked violence inside jails undermines the entire justice system. “No one is saying Huntley is a saint,” one expert told The Sun, “but if we allow inmates to become executioners, we lose the moral high ground. The state must protect even the most despised prisoners.”

As Huntley fights for his life in hospital, the workshop at HMP Frankland remains sealed off. Forensic teams have spent hours gathering evidence – the blood-spattered pole, CCTV footage, witness statements from inmates who cheered the attack. Russell sits in segregation, reportedly unrepentant. And across Britain, millions are asking the same question: should we mourn a child killer’s suffering, or quietly accept that some monsters deserve the monsters they create?

Huntley’s long history of self-harm and suicide attempts – including overdoses before his trial and in 2006 and 2012 – adds another layer of tragedy, or perhaps irony, to the story. He has spent more than two decades in various high-security jails, moving between Wakefield, Frankland and others as authorities tried to keep him alive. Each time he survived, the public outrage grew. Now, after yesterday’s savage assault, doctors are fighting to keep him alive once more – against the wishes of many who believe justice has finally been served in the most brutal way possible.

Neighbours in Soham, where the murders happened, reacted with a mixture of shock and grim satisfaction. One local shopkeeper said: “We all remember those two little girls. Their faces were everywhere for months. Huntley destroyed so many lives. If one of his own kind has finally got to him, well… you reap what you sow.”

In the wider community of victims’ families and campaigners, the attack has reignited calls for whole-life sentences to mean exactly that – and for better protection for vulnerable inmates, even those as despised as Huntley. Holly and Jessica’s families have never publicly commented on prison attacks, but sources close to them say the news brought a complicated wave of emotions: relief that Huntley is suffering, guilt for feeling that way, and renewed grief for the children they lost.

Meanwhile, Russell’s own victims’ families have been contacted by police. The relatives of Julie Williams, David Williams and Nicole McGregor – who was carrying Russell’s unborn child when he murdered her – are said to be “stunned” by the latest development. One family member told reporters: “He destroyed our lives. Now he’s trying to play judge and jury in prison. It doesn’t bring anyone back.”

As the investigation continues, prison bosses face uncomfortable questions in Parliament. How could a prisoner armed with a spiked metal pole get close enough to a high-risk inmate like Huntley to inflict life-threatening injuries? Why was the workshop not better supervised? And is the current model of housing multiple notorious killers together simply a recipe for disaster?

For now, Ian Huntley lies in a hospital bed, his head swathed in bandages, machines breathing for him. The man who once thought he could outsmart the police and the courts with lies and alibis may never speak again. The man who took two innocent lives on a summer evening in 2002 now clings to his own by the thinnest of threads. And the man who delivered the blows walks the corridors of segregation with a smile on his face, knowing he has achieved what so many others have tried and failed to do.

In the quiet villages of Soham, in the cells of Frankland, and in living rooms across Britain, one question hangs in the air: when the news finally breaks that Ian Huntley has died, will anyone truly mourn? Or will the nation breathe a collective sigh of relief that the Soham monster is gone at last – taken down not by the state, but by one of his own?

The prison service has promised a full investigation. Durham Police continue to gather evidence. And Anthony Russell waits in solitary, his boast still echoing through the wings: “I’ve done it.”

For the families of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, the nightmare that began on 4 August 2002 may finally be drawing to a close – in the most violent, bloody, and strangely fitting way imaginable.