Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman were two 10‑year‑old girls from Soham, Cambridgeshire, who were murdered in August 2002 by local school caretaker Ian Huntley; the case is widely known as the Soham murders.

What happened to Holly and Jessica?

  • On 4 August 2002, Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman left a family barbecue at Holly’s home, reportedly to buy sweets, and did not return.
  • A massive nationwide search followed, with their photograph in matching Manchester United football shirts becoming one of the most remembered images of the case.
  • About two weeks later, their bodies were found in a ditch near an airbase at Lakenheath in Suffolk.
  • Suspicion turned to Ian Huntley, a 28‑year‑old school caretaker who had given detailed media interviews during the search and appeared unusually involved.

Who was responsible?

  • Ian Huntley was arrested and later convicted of murdering both girls in Soham in 2002 and was given a life sentence.
  • At trial, prosecutors described him as ruthless and said his versions of events were full of lies designed to cover up the killings.
  • Huntley claimed Holly’s death was accidental in his bathroom and that he killed Jessica while trying to silence her, but the jury rejected his account and he admitted disposing of their bodies and trying to burn them.

Why is it in the news now? (Latest update)

  • In late February 2026, Huntley was attacked in HMP Frankland prison and found in a pool of blood with serious head injuries.
  • He was taken to hospital and, according to reports, was taken off life support and then died following the attack.
  • A separate convicted murderer, Anthony Russell, has been reported as the suspected assailant in this prison attack.
  • For many in Soham, Huntley is still seen as “not worth the breath” and the town remains closely associated with the tragedy of Holly and Jessica’s deaths.

How people remember Holly and Jessica

  • The image of the two girls smiling in red Manchester United shirts, taken about 90 minutes before they were last seen, is still a powerful symbol of the case.
  • Thousands of floral tributes were left at St Andrew’s Church in Soham after their murders, and the town is remembered alongside other UK communities marked by major tragedies.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.