The legacy of Holly and Jessica's murders: Soham 'won't waste its breath' on Huntley

The legacy of Holly and Jessica's murders: Soham 'won't waste its breath' on Huntley 18 hours ago Lewis Adams The murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in 2002 put the Cambridgeshire town of Soham on the map, but for all the wrong reasons. It joined Dunblane, Aberfan and Lockerbie, and later Southport, as towns forever associated with tragedy.

For many years, people living in Soham have not wanted to speak about the murders of the 10-year-old girls - or the man responsible, Ian Huntley.

The secrets of what happened to Holly and Jessica during their final moments inside 5 College Close have now been taken to the grave by Huntley, who has died aged 52.

Why are people in Soham so reluctant to talk about him - and why will they not be marking his death?

The case of best friends Holly and Jessica vanishing after leaving a family barbecue in August 2002 gripped not just the tight-knit community in Soham, but the world.

It led to tireless searches of Soham and the flat countryside of The Fens, while a picture of them in matching red Manchester United shirts became ingrained on the nation's consciousness.

The searches ended in tragedy when, a fortnight after the girls disappeared, their bodies were found in a ditch about 10 miles (16km) away, near RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk.

Huntley, a former school caretaker who had been feigning concern for the girls during TV interviews, was later identified as their killer and convicted.

Debbie Tubby, a TV reporter for BBC Look East, spoke to Huntley before he was arrested and later gave evidence during his trial.

She revisited Soham to gauge how residents felt after Huntley was attacked in prison, but found many people simply wanted to move on and not talk about him.

"The town of Soham doesn't like media attention. It was inundated by press at the time," Tubby explains. "I have spoken to a number of key people who were here 24 years ago. "They remember us being in the town and they recognise the pressure the media put on Ian Huntley – but they don't want to be on camera. "They say he's not worth their breath or time. " The father of Holly, Kevin Wells, told the BBC his family was told the news of Huntley's death earlier, but he did not want to comment on it. Trusted contacts, as well as the entire town council and a vicar, have all also declined to talk about him. Among those who have spoken anonymously, some see Huntley's death as poetic justice, a blessing in disguise.

For others, it is a catastrophic failure by the Prison Service as he should be spending the full sentence - life with a minimum term of 40 years - behind bars.

Charlotte Cane, the Liberal Democrat MP for Ely and East Cambridgeshire, said of Huntley: "He clearly didn't want to serve his full life sentence; he clearly found it difficult.

"But, in many ways, I don't really care about him anymore.

"It's the people who suffered because of him, they're the people who matter. "

Huntley was convicted of the murders in 2003 and sentenced in 2005.

He was taken to hospital in a critical condition after being attacked with a makeshift weapon on 26 February at a workshop inside HMP Frankland.

The BBC understands triple killer Anthony Russell, 43, is suspected of being his attacker.

Dr Anne Eyre, director of the Centre for Collective Trauma, believes that for some living in Soham, having Huntley back in the headlines will be deeply upsetting.

"It's like going back to day one," she says of their trauma.

"These are wide, long and deeply impacting events.

That's why sometimes people prefer not to talk to others who aren't within the community itself. "

Eyre says trauma can be passed on through generations, which may help to explain why people in Soham still do not speak to the media 24 years on.

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