Murder charge man remanded to high security hospital

A FORMER school caretaker accused of the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman was yesterday remanded to a high security hospital for a month after appearing in court for the first time.

Ian Huntley, 28, of Soham, Cambridgeshire, appeared at a special court sitting in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire.

A crowd of nearly 300 people gathered outside and eggs and plastic water bottles were among items thrown as Huntley was driven away in a police van.

Police mounted a major security operation. More than 100 officers were on duty outside the court and barriers were put up to keep crowds away from the building.

A spokeswoman said one arrest had been made but there were no serious problems.

Huntley was charged with killing the two 10-year-old girls, who also lived in Soham, three weeks ago. But he had been remanded to Rampton high security hospital in Nottinghamshire under the Mental Health Act and did not appear in court until yesterday.

Police and court officials took the unusual step of arranging two court sittings in an attempt to avoid unnecessary journeys to court and potential public order problems. His case was initially heard by magistrates, who then remanded him to the crown court. A short while later a judge held a special sitting in the magistrates' court to hear details of Huntley's case. Throughout both hearings, Huntley, wearing a maroon sweatshirt, sat trembling and blinking, staring into space.

He said nothing, leaving his barrister Maureen Baker to confirm his name, date of birth and address on his behalf.

The magistrates' hearing lasted eight minutes, and the crown court hearing around 16 minutes. Prosecutor Karim Khalil outlined brief details of the case, which cannot be reported for legal reasons, and added a third charge, that of conspiring with his girlfriend Maxine Carr to pervert the course of justice by lying to police investigating the murders.

A few feet in front of Huntley sat his brother Wayne and Wayne's wife Claire, who was previously married to the defendant. In other seats sat Detective Chief Inspector Andy Hebb and Detective Chief Superintendent Chris Stevenson, two of the leading detectives in the case. Judge Nicholas Coleman was asked to consider an application by Rampton officials to detain Huntley for a further 28 days for assessment.

Dr Christopher Clark, a consultant psychiatrist at the hospital, was in court in case his assistance was required but was never asked to give evidence.

After submissions from the prosecution and the defence, Judge Coleman said he was satisfied by the application and told Huntley he would remain at Rampton. Huntley shuffled out of court without making eye contact with anyone.

Huntley's partner Maxine Carr, 25, has been charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice. Her case has already been heard by Peterborough magistrates and a crown court judge.

She is currently on remand at Holloway prison, north London, pending trial and her next scheduled court appearance is later this month.

There were serious public order problems outside the court when Carr first appeared before magistrates last month.

When her case was heard by a judge a week later, she answered questions via a live video link to avoid further disturbances.

Police were keen to avoid any similar problems with Huntley, which is why they set up such a large security operation.

Jessica and Holly vanished on August 4 after being seen walking near their homes in Soham.

Their bodies were found in a ditch on farmland at Lakenheath, Suffolk, on August 17.

Huntley was the caretaker at Soham Village College a secondary school when the girls vanished.

Carr was a teaching assistant in Holly and Jessica's class at St Andrew's Primary School, Soham.

Huntley and Carr lived together at a caretaker's house near the front of Soham Village College.