Holly and Jessica 'were good loyal friends'

Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman were “loyal to each other”, very popular and good friends who would have felt secure in their home town, their murder trial heard today.

The Old Bailey trial of Ian Huntley and Maxine Carr was given a brief insight into the friendship that had built up between the two 10-year-olds before their deaths last year.

Richard Latham QC, prosecuting, spoke of two friends who mixed well, were reliable and sensible, but who would have kicked up a fuss if needed.

He added: “They were good friends, they went to the same school, they were in the same class.

“The two girls were good friends but not in the inseparable category.

“They mixed well, they were reliable and sensible, they were excellent message takers and were very popular.

“They were loyal to each other.”

The trial heard the pair even wore identical red Manchester United football shirts, one belonging to Holly and one to her brother Oliver, then 12.

A photograph taken of the pair in the matching tops was later shown around the world.

After explaining that the girls had left a family barbecue, shortly before they vanished, Mr Latham said: “They didn’t tell anyone they were going out. No doubt they felt secure and confident in an area where they felt familiar.

“They lived there, they went to school there, they would have thought they were surrounded by faces they knew.”

Within moments of leaving, on August 4 last year, the girls vanished.

The jury was told that Jessica Aimee Chapman was born on September 1, 1991.

At the time of her disappearance she lived with her mother and father, Sharon and Leslie Chapman, and sisters Rebecca and Alison.

The family had lived in Soham since 1991 and Jessica attended St Andrew’s Church of England Primary School with Holly.

Mr Latham said: “She (Jessica) missed the last week of term because she went to Minorca on a family holiday.”

It was because she had returned from this trip that she went to see her friend Holly on the day of their disappearance to take her a necklace she had bought her, the court heard.

Holly Marie Wells lived with her parents Kevin and Nicola and 12-year-old brother Oliver at the family home in Soham since December 2001.

Talking about the pair, Mr Latham said: “To use the words of Joy Pederson, their teacher, they would have kicked up a fuss if needed.”

The court also heard that Huntley’s co-defendant, Maxine Carr, who is charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and two counts of assisting an offender, had a particular affinity with Holly.

When news came that Carr was leaving the school where she was a teaching assistant, the youngster gave her a card and a box of chocolates adding: “I’ll see you around.”