Account of Soham accused under scrutiny

Soham accused Ian Huntley’s account of how Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman died in his bathroom today came under examination by Home Office pathologist Nat Carey.

The former caretaker’s Old Bailey trial heard his version of events for the first time yesterday.

Holly died after falling into his water-filled bath as Huntley tried to treat her for a nosebleed, his barrister Stephen Coward QC told the Old Bailey.

Jessica died as Huntley put his hands over her mouth to try to stop her screams, the court heard.

The admissions came as Dr Carey gave evidence about the state of their bodies when they were found, 13 days after they vanished on August 4 last year.

The jury has heard that Huntley admits putting the two lifeless 10-year-olds in his red Ford Fiesta and driving them to the remote ditch near Lakenheath, Suffolk, where their bodies were found.

The prosecution allege Huntley murdered the two girls, but says it cannot put forward a definitive version of events after the girls entered Huntley’s home, sometime after 6.30pm on Sunday August 4.

Dr Carey, who had previously told the jury that he thought asphyxia was the most likely cause of death for both girls, said the defence’s account had never been suggested to him before.

He was given permission to study the version of events last night and discuss it with the forensics officers who examined Huntley’s house.

Huntley, 29, a former caretaker at Soham Village College, denies murdering Holly and Jessica, but has admitted conspiring to pervert the course of justice.

His ex-girlfriend Maxine Carr, 26, a former classroom assistant at the girls’ primary school, denies conspiring to pervert the course of justice and two charges of assisting an offender.

The prosecution alleges she gave Huntley a false alibi for the day the girls went missing, Sunday August 4 last year. Their bodies were found 13 days later.