Ian Huntley’s funeral arrangements and eventual burial remain subjects of intense speculation after UK authorities disposed of other killers’ remains in discreet ways
Ian Huntley died earlier this month(Image: Andy Stenning/Daily Mirror)
Soham murderer Ian Huntley died in hospital after he suffered severe injuries in a prison attack – his death has led to intense speculation about what will happen with his remains.
Huntley, 52, was assaulted in a workshop at County Durham’s HMP Frankland. After being treated over several days following the attack, Huntley died on March 7. Anthony Russell, 43, has been charged with his murder.
The murders of his victims Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, both 10, in August 2002, made him one of the most loathed figures in Britain. He was attacked multiple times in prison and attempted to take his own life as he served two terms of life imprisonment over the murders.
Huntley was attacked in prison(Image: Shutterstock)
Huntley’s daughter Samantha Bryan admitted she was “glad” he had died. Speaking to The Sun on Sunday, she said: “I started crying because I thought he was dead – it was an overwhelming sense of relief. Being his daughter has been a heavy burden. It felt like I could breathe again. I felt if he died, that burden died with him.”
Speculation has rumbled on following Huntley’s death with questions being raised about what will happen to his remains. Huntley is still entitled to a funeral, despite his crimes and his next of kin still have a right to claim his body.
Other killers have seen their remains spread at sea or were cremated. This is what happened to killers’ remains following their deaths.
Ian Brady – ashes disposed at sea
Ian Brady’s remains were disposed at sea(Image: Getty Images)
The ashes of the infamous Moors Murderer Ian Brady were disposed of at sea in the dead of night. Monster Brady, 79, was cremated without a ceremony in 2017 after a court ruled the disposal of his body did not lead to “offence and distress” to the families of his victims.
Brady, along with his accomplice Myra Hindley, tortured and killed five children in the 1960s. Hindley died in prison age 60 in 2002. Brady’s body was collected from the mortuary at Royal Liverpool hospital late on October 25 that year and his ashes were placed in a biodegradable urn.
The remains were then driven to Liverpool Marina and were taken out to sea at about 2:30am the following day. Brady had reportedly wanted his ashes to be spread in Glasgow, where he grew up. The council denied the request and he was instead disposed of at sea.
Peter Tobin – ashes scattered at sea
Tobin killed women and girls (Image: SWNS)
Serial Killer Peter Tobin’s remains were scattered at sea following his death in 2022. He was convicted of the rape and murder of Polish student Angelika Kluk, 23, and then hiding her body under a Glasgow church.
He was also found to have killed Vicky Hamilton, 15, and Dinah McNicol, 18. After no one came forward to claim his body, the local authority assumed responsibility for funeral arrangements.
“Yesterday evening (13 Oct 2022) the remains of Peter Tobin were cremated in accordance with the requirements of Section 87 of the Burials and Cremation (Scotland) Act 2016,” a City of Edinburgh Council spokesperson said at the time. “Ashes from the cremation were dispersed into the sea. The council’s thoughts are with the victims of his crimes and their loved ones.”
Tobin died at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary on October 8 that year. His death at the time was said to be listed as “unascertained (pending investigations). He died from bronchial pneumonia that was compounded by metastatic prostate cancer.
Thomas Hamilton – cremated secretly
The Dunblane massacre led to gun reform in the UK(Image: Sunday Mail)
Mass murderer Thomas Hamilton, 43, shot dead 16 children and their teacher at a school in Dunblane in 1996. Following his suicide, he was cremated in a secret service with only his family present.
A police spokesperson said at the time: “In an attempt to minimise further distress no more information will be provided.” Hamilton’s killings led to tougher gun laws in the UK after it emerged he had legally owned the handguns used in the massacre.
Police said at the time Hamilton was cremated “well away from Dunblane.” The massacre remains the deadliest mass shooting in UK history.
Harold Shipman – cremated after a year
Shipman killed hundreds of patients (Image: Getty Images)
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The body of prolific serial killer Harold Shipman was cremated after it remained in a Sheffield mortuary for more than a year. He is believed to have killed about 250 patients between 1971 and 1998.
His funeral took place after the body was removed from the city’s Medico Legal Centre mortuary. Shipman, who died in January 2004, aged 57, was a doctor and targeted elderly people who trusted his as their medical confidant.
He was nicknamed “Dr Death” and was convicted of 15 patient deaths. He died after hanging himself at his prison cell in HMP Wakefield.
