Source : Perth Now news
The daughter of double child murderer Ian Huntley has spoken out as her father continues to fight for life after his head was “split in two” in a jail attack.
Samantha Bryan, 27, showed no sympathy for Huntley, who murdered ten-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in 2002 in the United Kingdom. His crimes were so brutal that they made international headlines.
Speaking in the wake of the attack, Samantha said there is a “special place in hell” waiting for her father, whose skull was crushed by a metre long spiked metal pole while other inmates cheered.
When she first heard the news of the prison attack, Samantha said she felt glad Huntley, 52, had suffered such a violent assault.
She told The Sun she broke down when she heard the news.
“I started crying because I thought he was dead — it was an overwhelming sense of relief,” Samantha said.
“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.”
She was raised without knowing of the horrific cruelty her father had inflicted – but this changed when she started research for school about crime rates in her local area.
Samantha was just 14-years-old when she accidentally found an old picture of her and her mother Katie Bryan in connection to Huntley.
“By chance I clicked on a picture of me and my mum but the faces were blurred out,” she said.
“I recognised myself, I remembered the dress I was wearing. I read the first paragraph and realised I was his daughter.”
After this shocking revelation, she asked her mother for the full story.
Katie said she had been in a relationship with Huntley when she was 15, at which time the now convicted killer was 23-years-old. She became pregnant with Samantha at just 16-years-old.
It was Katie who told Samantha about the prison attack after a friend told her about a news report detailing an attack at HMP Frankland in Durham.
“Mum rang me and told me a friend of hers had just been in touch and Ian had suffered a brutal attack and he was fighting for his life,” Samantha said.
“It immediately had a very big impact on me. I got very emotional. There’s a special place in hell waiting for him.”
She explained that when she found out the news, she felt like a “little girl” again.
“Genuinely for a second I felt like the little girl I was before I knew anything about him. I felt lighter because he’s cast a shadow over my life,” she said.
“I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner. I know there have been other multiple attempts. I was glad it happened.”
Huntley has been in jail for more than 20 years since his 2003 conviction, and currently remains in hospital in a serious condition.
Katie said her daughter had given her the strength to leave Huntley, and that had “saved” them.
“I always say Sammy saved me. She gave me the strength to leave him when I was pregnant with her.”
