Soham murderer Ian Huntley to be cremated this week

According to the Daily Star, a sour claimed the killer's body had been "left to rot" after no one took ownership of it.

A source told the Star: "This is all he deserves. It'll be done in the coming days. They're not even having a ceremony.

"His mum won't even be there, and she's the only one who had any time for him.

"Instead she will get his ashes at some point. She will have to say her goodbyes in another way."

The 52-year-old suffered serious head injuries after he was attacked with a metal bar in a workshop at HMP Frankland on Thursday, February 26.

He was taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle in a "serious condition".

He died in the morning on Saturday, March 7 when his life support was switched after brain tests showed he was in a vegetative state, The Sun reported.

Anthony Russell, 43, appeared before Newton Aycliffe Magistrates' Court on Wednesday (April 1) via videolink charged with murder.

Huntley murdered schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in Soham in 2002 (Image: ARCHIVE)

The former caretaker was serving a minimum term of 40 years for the murders of schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in Soham, Cambridgeshire, in August 2002.

Huntley lured the girls to his home before killing them and dumping their bodies in a ditch. Their bodies were discovered more than a week later, 12 miles from their home town.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson previously said: "The murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman remains one of the most shocking and devastating cases in our nation’s history, and our thoughts are with their families."