A New Documentary Will Explore The 2002 Murders Of Holly Wells & Jessica Chapman

In 2002, the murders of schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman shocked the nation. Almost two decades later, the Channel 5 documentary Soham: The Murder of Holly & Jessica details the horrific events surrounding what has become commonly referred to as the Soham murders. But, what is there to know the aftermath of the murders, and where are the killers of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman now?

As per The Sun, 10 year-old Holly and Jessica went missing on Aug. 4, 2002, after attending a Sunday barbecue with their families. While heading back home after going out to buy sweets, the girls walked by the home of Ian Huntley, the caretaker at East Anglia’s Soham Village College. On Aug. 17, 2002, the bodies of Holly and Jessica were discovered close to an RAF base. Soon after, Huntley was arrested. It was later by police established that the caretaker had invited the girls into his home and subsequently murdered both Holly and Jessica.

In 2003, Huntley was convicted of their murders and handed two life sentences. Furthermore, a High Court later set a minimum term of 40 years in jail. As the Daily Mail reported, Huntley is carrying out his sentence at HMP Frankland in County Durham, which is also home to other notorious criminals including Peter Sutcliffe aka The Yorkshire Ripper.

However, Huntley wasn’t the only person involved in the tragic murders of Holly and Jessica. Per the i, he was engaged to teaching assistant Maxine Carr at the time of the murders, who worked at the girls’ primary school and knew them personally. Although, on the weekend of the killings, Carr had been visiting family in Grimsby. In an attempt to give her boyfriend an alibi, she lied to authorities and claimed that she was at home with Huntley on Aug. 4.

It wasn’t long before police discovered Carr’s actual whereabouts on the day of the murders, and she was arrested alongside Huntley on Aug. 17. The following year, in 2003, Carr plead guilty to perverting the course of justice. She was later given a three-and-a-half year prison sentence. Although, she was released on probation in May 2004. In 2005, Carr was granted lifelong anonymity and, as The Mirror reported, is believed to have given birth to a baby boy in 2011.

Channel 5’s Soham: The Murder of Holly & Jessica airs at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, March 9.