Ian Huntley and his daughter
True Crime

Ian Huntley’s daughter rejects him as ‘Dad’ in documentary

Samantha has previously written to him for an explanation

The daughter of Ian Huntley previously revealed that the Soham killer will never deserve to be called “Dad”.

Samantha Bryan made the comments in the 2019 Really documentary The Killer in my Family.

She’s also spoken out about learning of her dad’s identity during a chat with the Loose Women ladies.

Tonight (March 10) Channel 5 continues to investigate the murders of Holly Wells and a Jessica Chapman in the second part of Soham: The Murder of Holly & Jessica.

Huntley killed the 10-year-old girls, who were best friends, and is now in prison.

Soham murderer Ian Huntley
Ian Huntley killed Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in 2002 (Credit: Channel 5)

Who’s Ian Huntley?

Ian Huntley was a caretaker at Soham Village College in Cambridgeshire, East Anglia.

He was born in Grimsby, Lincolnshire on January 31, 1974. He is currently 48 years old.

After the bodies of Holly and Jessica, who were just 10 years old, were found near an RAF base on August 17, 2002, Huntley was arrested.

In 2003, he was convicted of the girls’ murder and sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment.

The double murderer is not eligible for parole until 2042 – he will then be 68 years old.

Ian Huntley's daughter
Ian Huntley’s daughter has appeared on Loose Women chatting about her dad (Credit: YouTube)

Does Ian Huntley have a daughter?

He does.

Before murdering Holly and Jessica, Huntley had groomed 15-year-old Katie Bryan, resulting in his long-lost daughter Samantha.

Katie left Huntley before Samantha was born in 1998 and went on to marry new boyfriend Martin Bryan.

She previously told the Mail on Sunday of Huntley: “I was powerless under his spell, completely dominated by him.

“I was too young to understand he was controlling me and squashing every ounce of self-esteem I possessed.

“Had I gone to police, perhaps his paedophilia, his violence, would have been uncovered sooner.”

How does daughter Samantha feel about Ian Huntley?

Samantha found out the identity of her father though a school project.

She said she was working on a project about crime rates in Grimsby and Cleethorpes and a Google search turned up a picture of her mum.

The paper clippings told me what my mum had gone through, how she’d been abused and raped.

She clicked on it and it took her straight to the story, she previously told Channel 5.

Samantha said: “I feel like because of who I am that people think I am like him. I would definitely say he is evil. And I would definitely say he is a monster.”

Katie, meanwhile, said she was “heartbroken” that her daughter had learned who her father is.

Previously, she had told her daughter she had “another dad” who was a “nasty man”.

However, she never went into the whole story until she produced a box of clippings on Samantha’s 18th birthday.

Ian Huntley's grooming victim on Loose Women
Ian Huntley groomed Katie when she was just 15 (Credit: YouTube)

‘I thought I was ready’

Samantha previously told Really’s The Killer in my Family: “I wasn’t angry at my mum for not telling me what he’d done because at that age I wouldn’t want my children to know that.

“He doesn’t even deserve to be known or called my biological father and he will never deserve to be called ‘Dad’,” she said.

Read more: What happened to Soham girls Holly and Jessica murdered by Ian Huntley?

She added: “I thought I was ready. About 10 mins later [my mum] came back in and asked me how I was feeling and if I was okay and I couldn’t stop crying.

“The paper clippings told me what my mum had gone through, how she’d been abused and raped.

“They told me about what she went through when she fell pregnant with me, being pushed down the stairs.

“They told me about the two murders. It told me about what supposedly happened that night to Holly and Jessica.

“Thinking back to it, I cant really say there was anything more upsetting than the other, it was all very hard to read.”

Holly and Jessica in Man Utd shirts
The girls were just 10 years old when they were killed (Credit: Channel 5)

Has Ian Huntley spoken to his daughter?

Samantha wrote to her father to get him to open up to her. She said she wanted him to show “remorse”.

Huntley wrote to his daughter to try and explain his actions.

He said: “I have given an awful lot of thought about how best to respond, and what, if anything.

“I should say I realise I can’t just say no and expect you to accept that.

“Firstly I truly don’t relish the idea of discussing or you listening to the details of what was unimaginably the most horrendous day of my life.

“Furthermore, I can promise that even if you I did, you wouldn’t feel any better for it.

“Nor would you feel any closer to understanding. 15 years on, I still don’t understand what the hell went wrong that day.”

Samantha told the Loose Women panel that he never showed any “remorse” for his actions.

She said it made her feel “more disappointed” than angry.

Ian Huntley's first wife
Claire Evans was married to Huntley till 1999 (Credit: Splash News)

Who was Ian Huntley’s first wife?

Huntley was married to Claire Evans till 1999.

She claimed she suffered years of physical and mental abuse at the hands of Huntley.

It’s reported he sexually assaulted her, attacked her in the shower and hacked off her hair so that no other man would find her ­attractive.

She claims she was even forced to abort their baby after Huntley ­threatened: “Have that child and I’ll do things to it.”

Read more: When was Ian Huntley caught? What has happened to him in prison?

He also came close to killing her after tying to crush her windpipe, she has previously revealed.

Claire is now married for the third time and has two children.

In 2012, 10 years after the murders of Holly and Jessica, she launched a campaign to make his life in prison as tough as possible.

She appeared on This Morning to state that she was “not going to go away”.

And she vowed to continue campaigning to have Huntley’s luxuries taken out of his cell.

Where did Ian Huntley live?

At the time of the murders, Huntley lived at 5 College Close in the village of Soham.

In April 2004, builders demolished the house where he killed Holly and Jessica.

The demolition was watched by a small group of onlookers, including the girls’ former head teacher.

Ian Huntley's girlfriend Maxine Carr
Maxine Carr provided Huntley with a false alibi (Credit: Channel 5)

When were the Soham murders?

Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman were killed by Ian Huntley on Sunday August 4 2002.

They were 10 years old.

Their bodies were found on August 17.

Huntley was convicted of their murders in December 2003 and sentenced to a minimum of 40 years in prison.

YouTube video player

Episode 2 of Soham: The Murder of Holly & Jessica airs tonight (March 10) on Channel 5 at 9pm.

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Nancy Brown
Associate Editor