Case overview
Both children were murdered – most likely by asphyxiation – and their bodies disposed of in an irrigation ditch close to RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk. Investigators believe that certain elements of Huntley's subsequent public statements to the media, and later claims made during his trial testimony – including assertions that he had been washing his dog when the girls passed at around 6:30 pm, and that one had suffered a mild nosebleed – may contain fragments of truth. [1]
Huntley was convicted of the murder of both girls on 17 December 2003 and sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment, with the High Court later imposing a minimum term of 40 years. To support their public appeals for information, Cambridgeshire Police released the photograph Nicola Wells had taken of the children less than two hours before their disappearance, depicting both girls wearing their Manchester United replica football shirts. [2]
