Huntley tells his parents that Jessica killing was deliberate

SOHAM murderer Ian Huntley has admitted to his parents that he deliberately killed Jessica Chapman, it was reported today.

Huntley, 30, who is serving life for the double child killings of Holly Wells and Jessica, is said finally to have told Kevin and Lynda Huntley what happened at his school caretaker’s house, on 4 August, 2002.

Mr Huntley told the Daily Mirror newspaper they had now found out what happened to Jessica, but his son still needed to explain what happened to Holly.

Huntley admitted during his Old Bailey trial last year killing the two girls but claimed both deaths were an accident. Police are to look in to the details obtained by the newspaper, the Mirror said.

Kevin Huntley, 49, said: "We sat down with him and we’re about 80 per cent there. We’ve found out what happened to Jessica. We’ve spent months trying to persuade him to tell the truth."

Mr and Mrs Huntley are said to have talked with their son while he was at the top security Belmarsh prison in south-east London. He has since been moved to Wakefield jail in west Yorkshire.

Mrs Huntley, also 49, told the newspaper that her son admitted lying in court and had described what really happened at the Soham house.

During his trial, Huntley claimed Holly drowned after he accidentally knocked her into the bath while treating her for a nosebleed.

He claimed he accidentally suffocated Jessica while trying to calm her when she began screaming.

The jury rejected his defence and convicted him of the double murder in December last year.

Mr Huntley said: "We’ve finally got him to tell us what really happened. He’s said he killed Jessica and told us how he did it. He needs to tell us more about what happened to Holly. It was a terrible thing for his mother to hear but she is the only one who could get it out of him."

A spokesman for Cambridgeshire police said they would examine any information passed to them by the Mirror. He added: "We are keen to examine any fresh information on this case. We will consider the Mirror’s evidence with interest."

Huntley’s parents believe their son’s admission may have been recorded on surveillance equipment at Belmarsh, and want the information made available to Holly and Jessica’s families, the Mirror said.

His former girlfriend, Maxine Carr, 27, was convicted of perverting the course of justice at the Old Bailey trial after giving a false alibi for Huntley. She was jailed for three-and-a-half years but was released in May having served half her sentence.