'He Is No Hero': A Man Who Lost Everything Because of Ian Huntley's 'Killer'

Weeks after losing his mother and brother to the same man, Daniel Williams died from a suspected suicide. Now the criminal who took the lives of those he loved the most is being celebrated as a hero. See the faces behind the tragedy at the end of this article.

Anthony Russell has been named as the suspect in the killing of Ian Huntley at HMP Frankland, a maximum-security prison in County Durham, England. Since that news broke, thousands have taken to social media to celebrate him, with some even setting up fundraising pages in his name.

However, for those left behind by the people Anthony killed before he ever reached Ian's wing at HMP Frankland, the reaction has been deeply painful to witness.

Ian was serving a life sentence for the 2002 murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, both aged 10, in the Cambridgeshire village of Soham. Then, while in a workshop at Frankland, he was struck with a metal pole and left with brain injuries he eventually succumbed to on 7 March 2026.

Anthony had been placed on the same wing as Ian solely because of the severity of his own offences. On 21 October 2020, he murdered his friend, David Williams, after wrongly concluding David had been in a relationship with Anthony's girlfriend.

When David was found five days later, post-mortem examination recorded 87 separate injuries. Fearing David's mother, Julie Williams, would alert police, Anthony then attacked and strangled the 58-year-old, leaving her with 113 separate injuries.

Days later, on 26 October, he fled from officers and travelled to Leamington Spa, where he sexually assaulted and killed Nicole McGregor, 31. A court then heard that Nicole, who was five months pregnant, had shown Anthony a photograph of her baby scan just hours before the attack.

It was against this backdrop that the public response to Anthony's actions in Frankland landed hardest for one man. Daniel's closest friend, identified as Melladay, revealed that the pair had first met when they were 13 at Moorfields children's home.

The bond Daniel had with his mother and his brother was, by every account, the centre of his world. Melladay recalled, "He always told me how, when he was taken into care, the police had to be called because his mum didn't want him to go. He was always sneaking back; he loved her."

"His mum was the only real thing in his life. His mum and his brother. He had nothing apart from that unit. He had a very hard life. Then I heard his mum had been killed, his brother had been killed, and then Daniel killed himself. All at the same time. I was in shock," the friend added.

Hearing of his mother and brother's murders, Daniel told friends he felt he should have been there to stop it. "Daniel was a protector so he must have blamed himself. He must have felt so guilty for not being there to protect them," Melladay shared.

He further noted that Anthony had been known to Daniel, with the two having lived on the same road. Thus, when Anthony's face began circulating across news outlets in connection with Ian's death, Melladay said what he felt was not grief but anger.

"I was excited to see who killed Ian Huntley, like everyone else, but then I saw his face. Daniel would be heartbroken and disgusted with the adulation. Like I am. He only did it to be notorious," he remarked.

"And everyone has done that to put him on this pedestal. His name should be in a black hole – an unknown man," Melladay continued. That view has been shared by some on social media, where one side of the public response has been rejection.

"No he not a hero and he did not do it for the girls too. He did it for reputation in prison [sic]," one person shared. Another commented, "I don't think he's a hero I googled him he's pure evil like Huntley," while a third added, "I don't think he's a hero. He's just as much a monster. One took out the other that's it."

Someone else wrote, "Not a hero just a monster taking out another monster," while another typed, "Aye I think he deserves the same tbh. Lassie was 5 months pregnant that he took the life of. He's no hero." Another netizen remarked, "I didn't think he was in jail for not paying his tv [sic] licence."

Even members of Anthony's own family have rejected the praise directed his way, as one close relative stated, "As far as we're concerned, they're as bad as each other. Anthony is no hero for doing this. He committed a very bad crime himself — that's why he's on the same prison wing as Huntley."

As the fallout from Ian Huntley's death continues to dominate headlines, those closest to the victims say the focus should not be on the men responsible. Instead, they believe the attention should remain on the lives that were taken — and the families left to live with the loss.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the Samaritans at 116 123 (free, 24/7), text SHOUT to 85258 via the Shout Crisis Text Line, or visit samaritans.org.