Who was Ian Huntley’s ex-girlfriend Maxine Carr and where is she now?
MAXINE Carr was given a new identity after she attempted to aid in covering up her boyfriend Ian Huntley's double homicide in 2002.
But as the courts decided she played no part in the Soham murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, she was granted a fresh start.
Who is Maxine Carr?
Maxine Carr was born in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, on February 16, 1977.
In her younger years, Carr was viewed by her peers as a timid outcast, with very few friends and performing poorly academically, but she always aspired to become a teacher.
In the spring term of 2002, Maxine took a position as a voluntary support assistant at St Andrew's primary school, which was attended by Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.
She was jailed for giving her boyfriend, Ian Huntley a false alibi after he killed 10-year-olds Holly and Jessica.
Carr infamously turned on Huntley as he sat in the dock during his murder trial, describing him as “that thing in the box”.
She is one of only four former UK prisoners protected by a lifelong anonymity order — along with child killer Mary Bell and James Bulger’s murderers Robert Thompson and Jon Venables.
How did she meet Ian Huntley?
Carr, then aged 22, met a 25-year-old Huntley at a nightclub in Grimsby in 1999.
According to Carr, she was "instantly attracted" to Huntley's self-confident and pleasant persona, agreeing to start dating him that very evening.
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She moved into the monster’s flat in the town of Barton-upon-Humber, North Lincolnshire, shortly after.
In November 2001, Huntley started his job as a caretaker at Soham Village College and moved into a cottage which came with the job.
Carr, who was living with Huntley in the quiet village, was working as a teaching assistant at the school, which Holly and Jessica both attended.
What happened when Holly and Jessica were killed?
Best friends Jessica and Holly had been at a barbeque at Holly's house on August 4, 2002, when they decided to go exploring.
They had not told anyone they had left the house. When Holly's mum realised they were gone she grew concerned.
The two girls were lured into the home of local resident and school caretaker, Ian Huntley, who subsequently murdered the children.
For nearly two weeks, hundreds of volunteers and police officers searched the village and surrounding area.
The bodies of the girls were later found about 10 miles away from where they disappeared.
Huntley was already under suspicion for his behaviour but Carr told police her then fiancé Huntley had been with her all the time.
It meant police initially eliminated him as a suspect.
She also cleaned their house of evidence.
In reality, Maxine had been in Grimsby — at a nightclub with another man.
Both were arrested and Huntley was sentenced to a double life imprisonment with a minimum sentence of 40 years.
Carr was charged with perverting the course of justice after she turned on Huntley during the trial.
Where is Maxine Carr now?
Former classroom assistant Carr served just 21 months of her sentence for perverting the course of justice.
On her release from jail in 2004, she was given a new secret identity amid concerns she would be attacked.
Legal orders gave her lifelong anonymity.
Since her release from prison in 2004 it has cost the taxpayer around £2.5million to provide Carr with a new identity and police protection.
She was moved to more than 10 different safe houses in two years. In 2011 it was reported by The Mirror that she had given birth to her first child, in a secret safe house.
The notorious liar has since rebuilt her life — and even remarried in a lavish ceremony wearing a £2,000 ivory dress.
Despite knowing about her disturbing past, Carr's besotted boyfriend walked her down the aisle at a luxury wedding venue in 2014.
But her new husband’s relatives were said to be stunned at his decision to marry Carr after learning of her shameful past.
Carr was said to have delighted in being the centre of attention — smiling and joking with guests and bridesmaids before making her way out into the venue’s picturesque grounds.
The 2022 Channel 5 true crime series Maxine left viewers "sickened" to learn that she was able to rebuild her life at the taxpayers' expense, with one saying: "That’s made me so mad watching #maxine a full life time order of protection when she lied and helped that monster Ian Huntley cover up what he did to those two beautiful girls.
"[It] killed me they would have been 30 this year. awful."