Maxine Carr – the True Story of Ian Huntley’s Girlfriend and Her Role in the Soham killings

Maxine Carr: She was the fish factory worker from Grimsby who became one of Britain’s most notorious women. As the girlfriend of double child killer Ian Huntley, also from the town. She helped cover up the murder of schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman back in 2002. She provided Huntley with a false alibi which saw her jailed three-and-a-half years for perverting the course of justice. School caretaker Huntley was caged for 40 years for the murders of Holly and Jessica.

Who was Maxine Carr?

Maxine Carr, now 43, was a troubled, needy figure. Her father, an agricultural worker called Alfred, left the family home when she was two. According to mum Shirley, she hated him so much she changed her name from Capp to Carr.

She had an older sister Hayley and grew up in Keelby. Attending the village primary school and Healing Comprehensive, before continuing her education in Caistor.

There are photographs of her aged 13, smiling after taking part in a Humberside Police Lifestyle competition in 1989. She and three other girls, calling themselves the Dirt Devils, cleaned up more than 200 gravestones at St Andrew’s Church Immingham.

At the time she appeared like any other teenager but it was not long before. The conscious of her appearance, Carr started to starve herself. Anorexia saw her weight drop to six stone at one point.

Her poisonous affair with Huntley

She fell under Huntley’s spell after they met at Grimsby’s former Hollywood nightclub one Saturday night in February 1999. She was 22 and he was three years older. They “hit it off” almost immediately and within four weeks Carr had moved into the killer’s flat in Barton-upon-Humber.

When later asked whether it was love at first sight, she said: “For me, maybe. “But while Carr was head over heels, falling for Huntley’s romantic side, it wasn’t long before he turned violent. Carr’s sister Hayley revealed how Huntley at first charmed Carr with flowers and gifts. But later became violent and controlling.

Tragic Deception: The Dark Tale of Maxine Carr and Ian Huntley

She said of their life together: “They were arguing all the time. He thumped her in the face. He grabbed her around the throat and thicked her lip. Carr had to clean up after Huntley’s dog, Sadie. Hayley said: “You wish the bloody dog could talk because the dog could tell a few stories.”

After her ill-fated link-up with Huntley, she lived with him in Scunthorpe and he worked at Kimberly Clark in Barton. Carr also worked alongside her mother at the Bluecrest food processing factory in Grimsby.

For a while, she also worked at the Acorns Rest Home in Grimsby but left to sell insurance at a company in Market Rasen. But she harboured dreams of becoming a teacher. When Huntley was offered a job as a caretaker at a secondary in Soham, Cambridgeshire, in November 2001, Carr went with him.

The pair lived in a cottage tied to the job and Maxine got a post as a teaching assistant the St Andrew’s Primary School where 10-year-olds Jessica and Holly were pupils. On August 4, 2002, the girls were walking past Huntley’s house. When he invited them in under the pretence Maxine was inside – then murdered them. Carr gave him an alibi. Carr later claimed she lied because she feared Huntley. It would be “fitted up” after he was accused of raping a 16-year-old in a Grimsby alleyway after leaving a nightclub.

The Lie And The Alibi

Carr told police she was with Huntley on the day the girls vanished. During the 13 days before their bodies were found. She vouched for Huntley, meaning police ruled him out as a suspect.

She even gave press interviews claiming she had been in the house as Huntley spoke to the girls on the doorstep. Carr said: “I only wish we had asked them where they were going … if only we knew then what we know. Then we could have stopped them or done something about it.”

In fact, Carr was 100 miles away in Grimsby – at a nightclub with another man. She was pictured kissing and cuddling a 17-year-old rugby player, eight years her junior. By the time Huntley and Carr were first quizzed by police. On August 16, detectives already had information from several Grimsby residents who recognised the pair in TV interviews.

Unexpected Encounters: A Night Out in Grimsby

Mobile phone records showed that she was with her mother in Grimsby at the time. They were spotted out drinking together in the town at The Parity in Grimsby. That night, Carr sent Huntley a text message reading: “Don’t make me feel bad that I am with my family.”. She ended up at The Exchange in Bethlehem Street where she kissed the teenager.

He said at the time: “I only met her once, when I was on a night out. “Me and my mates had a £20 bet on who could get off with the ugliest girl. We started off in the Parity where she slid in on one of our photos. “We then went to The Exchange and that is where I kissed her.” The man was photographed passionately kissing Carr. He got the feeling that Carr was “friendly and up for a laugh”.

He said: “I didn’t think it was strange or sad that she was out with her mum. I thought they were out for a good time. “I’m not sure if Carr was going out ‘on the pull’ but she seemed keen to have as much fun as possible. They both joined in the party spirit. “Carr asked me back to her place while we were at the back door of The Exchange. “There was no point in going around town because she would only follow. I only managed to get away from her in The Exchange by dancing around the poles.”

Insights into Maxine Carr’s Web of Lies

A Grimsby soldier also revealed that he had dealings with Carr while he was in The Parity while on leave. It was between 8 and 8.30pm when he saw a “girl” who introduced herself as “Maxine”. He said he recognised Carr through her mum, who was doing agency work at Bluecrest in Grimsby.

He knew that she was Maxine Carr. She was with her mother and an older man. Police knew Carr was lying when she covered for Huntley and she caved 24 hours after her first interview, confessing to her duplicity. Carr claimed over her false alibi: “I was pushed into a corner. Yes, I did lie but I was pushed into a corner to do it.”. She insisted: “Mr Huntley put me into a position where I could not do anything but that.”