Maxine Carr was jailed for perverting the course of justice after lying to police about where she was on the day Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman were murdered by her boyfriend Ian Huntley in Soham
Ellie Fry Deputy Features Editor, Katy Hallam and Ellie Fry
16:42, 08 Mar 2026
Maxine Carr is photographed following her arrest in August 2002. (Image: Getty Images)
The woman who nearly allowed Ian Huntley to evade justice now leads a completely ordinary life, enjoying a secret identity funded by the taxpayer.
Maxine Carr was embroiled in a toxic relationship with the man who murdered two young girls in the home they occupied. But rather than revealing the truth about her actual whereabouts on that tragic summer day in 2002, she provided her partner with a false alibi, obstructing the police investigation and ultimately inflicting further anguish on the families of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.
She tried to shield Huntley by insisting she was at home in Soham when in truth, she was in Grimsby visiting her mother. Holly and Jessica, both aged 10, had left a family barbecue to purchase sweets when they mysteriously vanished, only to be tragically found dead 13 days later.
Read more Ian Huntley’s grim funeral plans after evil killer’s death
Huntley was convicted of murder and handed two life sentences, with a minimum term of 40 years imprisonment. Carr was sentenced to three-and-a-half years for perverting the course of justice.
Upon serving half of her sentence, she was released and granted a new identity, reports the Mirror.
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Whilst Huntley reportedly spent his final years in prison fluctuating between an arrogant ‘swagger’ and hiding away in his cell, terrified of being poisoned before eventually dying after a brutal prison attack, Carr has rebuilt her life. The taxpayer bill for protecting her is said to have surpassed the £2m mark.
She was released from Foston Hall prison in Derbyshire in May 2004. Over the subsequent two years, Carr was moved to over 10 different safe houses for her protection, and in 2011, it was reported that she had given birth to her first child – a baby boy – whilst in a secure location.
By 2012, she was believed to have entered into a serious relationship with a partner who was fully aware of her troubling past and was reportedly ‘absolutely besotted’ with her.
It’s reported that Carr became engaged in 2008, to a man described by friends as a ‘nice man from a decent family’, according to the Daily Mail. It’s also suggested that he was completely aware of her history and ‘accepts’ it.
A source informed the newspaper: “They just like doing normal things together like going for walks in the countryside.”
At the time of the engagement, the couple were in a long-distance relationship, reportedly living more than 60 miles apart. “It has grown stronger despite the fact that they live apart and have to make long journeys to see each other. They both have full-time jobs but manage to make the relationship work,” a source commented at the time.
In 2014, The Sun reported that Carr had tied the knot at a luxury hotel. It’s still unclear whether her husband is the same man to whom she was engaged six years prior.
That same year, it’s thought she was living in a coastal town. The Channel 5 true crime drama – titled Maxine – depicts her residing by the sea, with someone shouting out her name, claiming to recognise her.
Due to a permanent anonymity order granted to Carr by the High Court over a decade ago, authorities cannot reveal the name of the town.
Carr is said to have wed her husband in a clandestine ceremony, complete with all the traditional trimmings. As per the Mail, the couple reportedly exchanged vows at an undisclosed hotel, with the bride wearing a £2,000 ivory dress.
She reportedly spent the morning having her hair and makeup done before being given away by her mother.
The couple are believed to have said their vows in front of a registrar, signed a marriage certificate, and then celebrated with family. Guests reportedly enjoyed a three-course wedding breakfast and sipped on £10 bottles of bubbly before the newlyweds flew off to a family-friendly resort for their honeymoon.
