A new Channel 5 documentary will take a deep dive into the chilling case of Ian Huntley, who killed two young schoolgirls almost two decades ago, and how he very nearly got away with murder.
The tragic murders of school girls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in August 2002 has stuck in the minds of the British public ever since.
The 10-year-old girls left home to buy sweets and were never seen alive again, sparking one of the biggest man hunts the country has ever seen.
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Former school caretaker Ian Huntley was sentenced to life in prison in 2003 for murdering the children after luring them into his home in Soham, Cambridgeshire.
And new show 5 Mistakes That Caught A Killer will look at how he could have walked free if it wasn't for five 'errors' he made which secured his prison sentence.
He was convicted alongside girlfriend Maxine Carr, who was found guilty of conspiring to pervert the course of justice - she was a teaching assistant at Jessica and Holly's school, but wasn't present at the time of their murders.
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Describing the documentary, a spokesperson explained: "Their first error was talking to the media. When Huntley's TV interviews were shown in his home town of Grimsby, people came forward to reveal his murky past.
"Huntley also switched off one of the girl's mobile phones, triggering a signal to a telecoms mast.
"And, he used his own car to transport their bodies to a remote field, later returning to the scene to remove the distinctive Manchester United shirts both girls were wearing-only to hide them in a place where they could be found by police."
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Other errors include asking a police officer how long DNA lasted rousing suspicion, and getting new tyres put on his car to cover his tracks.
Those involved in the show were all involved in the original inquiry, including former Detective Chief Superintendent Chris Stevenson, who put Huntley behind bars.
Stevenson gives his first interview since the trial in the Channel 5 documentary.
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Without Huntley's own mistakes, Stevenson believes the killer could have been convicted of manslaughter rather than murder, and could be walking free today.
Ian Huntley: 5 Mistakes That Caught a Killer is on Channel 5 Thursday, 23rd May at 10pm.
Topics: TV News