Richard Huckle jail killing: Man to face murder trial

Richard Huckle was given 22 life sentences in 2016

A man accused of murdering one of Britain's most prolific paedophiles will stand trial later this year.

Paul Fitzgerald, 29, is charged with murdering Richard Huckle, 33, at HMP Full Sutton in East Yorkshire.

Huckle was serving 22 life sentences for abusing up to 200 Malaysian children when he was reportedly stabbed with a makeshift blade in his cell.

Mr Fitzgerald was due to go on trial in July but this had to be moved due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Judge Peter Kelson QC said there was "good and sufficient cause" to extend the custody time limit in the case due to the Covid-19 crisis.

Mr Fitzgerald appeared via video link for the brief hearing at Sheffield Crown Court in connection with Huckle's death in October last year.

No pleas were entered and a trial was fixed for November.

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Huckle, from Ashford, Kent, was jailed in 2016 after admitting 71 charges of sex abuse against children aged between six months and 12 years.

At the time of his arrest in 2014, the freelance photographer was compiling a manual to teach fellow paedophiles how to abuse children and avoid detection.

He had bragged online it was easier to target impoverished children in Malaysia than those from wealthy Western backgrounds.

His trial at the Old Bailey heard he awarded himself "Pedopoints" for different acts of abuse against 191 children, and sold images of his depravity on the dark web.

Officers found more than 20,000 indecent pictures and videos on his computer.