LOOKING in the mirror each morning, Samantha Bryan can barely stand it as she sees the eyes of a murderer staring back.
As the traumatised daughter of Soham killer Ian Huntley, just getting through each day is a struggle as she discovers dark new details about her dad and receives twisted letters from him in jail.
Glen MinikinSamantha Bryan is the daughter of killer Ian Huntley[/caption]
Evil Huntley has written to Samantha from his cellRex Features
CollectThe sicko murdered 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in 2002[/caption]
Desperate for answers over what drove the former school caretaker to kill 10-year-old girls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in 2002, Samantha, 28, sent her father a letter more than a year ago asking to meet him.
Out of the blue, months later, in neat, black biro he wrote back, heartlessly accusing her of “insincere motives”, adding: “You are still my daughter for whom I have much love. With Love, Ian”.
Care worker Samantha, of Cleethorpes, North East Lincs, has now written to her ‘monster’ dad one last time, asking to meet, explaining it would help her process a lifetime of trauma that has left her struggling with anxiety and depression.
Speaking to The Sun for our Meeting a Monster series, she says: “When I first read Ian’s letter I was angry, frustrated and upset.
“He told me he loved me as his daughter.
“I felt, ‘you have no right to say that’.
“At the time it was so difficult to read. I felt so many emotions.
“All I could think about was how many times over the years he’s wished me well but he’s still denying that one thing that could really help me move forward.
“How can he say that he loves me when he has not done the one thing that will allow me to move forward with my life?
“Which is to finally reveal the truth.
“I hoped he would agree to meet me. I have written one last time to ask for that. It would really help me to process everything and to try to move forward.”
Samantha was 14 years old when she discovered who her father was after she was asked to research “notorious crimes” at school, and stumbled across a pixilated photograph of herself and her mother on Google.
In the aftermath of this revelation, she turned to drink for a year aged 17 and was taken to the brink of a mental breakdown.
More than a decade on, she is still haunted “every day” by the murders, which shocked the nation and remain among the most notorious in British criminal history.
Samantha says: “Being the biological daughter of Ian Huntley has impacted my life in ways not many people would understand.
“I’ve dealt with severe anxiety, depression. I’ve been in and out of therapy for years.
“I’ve struggled a lot to come to terms with who I am and where I come from, who Ian is and what he’s done.
“It’s something that haunts me daily. I think about it all the time and I don’t think it’s ever something that will leave me.
“Every time I look in the mirror I see how much I look like him. I have his eyes.
AlamyHuntley worked as a caretaker in the school both girls attended[/caption]
SuppliedThe murderer has written chilling letters to his daughter[/caption]
“Someone put up a photo of me next to his online and that’s when I realised the similarities.
“People often say to me: ‘I know your face from somewhere’.
“My heart sinks when they do, as I know they are referring to him, but they just can’t place it. I just say: ‘No we haven’t met before’ but so often they look puzzled.
“I think I have other traits from that side of the family as I’m also the only one in my family that has asthma.
It’s so hard to be the child of what everyone says is a monster… I know I’m a good person but at night that haunts me
“I found an article talking about his medical history online as I wanted to see if there was anything I should be worried about and I read that he has asthma too.
“That took me to a dark place.
“I had periods of despair where I have struggled with the fact of who my biological father is and that the only thing I know about him is what I’ve read – and what my mum has told me and that is that he’s a monster.”
Mum’s suffering
Samantha’s mother Katie first met Huntley when she was a 15-year-old schoolgirl, running away from home to live with him against her parents’ wishes.
Their relationship descended into violence and he subjected her to humiliation – including making her eat cat food – and rape, before Samantha was born.
Katie left him for good when she was pregnant with Samantha and has always told her daughter that becoming pregnant saved her from his abuse.
Samantha admitted her mum does not want her to meet him, but has promised to support her in her decision.
Glen MinikinSamantha’s mother Katie Bryan left Huntley after he abused her[/caption]
PA:Press AssociationHuntley was sentenced to life with a minimum of 40 years[/caption]
Cambridgeshire PoliceHis girlfriend Maxine Carr was convicted of perverting the course of justice[/caption]
She said: “When you look so much like someone you desperately want to know there is something good in them.
“I know I don’t have evil in me. There is no way to condone what he has done. All I want from Ian is a conversation.
“Even if he doesn’t want to talk about the events of that day, I want to see him for who he is.
“My mum’s side of the family are amazing people and I’m so lucky to have been brought up around the people that I have.
“I want to know where that other half of me comes from. I want to know that it’s not all bad, it’s not all evil and that there is even just a glimmer of something good there.
“It’s so hard to be the child of what everyone says is a monster.
“I know I’m a good person but at night that haunts me.”
But that seemed to contradict it all…I just couldn’t fathom why he could do such a thing
Samantha reveals the catalyst that led her to make one last attempt to meet Huntley was the death in jail of a killer called Bradley Murdoch, who murdered British backpacker Peter Falconio in 2001.
She said: “He took his secret to the grave. I couldn’t face that if that were to happen here.”
Just a few weeks ago Samantha was also shown The Sun’s exclusive story that Huntley had been wearing Holly and Jessica’s football tops in his cell.
She tells us: “It brought it all up again. I was sickened.
“He previously wrote to me hinting at how bad he felt. But that seemed to contradict it all.
“I just couldn’t fathom why he could do such a thing.
“I just thought of Holly and Jessica’s parents because if I felt bad, what on earth would they be thinking?
“I was upset for weeks and couldn’t sleep as it’s just so devastating.”I was upset for weeks and couldn’t sleep as it’s just so devastating.
“This has been a constant shadow in my life.”
Who are the UK’s worst serial killers?
THE UK’s most prolific serial killer was actually a doctor.
Here’s a rundown of the worst offenders in the UK.
British GP Harold Shipman is one of the most prolific serial killers in recorded history. He was found guilty of murdering 15 patients in 2000, but the Shipman Inquiry examined his crimes and identified 218 victims, 80 per cent of whom were elderly women.
After his death Jonathan Balls was accused of poisoning at least 22 people between 1824 and 1845.
Mary Ann Cotton is suspected of murdering up to 21 people, including husbands, lovers and children. She is Britain’s most prolific female serial killer. Her crimes were committed between 1852 and 1872, and she was hanged in March 1873.
Amelia Sach and Annie Walters became known as the Finchley Baby Farmers after killing at least 20 babies between 1900 and 1902. The pair became the first women to be hanged at Holloway Prison on February 3, 1903.
William Burke and William Hare killed 16 people and sold their bodies.
Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe was found guilty in 1981 of murdering 13 women and attempting to kill seven others between 1975 and 1980.
Dennis Nilsen was caged for life in 1983 after murdering up to 15 men when he picked them up from the streets. He was found guilty of six counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder and was sentenced to life in jail.
Fred West was found guilty of killing 12 but it’s believed he was responsible for many more deaths.
Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
