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Chronology of Soham girls' murder

The disappearance of the two girls received world media coverage.
The disappearance of the two girls received world media coverage.

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LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Former school caretaker Ian Huntley was found guilty on Wednesday of murdering 10-year-old friends Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.

His ex-girlfriend Maxine Carr was found guilty of perverting the course of justice but not guilty of assisting an offender.

Here is a chronology of the key events in the case:

August 4, 2002: Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, wearing red Manchester United shirts, go missing from their homes in Soham, Cambridgeshire, eastern England, after last being seen at a family barbecue at Holly's house.

August 5: Both girls' parents make an emotional appeal for their daughters to come home. "It's a complete mystery. It's so out of character," Jessica's father Leslie said.

August 6: Woman contacts officers to say she saw girls walking down a main road to Cambridge the day before. England soccer captain David Beckham appeals for girls to come home.

August 7: Detectives say they fear the girls have been abducted.

August 9: Officer in charge of hunt for girls, Detective Superintendent David Hankins says he believes they are alive but being held captive.

August 13: Officers say they are hunting for man driving a green saloon car with a child in the passenger seat seen driving in a "demented" way through Soham the day the girls vanished.

August 14: Police make video appeal to "abductor" to call them.

August 16: Police question Ian Huntley and Maxine Carr and release them after they have given statements.

August 17: Huntley and Carr arrested for murder of the two girls. Holly and Jessica's bodies were found hours later near Lakenheath, about 24 kilometers (15 miles) from Soham.

August 19. Huntley admitted to top-security psychiatric hospital.

August 20: Huntley charged with girls' murder, Carr charged with perverting the course of justice.

August 30: Solemn memorial service to girls held at Ely Cathedral and televised live.

October 8: Huntley ruled fit to stand trial after court hears he is not mentally ill.

June 9, 2003: Huntley taken to hospital after suicide bid.

November 3: Old Bailey trial of Huntley and Carr begins.

December 17: Huntley found guilty by majority verdict of murder, Carr guilty of perverting course of justice, cleared of assisting an offender.



Copyright 2003 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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