Maxine Ann Carr

For the U.S. politician born "Maxine Moore Carr", see Maxine Waters.

Maxine Carr (born 16 February 1977 in England) is the former girlfriend of convicted murderer Ian Huntley, and was living with him at the time he committed the August 4, 2002 Soham murders. She was a teaching assistant at St Andrew's Primary School, Soham, Cambridgeshire, which was attended by the two victims.

She provided a false alibi to police for Huntley and was convicted of perverting the course of justice. However, she was cleared on two counts of assisting an offender, as the court accepted that she only lied to police because she believed Huntley to be innocent. She had claimed to be with him at the time of the murders, but was in fact in Grimsby.

On May 10 2004, Carr pleaded guilty to twenty counts of benefit fraud and of lying on job applications. She received a three-year community rehabilitation order for the offences, which had been uncovered as part of the murder inquiry.

The following day she was moved from Foston Hall Prison in Derbyshire to a secret location after documents relating to her release were stolen from a Home Office official's car. The papers were later discovered in Hampstead Heath. A 33-year-old man was arrested in connection with the theft of the papers.

Carr was released on licence on 14 May 2004. Following her release she was put under police protection, after she received death threats.

New identity

In November 2004 Carr was forced out of her Midlands home after her identity was discovered by local residents. She had already been moved 11 times since her release in May 2004.

In February 2005 she won the right to have her new identity remain permanently secret as her life is believed to be in danger, which was the first time this had been granted by a UK court. The order prevents the media from revealing any information that could lead to her being identified, including her type of job or even describing what kind of town she lives in.

Since Carr's release there has been much speculation throughout the UK regarding her whereabouts, often leading to people being wrongly identified as Maxine Carr:

• In August 2004, Irene Lyttle, an East Kilbride woman, had to be escorted from her home by police and housing officials after death threats were posted on the internet and a mob of vigilantes gathered outside her house.

• In October 2004, Candice Peberdy and her family from Blaby, Leicestershire were "under siege" for a week from a gang of 25 people who threatened to firebomb their house.

• In April 2005 Diane Carraro, a South African student on a working holiday in Cheadle, Staffordshire had to go into hiding after being targeted by gangs who threw things at her house, screamed at her in the street, and placed posters of her picture around the town.

• In March 2006 a woman on the Isle of Wight was mistaken for Carr and subjected to intimidation and abuse, leading local MP Andrew Turner to ask police to end several months of speculation. The police said they could neither confirm nor deny the rumours, due to the Association of Chief Police Officers advising against any statements regarding Carr's location. The local council even put up a sign stating "Please note that Maxine Carr is NOT working at Ryde Library, or any other library on the Isle of Wight."

• In August 2006 Karen Meek of Coleraine, Northern Ireland, received threats and her husband's van was damaged by people believing her to be Carr. MP Gregory Campbell appealed for her to be left alone.

• Also in August 2006 Suzette Kapp, a South African woman living in Bonnyrigg, Scotland was incorrectly identified as Carr on local websites with police receiving calls claiming the same.

• In January 2007 Falmouth police in Cornwall issued a statement denying that Carr was living in the Penryn area after rumours reached "fever pitch", including posters being put up and local police being inundated with calls.