BRITAIN: School caretaker Mr Ian Huntley, awaiting trial for the murder in August of two English schoolgirls, returned to prison from hospital yesterday a day after he reportedly tried to kill himself, officials said.
Staff at Milton Keynes General Hospital in central England said Mr Huntley was being moved back to high-security Woodhill prison, where he would be getting further treatment in its medical wing.
Mr Huntley (29) is charged with the kidnap and murder of 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, whose disappearance last August prompted one of Britain's biggest-ever missing persons investigations.
Their remains were found in woods 13 days after they were last seen in their hometown of Soham, in the east of England.
Mr Huntley's trial, and that of his companion Ms Maxine Carr (25), who is charged with assisting an offender and perverting the course of justice, is scheduled for October 6th.
Mr Harry Fletcher of the National Association of Probation Officers said he had learned from sources that Mr Huntley had overdosed on anti-depressants, which he had accumulated and hidden in tea bags inside his Woodhill cell.
Earlier yesterday, a Prison Service spokesman said Huntley was in "stable" condition, while a hospital official reported that he was "comfortable". Mr Huntley left hospital under tight police escort with a white blanket over his head.
The disappearance of the two girls in their red Manchester United soccer shirts led to a huge manhunt, and the discovery of their bodies sparked debate about reintroducing the death penalty.