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Maxine Carr to wed as she finds a man ready to forget her past
Last updated at 00:07am on 31.01.08Maxine Carr is to marry her boyfriend of two years amid rumours that she is pregnant.
The woman who covered up for Soham murderer Ian Huntley became engaged at Christmas.
Her fiancé has told her he accepts her shocking past and wants to spend his life with her.
Carr, 30, a former teaching assistant, has long harboured a desire to start a family, once describing it as her "life's dream" to have children around her.
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Carr and Huntley: Her 'life's dream' is to have children and he's still in love with his former lover
The news will devastate the parents of Huntley's ten-year-old victims, Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.
Their chances of watching their daughters grow up, marry and have children were shattered in the summer of 2002.
It will also come as a blow to Huntley, who is serving a double life sentence for murdering the girls.
He has admitted from his prison cell that he still has feelings for his former lover.
Carr covered up for Huntley during the search for Holly and Jessica, telling police she had been with him on the night of the murders when in fact she was in Grimsby on a night out.
Following the killings, Carr was said to have bombarded Huntley with love letters, but she has told friends she was "in a bad place and has now moved on with her life".
Carr, who uses a new name and has altered her appearance, is said to have "blossomed" since she met her boyfriend in a pub.
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Victims: Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman
She once suffered from an eating disorder, but is said to have regained her health which would boost her chances of having children.
Her fiancé, who comes from a respected farming family, is her first serious partner since she spent two-and-a-half years living with Huntley. He has bought her an engagement ring.
No date has been set for the wedding and no decisions have been made about a venue or who will attend.
The pair, who live more than 60 miles apart, are believed to be planning to start their marriage in a house which Carr's boyfriend is renovating in his spare time.
Lawyers will have to go to court to extend Carr's anonymity order to cover any children she has - proceedings which are likely to cost the taxpayer thousands of pounds.
"Maxine is engaged and has the ring to show for it," said a source.
"Her fiancé is a nice man from a decent family. Amazingly, he seems to have accepted her past and they have met each other's families.
"It is a big step for both of them. For the last couple of years they have just been trying to get on with what they feel is right and live out of the media spotlight.
"They just like doing normal things together like going for walks in the countryside.
"It has grown stronger despite the fact that they live apart and have to make long journeys to see each other.
"They both have full-time jobs but manage to make the relationship work."
Carr was convicted of conspiring to pervert the course of justice, but was freed in May 2004 after serving half of her three-and-a-half year sentence.
Before her release, she admitted 20 benefit fraud and deception charges, which could have carried a ten-year jail term.
But a judge decided it was in the "public interest" that she should be freed under a three-year community rehabilitation order, which has now been completed.
She was moved to a secret location, provided with a job and given full police protection.
The cost of security measures such as a panic button and the wages of officers who monitor her safety is being met by the taxpayer.
Because a strict court injunction was granted giving her lifelong anonymity, the identity of her fiancé must also be kept secret, as this could expose Carr.
The draconian injunction means that not even the nature of her work can be revealed.
It also means that many of those Carr meets in daily life have absolutely no idea who she is.
It was reported this week that Carr has told friends she is overjoyed at the prospect of being a mother.
If she does have children, she is likely to face an investigation into whether she is a fit parent.
Social services have indicated they would make checks on Carr even though, technically, her crime was not child-related.
Reader views (12)
Here's a sample of the latest views published.
I think that she deserves a 2nd chance. Ian Huntley was the murderer and he probably manipulated her into lying for him.
What she did was bad but her life was in tatters and the man she loved was a murderer. Now she has another chance.
- L, London
In any country with a functioning criminal justice system she would still be banged up, and rightly so.
- Keith Lonsdale, Doncaster
I agree with most of the views here. She was a victim of Huntley too and she paid the price with a jail sentence. She never harmed anyone and should be left alone to get on with her life. Good luck to her.
- Heidi, London
Over the years the press have been incessant in their attempts to turn this woman into the 'new' Myra Hindley. The problem is she was guilty of nothing beyond being very foolish and the separate charges of deception (taken together she's not worthy of such vilification). Surely she has the right to rehabilitation. The real perpetrator is in his rightful place rotting in jail - good riddance.
- Dave Hedges, London
She - Carr - did nothing at all other than be tricked into trying to protect a very manipulative man.
Huntley did the murders on his own and the girls were dead before she told her silly story to the police.
- Butch, London, UK
She got off lightly, 10 fraud charges and deception ! it seems to be a big part of her personality.
Wonder if she has any compassion anywhere?
- Enid, Canada
The thing is she is no Myra Hindley. She was pretty much a victim of Huntley too so I say good luck to her.
- Richard, LONDON
Good luck to her. Those who paid attention to the trial will know that Carr only covered up for Hunley because he had convinced her that he had nothing to do with the murders. She knew nothing of his past and did not know he had committed these crimes. The media should be more responsible when reporting on these matters. Maxine Carr should be left in peace to get on with her life.
- Matthew, London
Excellent! I am sure she will make a fantastic mother. She made a mistake but she certainly didn't harm any one. She just lied for her lover. Who wouldn't have done the same thing? She didn't harm those girls.
Good luck to you Maxine. You did the crime and served the time. You have paid your debt to society and are lucky to have an understanding partner. I hope you can move on and have a happy life together. Thank god we don't live in a lynch-mob society.
- James, London
I don't agree that she should have a legal right to anonymity, but she certainly has a right to privacy and being treated decently. I wish her luck. She's served her sentence, that should be an end to it. Obviously the parents and families of the two murdered girls will live with this forever, and one's heart goes out to them, but the law processes have been carried out in her case.
- Chuck Unsworth, London
Perhaps Maxine Carr can one day take her children to visit Huntley in prison and explain to them what they did?
- Jonny, london
I'm delighted. I thought at the time that the public vilification of this confused girl who had no part in the murders was atrocious. Good luck to them.
- Ben, Brussels, Belgium
