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Anthony Russell, 43, also appeared via video link at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates' Court on Wednesday
A prison inmate who has been charged with the murder of Soham killer Ian Huntley has appeared in Crown Court for the first time.
Anthony Russell, 43, appeared via video link from HMP Frankland at Teeside Crown Court on Thursday.
He was not asked to enter a plea but was told there would be a pre-trial preparation hearing on 24 April at Newcastle Crown Court.
Huntley, 52, was taken to hospital following the attack at the prison on 26 February and died nine days later.
He had been serving a life sentence for the murders of 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in 2002.
At the 10-minute preliminary hearing before Judge Francis Laird KC on Thursday, Russell only spoke to confirm his name and provide his date of birth.
The trial could last up to five days, the court heard.
The Ministry of Justice has previously said Huntley's crime "remains one of the most shocking and devastating cases in our nation's history, and our thoughts are with their families".
The attack in February was not the first time Huntley had been targeted in prison.
In 2005, he was attacked by an inmate who threw boiling water over him at HMP Wakefield in West Yorkshire.
Five years later, he was slashed across the throat at HMP Frankland and needed 21 stitches.
PA
Ian Huntley had been serving a life sentence at HMP Frankland for the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in 2002
