Maxine on Netflix: Where is Maxine Carr now and how long was her prison sentence?

The Soham murders have been put into the spotlight again with Netflix's dramatisation, Maxine, leading viewers to question where Maxine Carr is now and what happened to her after the harrowing events. 

The ITV dramatisation, now streaming on Netflix, is based on the Soham murders, which took place in the early '00s. On 4th August 2002, 10-year-old schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapmans were murdered by school caretaker Ian Huntley. 

Along with his girlfriend, Maxine Carr who was the girls' teaching assistant, Ian went to great lengths to cover up the crime before he was arrested on 17th August on suspicion of abduction and murder. Maxine was also arrested for attempting to pervert the course of justice, accused of providing a false alibi, and was later charged with two counts of assisting an officer. 

The crime sent shockwaves across the nation as the harrowing details came to light in the national press. Decades later, it remains one of the most shocking cases of child abduction and murder of our times and is the subject of a Channel 5 drama released in October 2022.

ITV's Maxine told the story of the Soham murders through her own eyes, putting the spotlight on her role in the horrific crime. Netflix re-released the original drama a year later, generating interest in the case, and Maxine's role specifically, once again. This is everything we know about where Maxine Carr is now and what happened to her after her arrest.

Where is Maxine Carr now?

Maxine Carr is said to be living in a seaside town with her husband and son as of 2014, according to reporting from The Mirror, which is reflected in the Channel 5 drama. Maxine reportedly married her husband, who was fully aware of her troubled past, in 2008. Before settling by the sea, Maxine moved to more than 10 different safe houses and it was reported by the publication that she gave birth to a son in 2011.

After her release from prison, Maxine was granted lifelong anonymity in the High Court due to "concerns over her health and threats to her safety" according to reporting from the London Evening Standard. Due to her anonymity, the town she lives in, as well as her husband's and son's identities, can't be disclosed by the media. 

How long did Maxine Carr get in jail?

Maxine Carr was sentenced to 42 months in prison and served 21 months at Foston Hall prison in Derbyshire. The former teaching assistant was released on 14th May 2004. 

Maxine's legal team has pushed for an early release, which was rejected in February 2004 according to reports from the Independent. Prison Service Chief Mr Narey said in a letter to Carr, "I have now considered the question of your suitability for release on HDC and have decided that you should not be released under the scheme.

"Although not charged with murder, your offence was considered so closely related to the events surrounding the murder of the two girls and the police investigation that followed, that you were tried jointly with Ian Huntley.

"Your conviction for conspiring with Ian Huntley to pervert the course of justice connects you indelibly with this case and with the public outcry that has accompanied it. For this reason, the possibility of your early release on HDC has attracted, and continues to attract, huge adverse publicity.

"I have therefore concluded that for the above reasons your release on HDC, so soon after the trial has ended, would undermine public confidence in the HDC scheme."