A modern 'Jack the Ripper'?

#1

A modern 'Jack the Ripper'? Race against time in UK killings

December 13, 2006

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- British police were racing against time on Wednesday to find the killer of five women, all thought to be prostitutes, before another person dies.

Five naked bodies have been found in and around the town of Ipswich, eastern England, in the last 11 days, striking fear into the community that a serial killer is on the loose.

Detectives have identified three of the dead women as prostitutes. Two other sex workers are missing and police fear the worst following the discovery of two more bodies on Tuesday.

Paula Clennell, 24, has not been seen since Saturday and Annette Nicholls, 29, has been missing for at least a week.

"The natural assumption (is) that these are the two missing women," said Detective Chief Superintendent Stewart Gull.

The bodies were discovered in the Nacton area to the east of Ipswich, close to where the naked body of another of the victims, Anneli Alderton, 24, was found in woodland on Sunday.

In a chilling twist, Clennell spoke to a television crew last week when the murder hunt was underway.

"It could happen to anyone," she told ITV news in comments reported in British newspapers on Wednesday. "It's made me a bit worried about getting into cars."

The rapid discovery of so many victims has terrified locals in the provincial town and raised fears that another "Ripper" targeting prostitutes is on the loose.

The most notorious such killer was the 19th-century murderer known as "Jack the Ripper", blamed for the deaths of five prostitutes in east London in 1888 but never found.

The most prolific was Peter Sutcliffe, called the "Yorkshire Ripper", who murdered 13 women, mainly prostitutes, in northern England from 1975 to 1980 before he was caught.

British criminologist Colin Wilson said the Ipswich killer had surpassed "Jack the Ripper" in the speed of his killings and warned that more victims would follow.

"The police will have to move at the speed of light because the Ipswich killer will already be planning his next attack," Wilson wrote in the Daily Mail newspaper.

A massive police inquiry began on December 2 when the body of Gemma Adams, 25, was found in a stream in the west of the town. Police divers discovered 19-year-old Tania Nicol in the same stretch of water on December 8.

Officers are only officially linking these two murders but say there are similarities with the death of Alderton, who was found strangled.

Police have warned prostitutes to stay off the streets and women have been advised not to go out alone.

Earlier on Tuesday, Gull said he believed sex workers might have vital information that could help identify the murderer.

#2

Wow...that's really sad. They need to get CSI on this quick before others die

#3

could it be more than one person? or just one smooth operator? dude whats the deal. thats scary. im glad i live in the states where all i have to worry about is possessed girls and leatherfaces.

#4

Their saying there may be a link between the killings in New Jersey and ones in England.

#5

Man charged with UK prostitute killings

IPSWICH, England (CNN) -- A 48-year-old man arrived in court in England on Friday to face charges that he murdered five prostitutes.

Former forklift truck driver Steve Wright was driven to the court in Ipswich in a police van, which was escorted to the building by motorcycle escorts.

Dozens of photographers were gathered behind crowd control barriers, trying to get pictures of Wright, who is charged with the murders of Gemma Adams, 25, Tania Nicol, 19, Anneli Alderton, 24, Paula Clennell, 24, and Annette Nicholls, 29.

He was charged on Thursday night after being arrested at his home near Ipswich's red light district on Tuesday morning.

A second suspect, identified locally as Tom Stephens, 37, was released on bail.

Police arrested Wright at 5 a.m. Tuesday at his Ipswich home, said Detective Chief Superintendent Stewart Gull.

Wright's arrest came a day after police arrested Stephens, also on suspicion of murdering the five women.

The bodies of five women were discovered outside Ipswich in Suffolk county in a period of 10 days.

A coroner has opened and adjourned inquests into the deaths. He appealed for anyone with information about the murders to contact the police.

Forensic officers and search teams have been searching homes of both suspects and police cordoned off part of a road where Wright lives.

The short time span of the murders is unprecedented in recent British history and threatened to overwhelm the small local police force in the early days of the inquiry.