12-14-2006, 03:25 PM
BRITISH police hunting a serial killer confirmed today a fourth prostitute had been murdered, as attention turned to a mystery man in a BMW who may provide a key to the shocking deaths.
The latest confirmed victim was named as Paula Clennell, 24, one of two prostitutes missing since last week in the eastern English town of Ipswich, where three sex workers have already been confirmed killed.
The case has evoked one of Britain's most notorious serial killers, east London's elusive Jack the Ripper, who murdered five prostitutes in 1888. It has also revived memories of "Yorkshire Ripper" Peter Sutcliffe, who preyed on prostitutes, murdering 13 women between 1975 and 1980.
But the "Suffolk strangler", as the Ipswich killer has been dubbed, has worked much more quickly. Five naked bodies have been discovered in similar circumstances in the space of barely 10 days.
Clennell's body was one of two corpses found near the village of Levington on Wednesday, taking the death toll to five in less than two weeks. The other body found in Levington is feared to be that of Annette Nicholls, 29.
"Clearly we believe the two girls at Levington are those two girls," said Detective Chief Superintendent Stewart Gull.
He said that the identity of the second corpse had still not been formally identified.
Three sex workers are already confirmed to have been murdered - 25-year-old Gemma Adams, 19-year-old Tania Nicol and 24-year-old Anneli Alderton - in Ipswich.
Investigators into the murders around the normally tranquil town, about 130 kilometres northeast of London, are ploughing through some 5500 calls from the public and trying to trace the victims' last movements.
Supt Gull confirmed that officers are hunting for a blue BMW and its driver. One of the dead women, Anneli Alderton, is reported to have climbed into the car in Ipswich last week.
Other new lines of inquiry being followed by detectives include pieces of clothing possibly belonging to the dead women, whose bodies were all dumped naked in streams and fields near Ipswich over the last two weeks.
"Clearly we have received a significant volume of calls ... and a lot of interesting information and that's just one aspect that clearly we're looking into and looking to expedite," Supt Gull told BBC radio.
Other new theories are also emerging.
Police are checking whether the killer may be responsible for five other murders, including the death of teenage prostitute Natalie Pearman, who was strangled in the nearby city of Norwich and found semi-naked in 1992.
Pearman's mother told the Daily Mail newspaper: "The police said as soon as there is confirmation of a strong link I will be the first to know about it."
But Supt Gull told BBC television that his team were not linking the deaths to others in the region.
Meanwhile, a friend of Clennell sent her a text message on the day she vanished asking if she was OK. She received a reply which police believe may have been sent by the killer to buy time or for kicks, the Daily Mirror said.
Suffolk police could not confirm or deny the allegations.
Unidentified senior detectives told The Times newspaper that all five victims were either suffocated or strangled, and found naked except for their jewellery. None of them had been mutilated, however.
The serial killer scare has turned Ipswich into something of a ghost town, especially at night, despite the Christmas party season being in full swing elsewhere in Britain
The latest confirmed victim was named as Paula Clennell, 24, one of two prostitutes missing since last week in the eastern English town of Ipswich, where three sex workers have already been confirmed killed.
The case has evoked one of Britain's most notorious serial killers, east London's elusive Jack the Ripper, who murdered five prostitutes in 1888. It has also revived memories of "Yorkshire Ripper" Peter Sutcliffe, who preyed on prostitutes, murdering 13 women between 1975 and 1980.
But the "Suffolk strangler", as the Ipswich killer has been dubbed, has worked much more quickly. Five naked bodies have been discovered in similar circumstances in the space of barely 10 days.
Clennell's body was one of two corpses found near the village of Levington on Wednesday, taking the death toll to five in less than two weeks. The other body found in Levington is feared to be that of Annette Nicholls, 29.
"Clearly we believe the two girls at Levington are those two girls," said Detective Chief Superintendent Stewart Gull.
He said that the identity of the second corpse had still not been formally identified.
Three sex workers are already confirmed to have been murdered - 25-year-old Gemma Adams, 19-year-old Tania Nicol and 24-year-old Anneli Alderton - in Ipswich.
Investigators into the murders around the normally tranquil town, about 130 kilometres northeast of London, are ploughing through some 5500 calls from the public and trying to trace the victims' last movements.
Supt Gull confirmed that officers are hunting for a blue BMW and its driver. One of the dead women, Anneli Alderton, is reported to have climbed into the car in Ipswich last week.
Other new lines of inquiry being followed by detectives include pieces of clothing possibly belonging to the dead women, whose bodies were all dumped naked in streams and fields near Ipswich over the last two weeks.
"Clearly we have received a significant volume of calls ... and a lot of interesting information and that's just one aspect that clearly we're looking into and looking to expedite," Supt Gull told BBC radio.
Other new theories are also emerging.
Police are checking whether the killer may be responsible for five other murders, including the death of teenage prostitute Natalie Pearman, who was strangled in the nearby city of Norwich and found semi-naked in 1992.
Pearman's mother told the Daily Mail newspaper: "The police said as soon as there is confirmation of a strong link I will be the first to know about it."
But Supt Gull told BBC television that his team were not linking the deaths to others in the region.
Meanwhile, a friend of Clennell sent her a text message on the day she vanished asking if she was OK. She received a reply which police believe may have been sent by the killer to buy time or for kicks, the Daily Mirror said.
Suffolk police could not confirm or deny the allegations.
Unidentified senior detectives told The Times newspaper that all five victims were either suffocated or strangled, and found naked except for their jewellery. None of them had been mutilated, however.
The serial killer scare has turned Ipswich into something of a ghost town, especially at night, despite the Christmas party season being in full swing elsewhere in Britain
