Five bodies found in Ipswich in just 10 days
Pastor Dale Morgan
Five bodies found in Ipswich in just 10 days*
By Caroline Davies
Last Updated: 4:05am GMT 14/12/2006
The bodies of two further prostitutes were discovered in Ipswich
yesterday, raising the number of deaths to five and reinforcing the
belief that police are hunting a serial murderer.
The bodies, both naked and found on scrubland, are believed to be those
of Annette Nicholls, 29, and Paula Clennell, 24, both of whom had been
reported missing.
The five murdered Ipswich girls
Shocked detectives were last night facing a race against time to catch
the killer before he strikes again.
"It is such a fast-moving inquiry, it is almost a crime in action," said
Det Chief Supt Stewart Gull, who is leading the investigation.
The bodies were found only hours after it was confirmed that Anneli
Alderton, 24, a mother-of-one from Colchester, who worked as a
prostitute in Ipswich and was found on Sunday, was the third victim.
She had been strangled, said detectives, who are hoping her killer may
have left vital DNA evidence.
Map showing where the girls were found
Map showing where the girls were found: Click to enlarge
The first of yesterday's bodies was found at 3.05pm by a member of the
public walking along Old Felixstowe Road near the turn-off to Levington
village on the south-east outskirts of Ipswich.
She was, like all the other victims, naked and had been dumped on
scrubland only 20ft from the main road.
When a police helicopter was sent up to film the crime scene one of the
crew spotted what appeared to be another naked body only a few hundred
yards away. It was.
Both bodies were near Nacton, where Anneli Alderton's body was discovered.
Alastair Mcwhirter, Suffolk's Chief Constable, said the discovery of the
two new bodies was "shocking news".
He added: "This is an unprecedented inquiry. When you look back to the
Yorkshire Ripper you are talking about murders committed over months and
years."
Police officers said that they could not definitely confirm the
identities of the two latest victims, but Mr Gull said: "The natural
assumption is that these are the bodies of the two missing women."
If so, it is evidence of the sheer audacity of the killer, who appears
to be taunting the police by continuing his relentless exploits right
under their noses.
Only a few days ago, when news of the first killings shocked the people
of Ipswich, Paula Clennell was one of the prostitutes who spoke to
television interviewers describing her fears following the earlier
murders. But she disclosed that she was prepared to risk her life and
continue working the streets, because "I need the money".
The killings had, she said, "made me a bit wary of getting into cars".
Miss Clennell was last seen at 1am in Rendlesham Court, Ipswich, on
Saturday.
High profile appeals for her and Miss Nicholls to call family, friends
or police, had been met with total silence.
Miss Nicholls was last seen at 9.50pm on Tuesday Dec 5 in Norwich Road,
Ipswich.
Fears that a serial killer was targeting the town's prostitutes began
when the body of Gemma Adams, 25, was discovered in Belstead Brooke, at
Hintlesham, on Dec 2, then that of her friend, Tania Nicol, 19, on Dec 8
in a pond at Copdock.
Both the victims were found naked in separate stretches of the same stream.
As their bodies had been immersed in water for some time, police still
have to establish a cause of death. But they have ruled out
strangulation and are conducting toxicology tests.
Miss Alderton had not been reported missing. Her body was discovered by
a passing motorist at 3.20pm on Sunday, though another motorist has come
forward believing they saw her corpse at about 10.30am on Thursday Dec 7
and had thought that it was an abandoned mannequin.
Police are still trying to piece together her last movements. They know
that she caught the 5.53pm train to Colchester from Harwich, where her
mother lives, on Sunday Dec 3.
Det Chief Supt Gull: 'It is such a fast-moving inquiry'
Police believe that the town's prostitutes themselves could "hold the
key" to the murders. So far at least 25 prostitutes and some of their
clients have telephoned a confidential police hotline with information.
"The perpetrator may be a client, he may be a kerb crawler," said Mr Gull.
"However insignificant, I would encourage them to get into contact with us."
His investigation team was looking at "a number of interesting
individuals", he said.
The names of these people had been fed into various elements of the
police system.
Prostitutes were again advised to stay off the streets of Ipswich.
Officers said that all women out by themselves were at risk and warned
them to be especially careful and to take extra precautions during the
Christmas festivities.
Making a direct appeal to the killer, Mr Gull urged him to "give
yourself up".