Fear of a New Ripper in Suffolk

Culture & Society Forum

Police have appealed to prostitutes to stay off the streets of Ipswich after three women were found dead and a fourth reported missing from the town.

The naked bodies of Gemma Adams, Tania Nicol and a third woman have been found near the town in the past eight days.

Suffolk Police said they were now looking for prostitute Paula Clennell, 24, last seen late on Saturday.

Asst Ch Const Jacqui Cheer urged all women in Ipswich, particularly during the party season, not to go home alone.

In a direct appeal to prostitutes, she said: "Please stay off the streets, if you are out alone at night you are putting yourself in danger.

"Any information, no matter how trivial you think it might be, could be the key to moving this investigation forward."

Ms Adams, 25, and Ms Nicol, 19, worked together and went missing from the red light area of Ipswich.

Ms Adams vanished on 15 November and her body was found in a stream at the village of Hintlesham, Suffolk, on 2 December.

Ms Nicol disappeared on 30 October and her body was discovered on Friday in the same stream at Copdock, near Ipswich.

Det Ch Supt Stewart Gull said: "While we can't formally link the discovery of the body at Nacton with the two murders, the facts speak for themselves."

He said Ms Clennell was reported missing by a friend.

"We know that Ms Clennell uses a number of addresses in Ipswich and we are currently checking these to establish her whereabouts.

"We would urge Paula or anyone who knows of her whereabouts to call us immediately so that we can be reassured that she is safe and well."

Simon Aalders, who is coordinator of the Suffolk Drug Action Team and works with prostitutes in Ipswich, said women continued to walk the streets in the town despite the dangers, because they were in a desperate situation and needed the money.

"Some women are stopping their activity but some aren't," he said.

"And I think that what that shows really is that a lot of these women are in desperate - extremely desperate - situations and things like drug dependency and poverty are really pushing women into this sort of activity."

The English Collective of Prostitutes, which represents sex workers, warned that without more action from Suffolk Police, there risked being a repeat of the Yorkshire Ripper case in which 13 women were murdered.

It called on the police to temporarily stop arresting prostitutes and their clients, to encourage them to come forward and help the inquiry.

"The Suffolk police must not use the criminality imposed on sex workers by the prostitution laws as an excuse to deny women the protection we are all entitled to by law," it said.

It also said police street-sweeps, arrests and Asbos had forced women into darker, isolated areas making them more vulnerable to rape and violence.

A spokeswoman said: "Over 70% of prostitute women are mothers.

"As poverty, homelessness and debt go up and women's wages go down, more women - especially with Christmas round the corner - are forced into prostitution to support themselves and their families.

"Every woman is some mother's daughter, someone's sister, aunt, beloved friend. Every life is of value."

Charlie Daniels used to be a sex worker, and now campaigns on issues surrounding prostitution. She said women on the street needed more help.

"I can't see how I live in a country where we have always looked after the most vulnerable types of people and yet prostitution has been looked down on as much as it is," she said.

"Girls who work the streets are vulnerable - these are girls who are sometimes on drugs, or single parents, or whatever, and yet they are trodden down on and regarded as disposable members of society in some cases."

5 dead in a amtter of weeks, this guy is going for a record seems more like Jack the ripper than the Yorkshire in terms of the frequency of kills. I just hope the police get the break they need. I don't know id he is getting lazy, arrogant or wants to get caught but he seesm to be doing little to hide the bodies or little to wash away the fornensci evidence like he did with the first two. I did see the police commander on TV tonight and he said that he could not guarntee public safety, thought that was worrying I mean that is what the police are mean to do. I do fel for the cops though Suffolk is not the biggest force in the UK is it.

It is historically hard to find these Rippers in England. The Yorkshire Ripper was hunted for years before he was found and nobody has a clue who Jack the Ripper was.

It will become essential that more police get involved if the killings continue.

The good thing is that, as Lodgebo said, he is not trying to hide any forensic evidence or the bodies of the victims so hopefully this killer can be found quickly.

A 37-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering five women whose bodies were found at sites around the Ipswich area.

Supermarket worker Tom Stephens was arrested by police at his home at Trimley St Martin, near Felixstowe.

He is being held on suspicion of murdering prostitutes Gemma Adams, Anneli Alderton, Tania Nicol, Paula Clennell and Annette Nicholls.

Mr Stephens is in custody at an unnamed police station in Suffolk.

He is due to be questioned by detectives later on Monday.

Speaking in an interview with BBC News last week for background purposes, Mr Stephens said he had known Miss Adams for about 18 months - "about as long as I've known any of the girls".

He added: "Tania I've only known for about six months but in the end I did actually get to know Tania better than I knew Gemma.

"I didn't know Anneli at all, I've only every spoken to her since both Tania and Gemma went missing, partly to say, if you know anything, please talk to the police and if you won't talk to the police, please talk to me and I'll talk to the police.

"And also trying to say 'are you okay' and trying, I don't know what I was trying to say.

"Pretty much all the girls who I didn't know before I've tried to speak to since in that way."

Mr Stephens' house in Jubilee Close had been visited by police earlier in the investigation and items had been taken away for examination.

Det Ch Supt Stewart Gull said: "We will not be naming the police station where the man is being held.

"As legal proceedings are now active, Suffolk Police will not be issuing further comments or appeals at this stage."

The five dead women, aged between 19 and 29, were all found naked in rural settings within 10 miles of Ipswich.

They worked as prostitutes and all were drug-users. Their bodies were found close to the A14 road.

The body of Miss Adams, 25, who went missing on 15 November, was found in a brook at Hintlesham, Suffolk, by a member of the public on 2 December.

Tania Nicol's body was found by police divers searching areas of water at Copdock Mill, near Ipswich, on 8 December.

Miss Nicol, 19, was last seen after leaving her home in Ipswich on 30 October.

The body of Anneli Alderton, 24, was found in woodland in Nacton, near Ipswich, on 10 December.

On 12 December detectives found the bodies of Paula Clennell, 24, and Annette Nicholls, 29, near the village of Levington.

Water-filled ditch

Mr Stephens was arrested at 0720 GMT on Monday in the village, which is close to the A14 road between Ipswich and Felixstowe.

Trimley St Martin was last in the national news when 17-year-old Vicky Hall vanished on her way home from a nightclub in Felixstowe in 1999 and was found dead in a water-filled ditch at Creeting St Peter - 25 miles from Felixstowe.

It was believed she had been asphyxiated but a post-mortem examination proved inconclusive.

Police have not linked this case with the deaths of the five prostitutes.

On Monday they were unable to confirm Mr Stephens would be questioned about Miss Hall's murder.

The Association of Chief Police Officers say the number of officers deployed from forces outside Suffolk, under the control of the Police National Information and Co-ordination Centre, was the biggest ever for a murder inquiry.

In total 36 forces have sent 412 detectives, uniformed officers and police staff.

A 48-year-old man has been charged with murdering five women whose bodies were found in countryside near Ipswich.

Stephen Wright was arrested on Tuesday morning at his home in the London Road area of the town.

He has been charged with murdering prostitutes Gemma Adams, 25, Anneli Alderton, 24, Tania Nicol, 19, Paula Clennell, 24, and Annette Nicholls, 29.

Police said the first man arrested, Tom Stephens, 37, has been released on police bail pending further inquiries.

Stephen Wright is due to appear in Ipswich magistrates court on Friday.

Detectives said Mr Wright would appear before magistrates in Ipswich on Friday morning.

Det Ch Supt Stewart Gull said: "You will be aware that on Monday 18 December, as part of our investigation into the murders of five women in the Ipswich area, we arrested a suspect at his home address in Trimley.

"The next day, Tuesday 19 December, a second suspect was arrested in Ipswich.

"There have been significant ongoing inquiries and interviews during the period that these men have been in custody.

"As a result of these inquiries, the 37-year-old man from Trimley was this evening released on police bail pending further inquiries. Police will not name this man at this stage.

"The second man, Stephen Wright, from Ipswich, has been charged with the murder of all five women."

Michael Crimp, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "We've made the decision that there is sufficient evidence and authorised that Stephen Wright, born on 24 April 1958, of London Road, Ipswich, should be charged with the murders of Tania Nicol, Gemma Adams, Anneli Alderton, Annette Nicholls, and Paula Clennell.

"We will continue to keep this case under constant review as it develops.

"Mr Wright will be kept in custody to appear before Ipswich magistrates court.

"At this time, I'd like to remind you of the need to take care in reporting the events surrounding this case.

"Stephen Wright stands accused of these offences, and has the right of a fair trial before a jury.

"It is extremely important that there should be responsible media reporting which should not prejudice the due process of law."