IPSWICH, England - British detectives hunting a serial killer who preys on prostitutes discovered two more bodies Tuesday, police said, bringing the total to five.

“We can only fear the worst,” Detective Chief Superintendent Stewart Gull of Suffolk police said. “The natural assumption is that these are the two missing women.”

As part of the investigation into the deaths of Gemma Adams, 25, whose body was found Dec. 2; Tania Nicol, 19, whose body was found Friday; and 24-year-old Anneli Alderton, whose body was found Sunday, detectives were also searching for Annette Nicholls, 29, and Paula Clennell, 24. Both had also worked as prostitutes in Ipswich.

The naked bodies of the first three women were found a few miles apart in rural eastern England. One body was found in a stream, another in a pond and a third in the woods.

The killing has stirred memories of the so-called Yorkshire Ripper, one of Britain’s worst serial killers. Peter Sutcliffe admitted to killing 13 women, mostly prostitutes, during the 1970s. He was sentenced to serve a minimum of 30 years in prison.

Police suspected a serial killer in the recent cases but weren’t ruling out multiple suspects.

Police said Alderton — who was last seen on a train — was asphyxiated. It appeared she had been strangled and that she was not sexually assaulted, police said Tuesday.

Reviewing CCTV of red-light district
The condition of Adams and Nichol’s bodies — both of which were found in water — has prevented investigators from determining an exact cause of death, or whether they were sexually assaulted. It did not appear, however, they suffered a significant trauma or had been asphyxiated, said Detective Chief Superintendent Stewart Gull.

Police were reviewing closed-circuit television video of the red light district and other areas of Ipswich, which is about 70 miles northeast of London.

Police said there was no indication that the potential killer or killers were targeting women other than prostitutes.

Two other women — 24-year-old Paula Clennell and 29-year-old Annette Nicholls — have been missing for about a week. Further information about Nicholls and Clennell was not immediately available.

Police say all five worked as prostitutes.

“We may be looking for one perpetrator. There may be more,” Gull said.

Assistant Chief Constable Jacqui Cheer urged prostitutes to stay off the street, and to help police with any information they have.

Source
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1 up to 3 could be random chance... When it gets up to 5 women, it kind of narrows it down.

Wow. We goot a good ol serial killer case on our hands. Serial killers always interested me, in the way they think.

apparently the most recent two women were strangled... and none of the women have been raped either...

Worrying thing for women who live in or near Ipswich, but a serial killer isn't something i've seen in my life time or at least something i knew about in everyday life seeing on the news etc. But now it's upto 5 surely someone has seen him or her.

But can i ask IF this guy or girl is targetting Prostitutes in the red light district why don't the police take them all off the streets now theres the arguement of thats against my human rights to work but at the end of the day why are they working when they know the next guy or girl that picks them up could end up murdering them?

For me i'd take them all off the streets if it meant having to pay them benefits for a week or however long it took to catch the killer then so be it, or do they want more deaths so it can help them find the killer?

It might not be a serial killer; they still aren't sure if it's one person committing the murders, or a group.

Well just got to hope the old bill actually solve this before the whole of the red light district is murdered, but then again as bad as it sounds that would solve their problem as isn't prostitution illegal?

Hope they catch the culprite soone rather than later though.

removing prostitutes off the streets isn't going to stop this person from killing. they will just find another target. it's just that prostitutes make for an easy target. which says something about the killer too.

^ Well fairmight switch targets but if this guy has killed 5 prostitutes even if they are easy access he must have a motive to kill a prostitute as you think about it if your mad at your boss for firing you, it wouldn't send you on a murderous rampage, maybe he used a prostitute and got STD and hence his reason to kill them.

But for me you got to take the prostitutes off the streets as if tyhe killings top that therefore means he was targetting them like Jack The Ripper did. But keep them on the streets and more die so why keep them on the streets? yes he might move onto another group but it's highly unlikely as serial killers rarely switch target groups.

Very scary. 5 murders in 10 days and around an area that is swarming with Police.
This is the biggest serial killings investigation for a long time since Fred and Rosemary West and John Shipman I am guessing.

Possibly bigger than that. This is more like Peter Sutcliffe.

In both the Shipman case and the Wests they didn't know there was a serial killer until they already had the murderers. Then it was a case of investigating just how many they had killed. This is more like the Yorkshire Ripper where they know there is a killer but the don't know who it is.

I've heard on the news that another two women missing went missing last night, it could just be a rumour, or even if it's true there's nothing to say that they were also victims; could just be a coincidence?

I wonder what criminal profile they've drawn up so far. He (assuming it's a male) preys on women who're walking in to traps, the guy's a complete coward.

the target is women in general not prostitutes. why kill prostitutes? Because they (prostitutes) are not afraid to speak to strangers, or get into their vehicles - that's what they do for a living. the killer is a coward (which is why he chooses prostitutes), has an issue with women - maybe he's been scorned and/or ridiculed by women before. it's about power and control, that's why he strangles them. he can look into their eyes as the life drains from them - play God.

I agree with you 100%.

I should have been more specific. I meant in my time. LOL. Peter sucliffe was in the 70's whilst I was a baby? (1975 I was born). But yes the Yorkshire Ripper sprang straight into my mind when I heard about this.



I hope that's not true, god forbid. If so in theory the bodies will probably be found tomorrow. It seems to be every two days. Maybe he has an infatuation with the number 2 or something as well?

I agree with Waspie, it is similar to The Yorkshire Ripper or Jack the Ripper, when I heard they were all prostitutes they were the first names I thought of.?

From the BBC:

With the Yorkshire Ripper people didn't seem to care so much when he was only killing prostitutes. It was only when he started killing "innocent" women that people cared more. In the late 70's and early 80's more people seemed to have woody82's antiquated and rather nasty attitude:

Not soo much a coward (if indeed it's a serial killer) as he could just be paranoid about being caught for murder and that's why he chooses his victims because they are soft targets in society, so he can still get his fantasy with less risk. 5 murders in such a short period of time would suggest a manic episode of a life spun out of control or the first rush of the murder was to intoxicating for him so he cannot stop because it for filled his own little fantasy reality. I do agree it's a lot to do with power and control. I bet he's pretty low on the job levels and barely ever gets noticed, he's just gone through life doing what others have told him to do really. He's never been his own boss but an 'invisible' employee. I'm not sure of the way they were strangled through, there are many ways to do it and I haven't seen any reports on what may have been used and where the killer was standing. They were all found naked however and that would seem to me that he stripped them of their shells and was probably very verbally abusive towards the women. Even more scary for the people in this area is the killer is a local - All the bodies were found in rural areas that were probably scouted out long before hand because of pervious knowledge of the areas. To me that would point to a slightly older white man close to upper 20's close to 40 years of age.


Update: Massive response in murders probe

Officers investigating the murder of three prostitutes and the discovery of two more bodies say they have had a massive response from the public.

Suffolk Police said it was likely the bodies found near Ipswich on Tuesday were those of two prostitutes.

Paula Clennell, 24, and Annette Nicholls, 29, have been missing for several days.

A reward of £250,000 has been offered by a national newspaper to catch the killer of the Ipswich prostitutes.

Police have linked the murders of Gemma Adams, 25, Tania Nicol, 19, and Anneli Alderton, 24, whose bodies were found in nearby villages within 10 days.

Det Ch Supt Stewart Gull said all five deaths bore "striking similarities" in that the women had been found naked and in a rural environment.

A number of people are helping police with their inquiries, but no-one has been arrested.

Officers are trawling through 2,199 calls made in five hours on Tuesday and will be working "24-7" on the investigation.

Mr Gull said specialists, including blood and soil experts, were at the woodland in Levington where the two bodies were found.

Home Office pathologist Dr Nat Carey, who carried out post-mortems examinations on the three murdered prostitutes, will examine the bodies.

Teams search 'dump' site

But Mr Gull said it was unlikely police would confirm on Wednesday the identities of the bodies.

"We have not found what appear to be murder scenes," he said. "We are dealing with sites where the bodies have been dumped and left."

A picture of the prostitutes working in the area and their clients was gradually being built up, the officer said.

He added: "It is important that if anyone has concerns for the safety of a prostitute in Ipswich that they contact us immediately."

Despite appeals for the women to keep off the streets, there are some continuing to work through desperation for money to buy drugs and Christmas presents.

Home Secretary John Reid and Downing Street have contacted Suffolk's Chief Constable Alastair McWhirter to make sure he has enough resources to deal with the current murder inquiry.

Paula Clennell has not been seen since Saturday

The prime minister's spokesman said officials were assured Mr McWhirter was "happy" with the level of resources he had.

At Commons question time, the prime minister said there was "entirely understandable fear" in the community in Ipswich and said all MPs would want to send their sympathy to the people of Suffolk and the relatives of the victims.

The sites where the two bodies were found on Tuesday is off the main A14 trunk road between Ipswich and Felixstowe docks close to a railway line, the Orwell estuary and a marina.

It is near to where the body of Miss Alderton who had moved to the area from Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, was found on Sunday in Nacton.

The body of Miss Adams was found on 2 December in woodland at Hintlesham, on the outskirts of Ipswich. She had last been seen on 15 November.

On 8 December the body of Miss Nicol was found in nearby Copdock. She was the first to go missing and had last been seen on 30 October.
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Pretty scary stuff.

thats wrong, it has been confirmed that there has been no struggle and that they werent asphyxiated. they were possibly poisoned. this serial killer seems to be half decent enough not to rape them...i think he just has a problem against prossies. hes killed 6 of them now.

This is why we should take steps towards legalising prostitution; I dont advocate it at all but at least things could be done to help protect the women who work the streets

If this guy is connected to the murders in Norfolk too then theres no telling how far he is willing to go; and it also shows that he is moving about....

Managing prostitution in the UK

As calls increase for measures to protect sex workers, what is the best way to ensure prostitutes can work safely in the UK?

Official estimates suggest about 80,000 people are involved in prostitution in the UK - four out of five of whom are women.


Fears for the safety of prostitutes follows the killing of three in Ipswich

In the past ministers have said they are open-minded to possible changes in the law, such as the creation of "managed tolerance zones", registering prostitutes and licensing brothels. A year on from the publication of an official strategy, proposals for some reforms remain under consideration.

Since 2000, police in Aberdeen have operated a "management zone" for prostitution.

The city's estimated 130 prostitutes are allowed to solicit within the zone, an area a quarter of a mile square which adjoins the harbour.

However, no sexual activity is allowed to take place there.

The area is mainly industrial, so clashes with residents have not arisen, according to Detective Chief Inspector Eric Leslie, crime manager for the Aberdeen division of Grampian Police.

Prostitutes are only allowed to work in the zone from 1700 - except for one street where they cannot start before 2100 - in order to prevent local businesses being affected.

"I wouldn't say the businesses haven't objected, but they have co-operated with us; obviously they have concerns surrounding health and safety issues," Insp Leslie said.

Reactions to the scheme have varied.

Inspector Peter Morrison, also of Grampian Police, admitted that it was "debatable" that the scheme had been a success, adding that this can be "difficult to quantify".

He told BBC Radio Five Live: "The difficulty is that a lot of these girls are leading a chaotic lifestyle and a lot of crime is unreported to us.

"We haven't seen a reduction in robberies or attack in the area as a result of the management zone."

He added that some prostitutes "said they do like the idea of the zone but others have found problems with it".

For example, some complained that the zone created too much competition in a small area.

Similar zones in other cities, or plans for the creation of such areas, have experienced difficulties.

Edinburgh had one of the UK's oldest unofficial tolerance zones, set up in the Leith area of the city in the 1980s, until it was scrapped in 2001.

Redevelopment led to Leith becoming more residential and complaints about the sex workers increased.

The zone was moved to a nearby industrial area but also met local opposition there.

Since the zone was abolished attacks on sex workers have shot up, according to the Scottish Prostitutes Education Project (ScotPep).

The group said violence went up from 11 attacks in 2001 to 111 in 2003.

Prostitution strategy

In January 2006, the Home Office published a new prostitution strategy. It said there would be no "managed prostitution zones" - instead a plan to prevent young women falling into the business - and strategies to get them out of it.

Eleven months on from the strategy's publication, amid the Suffolk prostitutes murder inquiry, the government confirmed a proposal to allow mini-brothels remained "under active consideration".

Allowing three women to work together in a private premises was proposed as a means of tackling street prostitution while, at the same time, helping women still on the game to better protect each other.

This measure would also in theory be linked to more work on helping women leave prostitution behind. Managed zones, said ministers, would be effectively turning a blind eye to the problem.

And despite some groups believing tolerance zones are effective, the English Collective of Prostitutes, which represents sex workers, is also opposed to them.

Sara Walker, a spokeswoman for the group, told BBC News: "We are not in support of toleration or management zones because we think the government should decriminalise prostitution.

"With such zones we are there on tolerance, not on the basis of our right to work."

Ms Walker, who cited New Zealand as an example of a country that had improved the rights of prostitutes by decriminalising the practice, said such managed areas create a "two-tier" system whereby women can work within the zone but are criminalised outside of it.

She also pointed out that the legitimate working spaces are in run-down parts of cities, creating "ghettos" that many women do not want to work in.

"Many want to keep their anonymity and come out of prostitution when they are ready. That is more difficult in managed zones because they are run by the police and council," she said.

How awful and how strange. I've been seeing stories on the news over here in the states about them finding multiple prostitutes strangled and tossed in a drainage ditch... Freaky parallels.

Have to agree with your view, but the target is prostitutes namely women, as right now he hasn't attacked a if you pardon the expression 'normal' woman (not saying hookers aren't normal) but he's not attacked a normal woman walking home from work or is that to come?

But as i said before take them off the damn streets seriously two more gone missing iknow their profession isn't exactly what we all like but the fact still remains there getting killed and going missing take them off the streets till he's caught or do the boys in blue these days need to have murders so they can catch who did them...

Maybe he got HIV from one. Could not hurt to check health records if there is nothing else to look at.

this is gonna sound sick but....lets hope he carrys on the killing spree.
bcos if he manages to get a grip on his urge to kill that would derail the scent.
they say that as in all things perfection comes with practice!!
the FBI refer to these as organized and disorganized.. this helps greatly with the eventual detection and capture of serial killers. so if this dude or dudes keeps up the hunt then itll be more not less likely that they will get him faster.
remember every mistake is a clue. but every kill perfects the hunters M.O.
its a double edged sword.

^ Problem is will he run out of prostitutes to kill before they catch him

That may be true but you have to remember that prostitutes are still people; besides he might start to attack other women. I think it is only a matter of time before they catch him in the act; Ipswich very cautious now and it is less likely he'll be able to kill again. Although saying that he did apparently kill in the last 48 hours or so which means he may be able to do so again.....

Ipswich is ahuge place, and he might take them out of Ipswich now if there isn't road blocks (not exactly sure if there is or not), or even take them home and do the deed etc. Horrible situation but hopefully sooner rather than later they will catch him but then again if he stops right now it's unlikely they have out to go on to catch him, the more he does the more likely he'll be caught.

The police need to find where he actually killed them as the places the girls were found were probably just where he dumped them; after that they should have a lot more to go on.

And as you said Ipswich is a big place but it's also surrounded by a lot of rural land. Thats bad considering there are a lot of places he can hide and dump the bodies assuming he kills again......

what ever happens they will definately catch him.
no doubt, with todays technology his time is very limited. but im hoping he dont stop now.
due to the fact that if he does goto ground depending on what hes left in the way of evidence (if any) he will be very much harder to catch.
i hope i didnt give the impression that prostitutes are somehow less worthy of protection then any other woman.
im just saying that although its terrible to say it , him carrying on is the best bet .

Update: Prostitute told of fear before vanishing, but 'needed money'

IPSWICH, England (AFP) - One of five prostitutes feared killed by a possible serial murderer in Ipswich had voiced deep concerns for her safety in a TV interview given just days before she vanished, it has emerged.

Paula Clennell, 24, told ITV Anglia that she knew she was taking a chance by continuing to work the streets, but that the need to earn outweighed her fears.

Clennell gave the interview last Tuesday, after the first killing had been confirmed and four days before she disappeared.

"The girls are probably wary about coming out now," she said.

Viewed only from behind, apparently for fear of being identified by police who might pursue her for prostitution offences, she said she was "a bit wary about getting into cars" after the first killings.

She admitted that in the past she had had "a couple of nasty experiences," including being beaten up once.

But she added: "I need the money".

Clennell has not been since since Saturday, and her body was feared to be one of two corpses found Tuesday south of Ipswich, bringing the death total at the hands of the so-called "Ipswich Ripper" to five.

The corpses of the first two murdered prostitutes, Gemma Adams, 25, and 19-year-old Tania Nicol, who both went missing from Ipswich's red light district, were found on December 2 and 9 respectively.

The strangled body of a third woman, 24-year-old Anneli Alderton, was found on December 10.

On the same day police said they were worried about Clennell, and Annette Nicholls, 29, not seen since December 4, and warned all other prostitutes to stay off streets.

Clennell's anguished father, Brian Clennell, said Wednesday he had no idea his daughter had turned to prostitution to fund a drug habit.

"I'm going through hell," he told the BBC, struggling to control his emotions, adding that his daughter had been "led up the wrong path at the wrong time".
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Pretty bad drug addiction if she knew of the murders and still kept it up. Her father seemly is going through hell now being faced with all of this as well.

Hope they catch the guy(s) soon! Reminds me of the Green River Killer here in the states. It took waaaay too long to catch that scum! When the authorities catch him/them don't be suprised if it's something simple that trips him/them up. For Gary Ridgeway, it was paint from his job at Kenworth Trucking.

Yet as someone else pointed out, it might be more than one person involved. Here in California, the Hillside Strangler, was actually stranglers & cousins, Buono and Bianchi. They too were busted by evidence being traced back to their shop!

Killers sometimes target prostitutes cause it's hard to tell when they are actually missing, unless they tell someone. They might switch to "a more profitable place" or move to a different city or state all together. Who knows if the body count is accurate or not?

As to a possible motive, how bout if he feels like he is "cleaning up the city". That's not unheard of. People get tired of all things that prostitution may bring...drugs, crime, etc...and take matters into their own hands.

yeah glynne i suppose a vigilante type could be possible but i think its un likely.
in the mind of this or these nutters i suppose they may say to themselves"we are doing everyone a favor" .
but vigilantes are very rare indeed. and tend to target stronger victims like for example :
drug dealers, pimps and pedos that kinda thing.
thats bcos they are strong minded and have a sense of civil courage.

but this idea of the body count being right could be true lets hope your wrong !!
because he seems very sure of himself.
maybe hes had the practice already.

news just in, the killer may be linked to a load of similar unsolved murders thats been going on fopr the past 14 years.

Well so he might of been going longer that doesn't hold much hope for the police in catching him, but just heard on talk sport news thing that a driver has seen 'something' that might help their investigation

well well not good news at all.
if he really is connected to past experiences of this nature hes now pretty good at it which helps explain why hes so confident.
and worse that he can control the urges for long periods of time, which if he decides to do right now could be a real bummer.

Whose to say he ever stopped?

Those bodies could be burried in the many acres of land that Ipswich has thats remote. But it is a problem as if this is the same guy that did th emurders all them years ago he's probably now good at it as you say and will be even harder to track down.

Now they've identified the fourth and fifth bodies as Paula Clennell and Annette Nicholls Paula
and Annette
.

If the murderer/murderers did commit those crimes a few years ago he might try and lay low for a while again and start again in a few years time in a different place.

It would make it easier for other members, if you could post a link or a source rather than saying "news just in". However I don't think most people would now be surprized if many older unsolved crimes are linked?

5 victims in 6 weeks, 6 if we count the unborn baby of one the victims, is closer to the definition of a spree killer than a serial killer? Whatever, lets hope the police get a major lead and fast. Prostitutes have enough crap to deal with as it is without being murdered by some likely sexually dysfunctional, power maniac who's compensation for not getting it up is to take them down.

Spree killer isn't that all within a quick point of time like that guy who killed 57 and himself on the same day, i always thought the time space were talking here a few weeks is more serial killer. But in looking at a definition of a spree killer i suppose a few weeks does fit the bill but still soemthing needs to be done.

Also on a side note maybe this guy is power hungry, but maybe he wants to be 'remembered', it's a sick way to be but people like Fred West etc will be remembered for what they did so maybe he wants to be remembered....

A 37 year old man is assisting police with their enquiries, having being arrested, I heard tonight on the news. Hopefully it is the perp.

Man Held in Britain Prostitute Killings
Email this Story

Dec 18, 8:33 AM (ET)

By MARTIN BENEDYK



IPSWICH, England (AP) - Police hunting a suspected serial killer following the murders of five prostitutes in eastern England arrested a 37-year-old man on Monday and cordoned off a group of houses.

The man was arrested at his home in Trimley St. Martin, near the port of Felixstowe, Detective Chief Superintendent Stewart Gull said in a brief statement to reporters. He declined to say where the suspect was being held.

"He has been arrested on the suspicion of murdering all five women," Gull said.

News reports identified the suspect as Tom Stephens, who was quoted in the Sunday Mirror newspaper as saying he knew all five women, and that he had been interviewed four times under caution - meaning that he was regarded as a potential suspect - by police investigating the slayings.


"From the police profiling it does look like me - white male between 25 and 40, knows the area, works strange hours. The bodies have got close to my house," Stephens was quoted as saying.

"If new information, coincidental information, crops up, I could get arrested," Stephens was quoted as saying. He added that he was confident he would not be charged.

Trimley is eight miles southeast of Ipswich, where all five victims worked as prostitutes.

Their naked bodies were found in rural areas near Ipswich, 70 miles northeast of London, over a 10-day span beginning Dec. 2. Three were found near the main road and the rail line between Ipswich and Felixstowe; the other two were discovered near the same road south and southwest of Ipswich.

The investigation had strained the resources of England's smallest police forces, and 340 investigators were brought in from across Britain to join 160 Suffolk officers working on the case.

Earlier Monday, police announced that coroner's inquests into the deaths of Tania Nicol, Anneli Alderton, Paula Clennell and Annette Nicholls had been postponed.

Clennell, 24, died of compression to her neck, and Alderton, 24, was strangled, a senior pathologist determined. Post-mortem examinations of the bodies of Nicol, 19, and Nicholls, reached no conclusion on the cause of death.

An inquest into the death of Gemma Adams, 25, was opened and adjourned last week. The pathologist reached no conclusion about the cause of her death.

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So they might of caught him, or a hoaxer as they did with The RIpper. Ah well i feel this is some good news for Ipswich.

Any one think they named him too prematurely? From what I hear it sounds like they don't have any actual evidence to suggest that he did it other than the fact that he knew the women. Unless there's information they're not giving out, I don't think it's likely to be him.

it instantly reminded me of jack the ripper when its says prostitutes

Yes, Jack the Ripper instantly comes to mind...

Modern day Jack the Ripper.

they have arrested some guy who claimed to have been good friends with all of them

they will have good reasons to have taken this suspect,(many people must have given his name)
more than likely hes well known to the police too.
as well as many of the prostitutes he has as "friends".
the police have announced that they are still holding him and have now taken another man into custody too.
my guess is that these two know each other and would have to have come to the attention of the police b4.

if they are the right ones, and if there is very little solid forensics, then the questions and answers session had better be very clean and hope that they can make enough mistakes to crack one of the duo.
the fact that this 1st dude has said he " has no alibi " for any of the nights goes a long way in his favour!
what ever you say 1st in an interview is crucial !!!
that sets the direction of much of the questions and answers session.
he seems very cool so maybe this wont be easy for the police to proove.
lets see what the new suspect says?

Yea I agree Raptor.






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