Police focus on mystery man

2006-12-14 16:05

Ipswich - British police hunting a feared serial killer confirmed a fourth murder victim on Thursday, as attention turned to a mystery man in a blue BMW who may provide a key to the shocking deaths.

The fourth victim was one of two found on Tuesday, whose bodies have still not yet been formally identified but are believed to be two more prostitutes, adding to three sex workers already confirmed as victims of a killer.

Gull has said he fears the two bodies found on Tuesday near the village of Levington "may well be" those of missing 24-year-old Paula Clennell and Annette Nicholls, 29.

Three sex workers are already confirmed to have been murdered - Gemma Adams, 25, 19-year-old Tania Nicol, and 24-year-old Anneli Alderton, in the quiet eastern town of Ipswich.

"Clearly we believe the two girls at Levington are those two girls," Detective Chief Superintendent Stewart Gull told reporters, giving an update on the investigation.

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.

But police chief Gull confirmed the hunt for the BMW and its driver in a radio interview, while stressing the complexity of the case.

"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," Gull told BBC radio.

Only one prostitute touting for business

The probe in the normally tranquil town, about 80 miles north-east of London, are ploughing through some 5 500 calls from the public and trying to trace the victims' last movements.

One of the latest two bodies has already been removed from woodland for a post-mortem and the second was likely to be taken away on Thursday after two days in situ while police gathered forensic evidence.

Ipswich was again eerily quiet on Wednesday night, despite the Christmas party season being in full swing elsewhere in Britain.

In the red light district, only one prostitute was openly touting for business, but dozens of police and journalists were about.

As the massive hunt continues, new theories are emerging as to the murderer's methods and identity.

Police are checking whether the killer may be responsible for the death of teenage prostitute Natalie Pearman, who was strangled in the nearby city of Norwich and found semi-naked in 1992, along with four other murders, the Daily Mail said.

Her mother told the newspaper: "The police said as soon as there is confirmation of a strong link I will be the first to know about it."

But Gull told BBC television that his team were not linking the deaths to others in the region.

- AFP