No trace of serial killer as death toll mounts

A woman looks at the website of News of the World in London, yesterday that offered a record £250,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a serial murderer feared to have killed five prostitutes in a quiet English town. PHOTO: AFP

Detectives stepped up the search for forensic evidence after the discovery Tuesday near Ipswich of two corpses believed to be those of missing prostitutes Paula Clennell, 24, and 29-year-old Annette Nicholls.

The finds bring to five the number of bodies found in less than two weeks near the eastern port town.

They have evoked thoughts of one of Britain's most notorious serial killers, east London's elusive Jack the Ripper, who murdered five prostitutes in 1888 and was linked to several other killings.

They have also revived more recent memories of Peter Sutcliffe, the "Yorkshire Ripper", who preyed on prostitutes and murdered 13 women and attacked seven others between 1975 and 1980.

All the corpses have been found in the countryside around Ipswich, some 80 miles northeast of London, prompting one of Britain's biggest ever murder inquiries.

"This is a most unprecedented inquiry. Nothing like this has ever happened," said Alastair McWhirter, chief constable, or head, of Suffolk Police.

"If you think back to the Yorkshire Ripper, the murders there took place over a long period of time ... We're responding to it effectively and as well as we possibly can."

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.

Police confirmed Tuesday that the strangled body of a third woman found in woods Sunday was 24-year-old Anneli Alderton.

Later that day, a member of the public found a fourth body and a police helicopter crew member called out to survey the scene spotted the fifth shortly afterwards.

The streets of Ipswich were virtually deserted overnight -- the 30 or so prostitutes who usually work the red light district seemed to heed police advice to stay indoors, while the streets were all but empty of revellers during the normally busy Christmas party season.

Pairs of police officers carried out patrols to reassure local people for the second night running, while motorists were being stopped and questioned.