Keep off the streets, British prostitutes urged
By Alessia Pierdomenico
Wed Dec 13, 8:17 AM ET

LEVINGTON (Reuters) - Police hunting a serial killer who is murdering women at a rate unprecedented in British criminal history urged prostitutes on Wednesday to stay off the streets.

Five naked bodies have been found near the eastern English port town of Ipswich in the last 11 days, terrifying the community in an area where serious crime is relatively rare.

Detectives have identified three of the dead women as prostitutes. Police said they feared the other two bodies may be sex workers from Ipswich who had been reported missing.

Paula Clennell, 24, has not been seen since Saturday and Annette Nicholls, 29, has been missing for at least a week.

"Three of their peers have been murdered, now tragically possibly another two. It's not safe. They need to stay off the streets," Detective Chief Superintendent Stewart Gull told BBC radio.

The discovery of so many victims in so few days has raised fears another "Ripper" targeting prostitutes is on the loose.

The most notorious such killer was the 19th-century murderer known as Jack the Ripper, blamed for the deaths of five prostitutes in east London in 1888 but never found.

The most prolific was Peter Sutcliffe, called the Yorkshire Ripper, who murdered 13 women, mainly prostitutes, in northern England from 1975 to 1980 before he was caught.

NEWSPAPER REWARD

Reinforcements have been drafted in to help the small Suffolk police force in its largest inquiry. Prime Minister Tony Blair's office said it had been in touch with police to ensure all necessary resources were available.

Police said they had received more than 2,000 telephone calls from members of the public in just five hours.

"Our number one priority is to find the person or persons responsible," said Gull.

"We are coming into the festive period and people are going to be out and about. We would advise them to take care," he told a news conference.

Gull said all five girls had been murdered elsewhere and their bodies dumped. Police were looking for the murder scenes.

The News of the World, Britain's biggest selling newspaper, offered a reward of 250,000 pounds ($490,000) for the capture of the person it dubbed the "Suffolk Strangler."

The two latest bodies were discovered in Levington, east of Ipswich, close to where the naked body of another victim, Anneli Alderton, 24, was found in woodland on Sunday.

Mike Berry, a criminal psychologist, said the Ipswich killer was an exceptionally cold-blooded and skilful operator.

"The killer may be confident he will not be caught," he wrote in the Daily Mirror. "He will be fascinated by the coverage of the case ... he will be thinking 'the game is on'."

A huge police inquiry began on December 2 when the body of Gemma Adams, 25, was found in a stream near Ipswich. Police found 19-year-old Tania Nicol's body in the same stream on December 8.

Even though it's been 118 years since the original Ripper killers, I'm pretty certain that Jack is back. Evil never dies.

The truth about Jack The Ripper: