Prostitute murder hunt priority

LONDON – British police were racing against time yesterday to find the killer of five women, all thought to be prostitutes, before another person dies.

Five naked bodies have been found in and around the town of Ipswich, eastern England, in the last 11 days, striking fear into the community that a serial killer is on the loose. Detectives have identified three of the dead women as prostitutes.Two other sex workers are missing and police fear the worst following the discovery of two more bodies on Tuesday.Paula Clennell, 24, has not been seen since Saturday and Annette Nicholls, 29, has been missing for at least a week.”The natural assumption (is) that these are the two missing women,” said Detective Chief Superintendent Stewart Gull.The bodies were discovered in the Nacton area to the east of Ipswich, close to where the naked body of another of the victims, Anneli Alderton, 24, was found in woodland on Sunday.In a chilling twist, Clennell spoke to a television crew last week when the murder hunt was underway.”It could happen to anyone,” she told ITV news in comments reported in British newspapers on Wednesday.”It’s made me a bit worried about getting into cars.”The rapid discovery of so many victims has terrified locals in the provincial town and raised fears that 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.Nampa-ReutersDetectives have identified three of the dead women as prostitutes.Two other sex workers are missing and police fear the worst following the discovery of two more bodies on Tuesday.Paula Clennell, 24, has not been seen since Saturday and Annette Nicholls, 29, has been missing for at least a week.”The natural assumption (is) that these are the two missing women,” said Detective Chief Superintendent Stewart Gull.The bodies were discovered in the Nacton area to the east of Ipswich, close to where the naked body of another of the victims, Anneli Alderton, 24, was found in woodland on Sunday.In a chilling twist, Clennell spoke to a television crew last week when the murder hunt was underway.”It could happen to anyone,” she told ITV news in comments reported in British newspapers on Wednesday.”It’s made me a bit worried about getting into cars.”The rapid discovery of so many victims has terrified locals in the provincial town and raised fears that 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.Nampa-Reuters