British detectives probing the deaths of five women by a feared serial killer are hunting a mystery man in a blue BMW who may provide a key to the affair, a top police officer said on Thursday.
The focus on a ”chubby” driver seen by witnesses came as police were expected to confirm formally the identity of two bodies believed to be victims of the so-called ”Suffolk Strangler”, centred on the quiet town of Ipswich.
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.
The police chief leading the investigation, Detective Chief Superintendent Stewart 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.
The probe in the normally tranquil town, about 130km north-east of London, is ploughing through about 2 500 calls from the public and trying to trace the victims’ last movements.
Three sex workers are already confirmed dead — Gemma Adams (25), 19-year-old Tania Nicol and 24-year-old Anneli Alderton.
And Gull confirmed again that he feared the two bodies found on Tuesday ”may well be” those of missing prostitutes, 24-year-old Paula Clennell and Annette Nicholls (29) — although they have not yet been formally identified.
Two days after those grisly discoveries, police are desperate to find the clothes worn by any of the dead women, and want to establish if clothing found in a local river and a handbag from the town centre are significant.
One of the latest two bodies has already been removed from the woodland for a post-mortem and the second is likely to be taken away on Thursday after two days in situ while police gathered forensic evidence.
Ipswich was again eerily quiet 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 for what some British press is calling ”The Ipswich Ripper” continues, new theories are emerging as to his 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.
Meanwhile, a friend of Clennell sent her a text on the day she vanished asking if she was OK and received reply that police believe may have been sent by the killer to buy time or for kicks, the Daily Mirror said.
Suffolk Police could not confirm or deny the claims.
Unidentified senior detectives told The Times that all five victims were either suffocated or strangled, and found naked except for their jewellery.
The case has evoked the memory of one of Britain’s most notorious serial killers, east London’s elusive Jack the Ripper, who murdered five prostitutes in 1888, as well as the ”Yorkshire Ripper”, Peter Sutcliffe, who preyed on prostitutes, murdering 13 women between 1975 and 1980. — AFP
