Ipswich serial murders

The bodies of victims were found at various locations around Ipswich.

The 2006 Ipswich murder investigation began during December 2006 when the bodies of five murdered women were discovered at different locations near Ipswich in Suffolk, England. All of the murder victims were prostitutes working in Ipswich. Suffolk Police have linked the killings in their murder investigation. A forklift truck driver, Steven Gerald James Wright, aged 48, was arrested on suspicion of murder on Tuesday 19 December, 2006 and charged with the murders of all five women on Thursday 21 December, 2006.

Confirmed victims

On 2 December 2006, the body of Gemma Adams, a 25-year-old from Ipswich, was discovered in Belstead Brook near Hintlesham. She had been missing since leaving home on 15 November, just over a fortnight before. A member of the public spotted the body in the water at Thorpe's Hill, and it was identified as Adams. The police treated the death as suspicious. She had not been sexually assaulted. Six days later, on 8 December, the body of 19-year-old Tania Nicol, a friend of Adams, who had been missing since 30 October, was discovered in water at Copdock Mill just outside Ipswich. There was no evidence she had been sexually assaulted.

On the following Sunday, 10 December, a third victim was found dead in an area of woodland by the A14 road by a member of the public near Nacton. She was later identified as 24-year-old Anneli Alderton and, according to a police statement, was asphyxiated. She was around three-months-pregnant when she died.

On 12 December, Suffolk police announced that the bodies of two additional women had been found. On 14 December 2006 police confirmed one of the bodies to be that of Paula Clennell, 24. She disappeared on 10 December and was last seen in Ipswich. In Suffolk Police's words she died from compression of the throat. On 15 December, the police confirmed that the other body is that of Annette Nicholls, 29, who disappeared on 5 December. These bodies were also found in Nacton near the Levington turn-off of the A1156, in the vicinity of where Anneli Alderton was found. A member of the public had seen one of the bodies just 20 feet (6 metres) from the main road, and the police discovered the second body by helicopter whilst conducting their initial investigation.

Details of victims

• Gemma Adams aged 25, from Ipswich, disappeared on Wednesday 15 November at approximately 01.15am (GMT). After growing up in Kesgrave, she studied for a General National Vocational Qualification (GNVQ) in health and social care at Suffolk College, before gaining a job at a local insurance company. She had a heroin addiction, and after losing her job Adams started working in prostitution to pay for her habit. Her naked body was found on Saturday 2 December 2006, 17 days after her disappearance, in a river at Hintlesham, Suffolk. Adams was the first of the victims to be found. She was not sexually assaulted.

• Tania Nicol aged 19, from Ipswich, disappeared on Monday 30 October at 10.30pm (GMT). Her mother reported her missing on Wednesday 1 November. Nicol was the first victim to disappear and was found naked 39 days later on Friday 8 December near Copdock Mill in a river. There was no evidence of sexual assault.

• Annette Nicholls aged 29, from Ipswich. She was a single mother of a one-year-old child; she disappeared on Tuesday 5 December at 9.50pm. Her body was found a week later on Tuesday 12 December near Levington. She was found naked but was not sexually assaulted.

• Anneli Alderton aged 24, mother of a five-year-old boy. She was three months pregnant at the time she vanished and had been living at a temporary address in Colchester, Essex. She went missing on Sunday 3 December 2006 and was last seen on the 5.53pm train from Harwich to Manningtree; she got off the train at Manningtree at 6.15pm before going on to Ipswich via another train, arriving at 6.43pm. Her body was found on Sunday 10 December near Nacton in woodland in front of Amberfield school. She had been asphyxiated and left naked but not sexually assaulted. Police think she was at this final location by Tuesday 7 December, as confirmed by a man who had mistaken her body for a mannequin.

• Paula Clennell aged 24, mother of three children. Born in Newcastle but was living in Ipswich. She vanished on Sunday 10 December in Ipswich around 12.20am. Her body was found on Tuesday 12 December near Levington on the same day as Annette Nicholls. She was also found naked but was not sexually assaulted. Her post mortem reported that she was killed by a compression of her throat.

The police investigation

Suffolk police linked the killings and launched a murder investigation, codenamed Operation Sumac. At a press conference on 10 December, detectives from the Suffolk Constabulary issued a warning to all women in Ipswich not to work the streets, and said they had received offers of assistance from neighbouring police forces, particularly Norfolk, in their hunt for the killer or killers.

Chief Constable Alastair McWhirter has also acknowledged that the Suffolk force will be reliant on external assistance due to the magnitude of the investigation. A senior investigator with the Metropolitan Police, Commander Dave Johnston was reported to have been drafted into the murder inquiry team from Scotland Yard in London, to advise the Suffolk force. The day-to-day investigation is being conducted by Detective Chief Superintendent Stewart Gull. Police have not ruled out a possible link between the current investigation and the 1992 killings in Suffolk. Furthermore, links are being sought with a number of other disappearances.

At subsequent press conferences on 13 December and 14 December, DCS Gull revealed that police believe the locations where the five corpses were found to have been 'deposition sites' not murder scenes - that the victims were all killed elsewhere and transported to the locations where they were later found - although he was unable to indicate where the women had been murdered, nor whether the crimes took place at a single location or at multiple sites. He also revealed that some items of women's clothing and accessories including a handbag and jacket had been recovered and were being subjected to forensic tests to establish whether they belonged to any of the murdered women.

During the course of the press briefings, DCS Gull stated that over 200 police officers were involved in the investigation, and some 400-450 calls were being received daily by detectives.

On 15 December Suffolk Constabulary's website revealed that a total of 7,300 telephone calls had been made to police regarding the investigation, and that over 250 police staff were working on the cases, with support from 26 other police forces. As of 18 December, the number of officers involved in the investigation had increased to 500, a further 350 officers from 30 other police forces had assisted in the inquiry, which involved detectives trawling through 10,000 hours of CCTV footage. The number of calls received regarding the case had also increased to around 10,000.

Police have contacted 300 registered sex offenders in Suffolk regarding the attacks.

A friend of Gemma Adams has revealed that she was interviewed by the police on Sunday 17 December, after volunteering information about 'strange' conversations that Adams had mentioned having with an unknown regular client in the weeks before she went missing. This man is said to have repeatedly told Adams things like, "I will make you famous." and, "How would you like to be on TV?" Police are apparently not ruling out the possible undertones of these words in the light of Adams's murder.

On 17 December, British newspaper the News of the World reported that police were investigating a senior officer from another force after Paula Clennell named him as one of her regular clients in an interview with detectives. She also revealed that the officer was also a regular client of one of the other victims. At the time of the interview, Gemma Adams's body had been found and Tania Nichol was missing. DCS Stewart Gull, who is heading the investigation into the murders, is quoted as saying "Regardless of whether he's a police officer, I am not going to be drawn on a particular individual. He won't be treated any differently because of who he is. This is a murder investigation".

Arrest of suspects

On Monday, 18 December, Suffolk Police reported that they had arrested a 37-year-old man on suspicion of murdering all five women. The man was arrested at 7.20am in his house at Trimley St. Martin near Felixstowe, Suffolk. Media sources later named the man as Tom Stephens , a local supermarket worker, part-time taxi-driver, and, from 1992 to 1997, a special constable with Norfolk Police. It was reported that he had been forced to quit his police job over an inappropriate relationship with a prostitute. Stephens had given an interview published in the Sunday Mirror on the previous day, claiming that he had befriended all of the five women who were killed. He also gave a recorded interview to the BBC in which he claimed to be "the closest thing Tania [Nicol] had as a boyfriend". A newspaper interview with former Ipswich sex worker Jackie Goldsmith claims that Stephens's relationship with many of the women who worked in Ipswich's red light area was that of a client who also became a trusted friend over the 18 months preceding his arrest.

Stephens also had a MySpace profile, in which he called himself "The Bishop" and described his principal interest as "keeping fit". After it was published by several news outlets, it was removed by MySpace.

The detention of Stephens was extended by magistrates on Thursday 21 December by a further period of 24 hours. This would take the total time he could be held to the maximum of 96 hours allowed under English law, with terrorism investigations being the only exception to these restrictions.

On Tuesday, 19 December, at 0500hrs, police arrested a second suspect, named locally, as Steve Wright, a 48-year-old, at his residence in Ipswich on suspicion of commiting murder. He was charged on 21 December 2006 with the five murders, and Stephens was released on bail.

On Wednesday 20 December, police were granted a 36-hour extension to Wright's detention. On 21 December a joint statement was issued by Detective Chief Superintendent Stewart Gull, and Michael Crimp, senior prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service in Suffolk. It was announced that Steven Wright had been charged with the murder of all five women. Police said that the other man, who was not officially named but is believed to be Tom Stephens, has been released on police bail.

Court appearances

Wright appeared before magistrates in Ipswich on Friday 22 December 2006 and was remanded in custody. On the 2 January 2007 he appeared before Judge John Devaux at Ipswich Crown Court. No plea was entered although Wright's solicitor indicated to ITV News that they were investigating the possibility of raising a 'no case to answer' defence, leading to speculation that Wright is planning to deny the charges. Karim Khalil QC, the barrister who successfully prosecuted Soham murderer Ian Huntley has been instructed to lead Wright's legal team in the forthcoming trial. Judge John Devaux adjourned the hearing until 1 May, and remanded Wright in custody. He is being held in the high security Belmarsh prison, in south London. Judge John Devaux said that a High Court judge, "probably Mr Justice Calvert" would preside over the hearing on 1 May.

Possible links to other crimes

Officers are also trying to establish whether the deaths of the five women in Suffolk are linked to the murders or disappearances of other women and teenage girls, including six in East Anglia, over the past 15 years These include:

• Diane McInally, aged 23, of the Gorbals, Glasgow, Scotland. Vanished in October 1991. The 23-year-old prostitute and drug addict's naked body was found dumped near bushes in a wood behind the Burrell Collection in Pollok Park, Glasgow. She died from compression to the neck. Two men were arrested but there was no prosecution.
• Natalie Pearman, aged 16, from Norwich, Norfolk. Disappeared in November 1992. Her body was found at Ringland Hills near Norwich. She had been strangled and was found partially clothed.
• Karen McGregor, aged 26, of Glasgow, Scotland, was found in bushes of a car park in Glasgow in 1993. She was found badly beaten, sexually assaulted, and strangled.
• Johanna Young, aged 14, from Watton, Breckland District, Norfolk. Reported missing on 23 December 1992, she was found in a nearby freezing pond half naked on Boxing Day (26 December).
• Mandy Duncan, aged 26, from Woodbridge, Suffolk. Disappeared in 1993 in Ipswich; her body has never been found.
• Vicky Hall, aged 17, was from Trimley St. Mary in Mid Suffolk. Vanished on 19 September 1999. Her body was found 5 days later 25 miles away in a river at Creeting St. Peter near Stowmarket. A local businessman was later tried and acquitted of her murder.
• Kellie Pratt, aged 29, from Norwich. Disappeared in 2000 in Norwich; her body has never been found.
• Michelle Bettles, aged 22, from Norwich. Reported missing on 28 March 2002, she was found dead 3 days later near Dereham in woodland at Scarning, Breckland District, Norfolk. Her body was found clothed.
• Molly Jean Dilts, 20; Kim Raffo, 35; Tracy Ann Roberts, 23; and Barbara V. Breidor, 42. All were known prostitutes and were found murdered in Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA in the month prior to the first recent Ipswich murder.

Media coverage

Before the bodies started to be recovered, coverage was mostly confined to the local media. The national BBC news began to report the investigation following the discovery of the remains of Tania Nicol, and after the discovery of the body of Anneli Alderton, the story started getting major exposure on a national and international level, with the British 24-hour-news channels Sky News and BBC News 24 devoting little time to any other events.

The murders have been likened to those by Peter Sutcliffe, the "Yorkshire Ripper" who was convicted of murdering 13 women, mainly those who worked as prostitutes, over a period of five years from 1975 to 1980 in northern England; and to "Jack the Ripper", the infamous Victorian serial murderer who also targeted prostitutes.

As with previous serial killers dating back to Jack the Ripper, many sections of the media have attempted to coin a name for the presumed murderer, using the terms "The Suffolkator", "Ipswich Ripper", "Suffolk Strangler", "Suffolk Ripper", and "East Anglia Ripper" to refer to the case. The Times dubbed the murderer "the Vice Girl Killer", and in Australia, the media has referred to the killer as the "Red Light Ripper"; in reference to Red-light districts and the world of vice, which prostitutes frequent.

Television news outside broadcasts have been presented from Suffolk Police headquarters, exemplified by the December 13 news conference including questions from well-known presenters such as Fiona Bruce and Kay Burley as opposed to reporters. Extensive coverage was provided by BBC's early evening regional programme Look East.

An ITV News Anglia Tonight reporter interviewed Paula Clennell about the initial murders just days before she went missing. She spoke of being wary of getting into cars with clients but continuing to work on the streets as she needed the money to fund her drug habit.

A reward was offered, first by local business Call Connection. It initially offered £25,000, this was raised to £50,000. Shortly after The News Of The World offered a £250,000 reward for leads to a direct arrest and conviction of the murderer/murderers bringing the total reward on offer to £300,000.

Criticisms of the media

After the arrest of Tom Stephens, BBC News decided to broadcast an audio interview that they had conducted with Stephens prior to his arrest; this interview was conducted for background information, and not originally intended for broadcast. This broadcast was criticised by some media lawyers. Christopher Sallon QC stated that the broadcast was in his opinion "absolutely wrong" and that "it is contrary to the Contempt of Court Act" and "contrary to the spirit" of that legislation. Julian Young, a defence lawyer, said that the broadcast could be "prejudicial" as it could lead to the court deciding "there can't be a fair trial". However Adrian Van-Klaveren, deputy director of BBC News, said in his blog "We're confident nothing we've broadcast could prejudice a future trial". Joshua Rosenberg, the legal editor of the Daily Telegraph, expressed the view that the amount of information in the public domain would not have an effect on any possible future trials. On 21 December 2006, the Attorney General Lord Goldsmith issued guidance to the media after concerns were voiced by Suffolk Constabulary. Lord Goldsmith urged the media to show restraint in what they report about the two people being held, for fear of predjudicing any possible trial.

Coverage of related issues

The murders have refocused press attention on a number of controversial issues in British politics.

The first is that of prostitution in the United Kingdom. The laws concerning this have long been criticised. The Blair government had proposed changes to legislation related to prostitution in January 2006 but has not proceeded with them. Prostitution in itself is not illegal in the UK, but living off the proceeds of prostitution is. The murders have highlighted the vulnerability of prostitutes and the lack of action taken by the government, whether to be more punitive in the hope of reducing the numbers of prostitutes on the streets, to move towards legalised brothels and other measures to improve the safety of the women, or to target the demand for prostitution through prosecution of the clients, as is done in Sweden.

The second is that of drug use and whether it should be legalised or decriminalised, provided on prescription to registered addicts, or penalised more harshly.^{see below} High numbers (95% according to the Home Office) of street prostitutes in the United Kingdom have a history of substance abuse, and prostitution is one means of funding addiction.

A third area of debate relates to possible restructuring of police forces in Britain. During 2005, the government proposed merging smaller police forces in England and Wales (of which Suffolk Constabulary is one) with their neighbouring counterparts with the stated aims of improving the ability to pursue major inquiries (such as anti-terrorism, drug-trafficking and other similar complex investigations) and making efficiency savings. However, this plan was subsequently abandoned in July 2006.

Local response to events

In response to the killings, a minute's silence was held before the football match between Ipswich Town and Leeds United on 16 December. A Reclaim the Night march took place on 29 December 2006.

Timeline of events

Alderton on a train in Essex the night she disappeared.

• 30 October 2006
  • Tania Nicol goes missing.
• 2 November 2006
  • Tom Stephens is interviewed voluntarily by the police.
• 7 November 2006
  • Nicol's mother issues an appeal for information.
• 15 November 2006
  • Gemma Adams goes missing, police appeal for information.
• 22 November 2006
  • Stephens's house is searched by police.
• 2 December 2006
  • Gemma Adams's body is found near Hintlesham west of Ipswich.
• 3 December 2006
  • Anneli Alderton goes missing.
• 5 December 2006
  • Annette Nicholls goes missing.
• 8 December 2006
  • Tania Nicol's body is found near Copdock southwest of Ipswich.
• 9 December 2006
  • Police confirm "obvious similarities" between the deaths of Nicol and Adams.
• 10 December 2006
  • Anneli Alderton's body is found near Nacton. Paula Clenell goes missing.
• 12 December 2006
  • Bodies of Nicholls and Clenell are found in close proximity to one another near Levington southeast of Ipswich.
  • Stephens is interviewed by the BBC.
• 13 December 2006
  • Police in Suffolk reveal that there has been a large public response in aid of the investigation.
  • Clothes of two women were found.
• 14 December 2006
  • Police confirm that one of the bodies found on 12 December near Levington is that of Paula Clennell.
• 15 December 2006
  • Police confirm that the second of the bodies found on 12 December is that of Annette Nicholls.
  • Sky News reports that a woman has been reported missing but she is later found safe.
  • Nicol's father makes public appeal to help solve her murder.
• 16 December 2006
  • Police release CCTV footage of Alderton on the day she vanished.
  • Police state that Anneli Alderton was three-months-pregnant.
• 18 December 2006
  • Detectives arrest a 37-year-old man at his home in Trimley St. Martin, on suspicion of the five counts of murder. The arrest took place at approximately 7.20am(GMT). The man was not named by police, but media sources later stated him to be Tom Stephens of Trimley St. Martin, a local supermarket worker, part-time taxi driver, and former special constable.
• 19 December 2006
  • A second male suspect, Steven Gerald James Wright, aged 48, from Ipswich, is arrested.
  • Magistrates grant police a 36-hour extension to hold and question the first arrested suspect.
• 21 December 2006
  • Lord Goldsmith, the Attorney General, issued guidelines to the media regarding the reporting of information about the two men in custody.
  • Police announce that they have released Tom Stephens on bail, while Steven Wright has been charged with the murder of all five women and will appear in court the next day.
• 22 December 2006
  • Steven Wright appears in court before Ipswich magistrates and is remanded in custody.
• 2 January 2007
  • Steven Gerald James Wright appeared in Ipswich Crown Court.

See also

• Unsolved murders in the UK
• Serial killer
• Spree killer
• Jack the Ripper

Media resources

• Ipswich murdered women, BBC News
• Suffolk murders section, Sky News
• Red Light Murders, Ipswich Evening Star
• Vice Girl Murders, East Anglian Daily Times
• Special report: Suffolk murders - The Guardian
  • Continually updated listing of relevant news stories at the Guardian site, profiles of victims (both confirmed and assumed) and other information.

Newspaper editorials

• The case has caused some British newspapers to examine prostitution in the United Kingdom:
  • Drugs are the curse of our land and turn women into prostitutes - Simon Heffer - Daily Telegraph, December 13 2006
  • Why these women are paying the price of a zero tolerance approach to street prostitution - Deborah Orr - The Independent, December 13 2006
  • How we let Gemma and Tania down - The case for legalised prostitution is clear - Alice Miles - The Times, December 13 2006
  • Drugs: why we should medicalise, not criminalise (examining UK drug laws as they relate to the Suffolk case) - Mary Ann Sieghart - The Times, December 14 2006 and its current drugs policy.

External links

• Suffolk Police: Murder Enquiry - Summary 19 December 2006