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Chris Clark (writer)

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Chris Clark
Born1945 or 1946[1][2]
Occupation(s)Crime writer, documentary maker, retired Norfolk Police intelligence officer

Chris Clark (born 1945/6) is a British author who writes chiefly about serial killers and their possible links to unsolved crimes. He is a retired police intelligence officer who worked for Norfolk Police. In 2022, his book Yorkshire Ripper: The Secret Murders, which was jointly written with journalist Tim Tate and alleged links between Peter Sutcliffe and unsolved murders, was made into an ITV prime-time documentary series of the same name.

As well as Sutcliffe, Clark has also written about Angus Sinclair, Christopher Halliwell and Robert Black, styling himself as the Armchair Detective. Although his work has led to police re-investigations of some cases and has featured heavily in the press, his theories on some other cases have also been discredited or definitively disproven.

Background

Clark was born in 1945/6 and was schooled across England and Singapore.[2][1] He originally worked as a gardener in Norfolk, tending gardens on behalf of The Queen, but grew dissatisfied with this work and changed carer to working for Norfolk Constabulary.[3] He worked as an intelligence officer between 1987 and 1994, examining the patterns of criminality across Britain.[3] In 2002 he met his second wife who he subsequently discovered had survived an attempted abduction by the serial child killer Robert Black.[4][2] Clark states that this led to his writing about unsolved crimes, styling himself as the "Armchair Detective".[5]

Books and documentaries

In 2015, Clark published a book with investigative journalist Tim Tate titled Yorkshire Ripper: The Secret Murders. It alleged that, between 1966 and 1980, Peter Sutcliffe was responsible for numerous unsolved attacks and at least 22 more murders than he was convicted of.[6] Due to the popularity of the book it was in 2022 turned into a two-part prime-time ITV documentary series of the same name, which featured both Clark and Tate.[7] Clark and Tate claimed there were links between Sutcliffe and unsolved murders across the country, such as that of Jacqueline Ansell-Lamb and Barbara Mayo, Judith Roberts, Wendy Sewell, Eve Stratford and Lynne Weedon, Carol Wilkinson and Patsy Morris.[6] As part of the research for the book, Clark and Tate claimed to have found evidence that pointed to the wrong man having been convicted for the Sewell murder, having unearthed a pathology report which allegedly indicated that the originally convicted Stephen Downing could not have committed the crime.[8] The Home Office responded by stating that it would send any new evidence to the police.[8] Derbyshire Police dismissed the theory, pointing to the fact that a reinvestigation in 2002 had found that only Stephen Downing couldn't be ruled out of the investigation, and responded by stating that there was no evidence linking Sutcliffe to the crime.[8]

In 2017, Clark co-wrote a book on Robert Black with author Robert Giles, titled The Face of Evil: The True Story of the Serial Killer Robert Black. It claimed that Black could be linked to a number of unsolved disappearances and murders across Britain and Europe, such as the Genette Tate, Mary Boyle and April Fabb cases.[9]

In 2021, he published two other books on crimes linked to Angus Sinclair and Christopher Halliwell with podcast authors Adam Lloyd and Bethan Trueman.[10][11] Clark's investigations and claims that Halliwell could be responsible for the 1994 murder of Julie Finley near Liverpool contributed to the establishment of a formal reinvestigation of the murder and of Halliwell's potential links to the case.[12][13]

Clark is also a television consultant for other crime television documentaries.[14] He and his theories continue to make regular appearances in the press.[15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]

Discredited theories

A number of Clark's theories have been dismissed by police or have been subsequently disproven. Some links suggested in Clark's books were also previously investigated and discounted by police before the books were published.

The New Millennium Serial Killer

In The New Millennium Serial Killer, Clark claimed that Halliwell was responsible for the 2002 murder of Rachel Wilson in Middlesbrough.[23] However, in November 2021 Keith Hall was jailed for the murder after pleading guilty, and Clark was forced to admit that Halliwell had not committed the attack.[24][25] Clark and his investigative partner Tim Hicks had previously been reprimanded by Cleveland Police for claiming in the North Yorks Enquirer and in the Daily Star that Halliwell, and not this man, was responsible, with the latter article being ordered to be removed as it was prejudicial to the inquiry (the suspect was still under investigation at the time).[26] Clark had previously claimed that Wilson's murder was one of three similar killings committed in the area by Halliwell alongside Donna Keogh in 1998 and Vicky Glass in 2000. After the individual was convicted of Wilson's murder in 2021 he claimed that Halliwell was still responsible for the other two murders.[25]

In the same month as the conviction in the Wilson case three unrelated individuals were charged with the murder of Caroline Glachan, another case Clark had claimed was committed by Halliwell.[27][28] Police have firmly ruled out any connection between Halliwell and the murder of Melanie Hall, another case Clark claimed to have been committed by Halliwell, and in 2019 detectives had already announced they had DNA evidence in the case.[29] Detectives are also already known to have DNA evidence in two other cases Clark alleged were linked to Halliwell: the "Bath Rapist" case and the murder of Lindsay Rimer.[30][31]

North Yorkshire Police also insist that there is no evidence linking Halliwell to the disappearance of Claudia Lawrence, with Wiltshire Police pointing out that they have CCTV evidence of Halliwell in Swindon on the night she disappeared in York (over 200 miles driving distance away).[32]

Clark alleged in the book that Halliwell could have killed Linda Razzell, a woman who disappeared from Swindon in 2002.[33] However, her husband Glynn Razzell was convicted of the murder and his appeals against his conviction have failed. Linda's family say they have no doubt over his guilt and they have dismissed the idea that Halliwell could have committed the murder.[34] In 2018 highly-regarded miscarriage of justice organisation Inside Justice investigated the Razzell case as part of a BBC documentary, Conviction, but in fact concluded that the conviction was safe and concluded there was no evidence linking Halliwell to the crime other than rumour.[35]

Yorkshire Ripper: The Secret Murders

A number of murders Clark and Tate claimed could be linked to Sutcliffe already have DNA evidence, such as the murders of Barbara Mayo, Eve Stratford and Lynne Weedon, and investigators are known to already have a copy of Sutcliffe's DNA and have been able to rule him out of unsolved cases as a result, such as in the Lesley Molseed case.[36][37][38]

One murder that was linked to Sutcliffe in the book, that of Alison Morris in Ramsey, Essex on 1 September 1979, took place only 6.5 hours before his known killing of Barbara Leach in Bradford, over 200 miles away.[37] Clark and Tate claimed that Sutcliffe had been in Essex and still had enough time to drive back from Essex to kill Leach 6.5 hours later.[39]

One supposedly "unsolved" murder linked to Sutcliffe in The Secret Murders, that of Marion Spence in Leeds in 1979, had in fact already been solved in January 1980 when a man was convicted of her murder.[40][37]

Books

  • Clark, Chris; Lloyd, Adam (2021). Gone Fishing: The Unsolved Crimes of Angus Sinclair. London: Mango Books. ISBN 978-1-914277-22-1.
  • Clark, Chris; Tate, Tim (2015). Yorkshire Ripper: The Secret Murders. The True Story of how Peter Sutcliffe's Terrible Reign of Terror Claimed at Least 22 More Lives. London: John Blake. ISBN 978-1784184186.
  • Clark, Chris; Trueman, Bethan (2021). The New Millennium Serial Killer. Wakefield: Crime Publishing Network. ISBN 978-1-8384861-0-5.
  • Giles, Robert; Clark, Chris (2017). The Face of Evil: The True Story of the Serial Killer Robert Black. London: John Blake. ISBN 9781786068415.

References

  1. ^ a b Clark & Tate 2015, pp. xv–xvi.
  2. ^ a b c Clark, Chris (2014). "About the Armchair Detective". Armchair Detective. Chris Clark. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  3. ^ a b Clark & Tate 2015, p. forward.
  4. ^ Clark & Tate 2015, p. xiz-xxd.
  5. ^ Clark & Tate 2015, p. xx.
  6. ^ a b Clark & Tate 2015.
  7. ^ "Yorkshire Ripper: The Secret Murders. Episode 1". ITV Hub. ITV. 23 February 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  8. ^ a b c "Wendy Sewell murder: Pathology report 'contradicts conviction'". BBC News. 15 January 2014. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  9. ^ Giles & Clark 2017.
  10. ^ Clark & Lloyd 2021.
  11. ^ Clark & Trueman 2021.
  12. ^ Clark & Trueman 2021, p. 137.
  13. ^ "New line of enquiry as police renew hunt for Julie Finley's killer". LancsLive. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  14. ^ Clark & Lloyd 2021, p. rear cover.
  15. ^ "Templeton Woods: Did Angus Sinclair's brother-in-law murder two Dundee women?". The Courier (Dundee). 24 June 2021. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  16. ^ "The Yorkshire Ripper and the unsolved Swedish murders". BBC News. 12 January 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  17. ^ "Is Christopher Halliwell one of Britain's biggest serial killers? New book links killer to 27 more murders". Evening Standard. 31 August 2021. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  18. ^ "Murderer Christopher Halliwell 'linked to 27 more murders' claims new book". GloucestershireLive. 1 September 2021. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  19. ^ "Former police officer links serial killer Robert Black to other missing girls in new book". Daily Record. 1 May 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  20. ^ "The Yorkshire Ripper may have committed 20 further crimes, ITV documentary claims". The Telegraph. 22 February 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  21. ^ "10 secret murders the Yorkshire Ripper could have taken to his grave". Yorkshire Live. 23 February 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  22. ^ "Former police officer calls for new Yorkshire Ripper probe and believes there may be 'at least 30 more victims'". ChronicleLive. 15 November 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  23. ^ Clark & Trueman 2021, p. 188.
  24. ^ "Rachel Wilson killing: Keith Hall jailed for 2002 attack". BBC News. 1 November 2021. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  25. ^ a b "The River Tees Murders: Rachel Wilson solved". North Yorks Enquirer. 26 May 2021. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  26. ^ "POLICE MEDIA OPS AGAINST THE NYE HALLIWELL INVESTIGATION". North Yorks Enquirer. 8 November 2018. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  27. ^ Clark & Trueman 2021, p. 197.
  28. ^ "Caroline Glachan: Three charged with 1996 murder of schoolgirl". BBC News. 25 November 2021. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  29. ^ "DNA discovery raises hopes of finally finding killer of Melanie Hall". The Guardian. 4 October 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  30. ^ "Serial rapist hunt turns to DNA". BBC News. 24 January 2001. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  31. ^ "Lindsay Rimer death: New DNA leads in 1994 murder case". BBC News. 12 April 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  32. ^ "Former Halliwell murder case detective releases memoirs". ITV News. 20 June 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  33. ^ Clark & Trueman 2021, pp. 110–119.
  34. ^ "Linda Razzell murder: Christopher Halliwell link dismissed". BBC News. 26 September 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  35. ^ "How BBC documentary backfired on wife-killer Glyn Razzell's hopes of clearing his name". SomersetLive. 26 June 2018. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  36. ^ Fletcher, James (17 December 1997). "Ripper Sutcliffe is DNA tested". Daily Record.
  37. ^ a b c Brannen, K. "Other Yorkshire Ripper Victims?". Yorkshire Ripper website. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  38. ^ "Man held over 1975 child murder". BBC News. 6 November 2006. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  39. ^ Clark & Tate 2015, p. 179.
  40. ^ "Life for man who strangled woman". Newcastle Evening Chronicle. 16 January 1980. p. 7.
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