[bloodrayne]

Massive hunt for 'Ipswich Ripper'

UK - A massive manhunt is under way for the serial killer thought to be responsible for the "unprecedented" murders of five prostitutes.

Suffolk police was calling in help from other forces as it deals with the biggest inquiry in its history - the hunt for the so-called Ipswich Ripper.

Two more bodies were discovered on Tuesday, which police say are likely to be those of Paula Clennell and Annette Nicholls. Both women had been reported missing. The bodies were discovered near Levington, a village to the south of Ipswich and just a few miles from Suffolk police headquarters.

It takes the total of murdered prostitutes to five, all found close to the A14 dual carriageway which links the Suffolk port of Felixstowe with the Midlands. The naked body of Gemma Adams, 25, of Ipswich, was found on December 2 in woodland at Hintlesham, on the outskirts of Ipswich. She had last been seen on November 15.

On December 8 the body of Tania Nicol, 19, of Ipswich, was found in nearby Copdock. She was the first to go missing and had last been seen on October 30. And the naked body of Anneli Alderton, 24, from Colchester in Essex, was discovered at the weekend in Nacton, a few miles further east. She had been strangled.

The officer leading the murder inquiry, Detective Chief Superintendent Stewart Gull, said the "natural assumption" was that the bodies discovered on Tuesdayn were those of 24-year-old Miss Clennell and Miss Nicholls, 29, both from Ipswich.

"These two bodies have been found not far from where Anneli was found and I fear the worst," he said. "They may well be Paula and Annette."

Mr Gull continued: "We've formally linked the murders of Tania and Gemma on Saturday because of significant similarities, and they continue with Anneli, Paula and Annette. Clearly they were all prostitutes from Ipswich, they were found naked and in an open rural environment.

"This is so fast-moving, we need to take stock and maximise opportunities to recover forensic evidence from the scene before formally establishing whether they are linked or not. We need to catch this person or persons as quickly as possible."

No other prostitutes are currently missing, the detective added. Suffolk Chief Constable Alastair McWhirter described the multiple murder inquiry as "unprecedented". Mr McWhirter said it was still not known if there was one or more than one killer on the loose. He said the force was bringing in assistance from other forces around the country to help in the inquiry.