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Man charged with U.K. serial killings

Hasan Suroor

"Significant" developments in probe

LONDON: Police were on Friday thought to be closing in on the "Ipswich killer'' after a 48-year-old former fork-lift truck driver, Stephen Wright, was charged with the murders of five young sex workers whose bodies were found at different locations around Ipswich, a small town in eastern England, between December 2 and 13.

Mr. Wright, who lived in Ipswich's red light area with his partner Pamela, was arrested on Tuesday, and late on Thursday police announced that they had decided to charge him with the murders of Gemma Adams (25), Tania Nicol (19), Anneli Alderton (24), Annette Nicholls (29), and Paula Clennell (24).

Remanded to custody

He was produced before a magistrate on Friday and remanded to police custody until January 2. The decision to charge Mr. Wright was taken after what the police described as "significant'' developments in one of the biggest murder investigations in recent years.

However, his partner strongly protested his innocence and was reported to be "distraught.'' His friends described him as a keen golfer and an "entirely ordinary'' man.

Media cautioned

As the media dug into the personal details of Mr. Wright's life, his lawyer warned against speculative reporting. He objected to a reporter commenting that the police appeared to have "solved'' the case. His client, he pointed out, was presumed to be innocent until proved guilty. The Crown Prosecution Service also advised media to exercise restraint in reporting the case.

Meanwhile, a 37-year-old supermarket worker Tom Stephens who had also been arrested in connection with the murders, has been released on bail. Mr. Stephens was the first to be arrested after he gave media interviews saying that he knew all the girls well while denying that he had anything to do with their murders.

All the five victims were drug addicts and had turned to street-walking to feed their addiction. They went missing, one by one, over a period of six weeks and the first of the bodies was found on December 2. The case has shocked the nation and led to calls for legalising commercial sex work.

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