DETECTIVES investigating the murders of five prostitutes in Ipswich have identified the fifth as Annette Nicholls.
The 29-year-old, who was reported missing on 4 December, was found in woodland in Levington near Ipswich. Her naked body was discovered less than 150 yards from that of fourth victim Paula Clennell, 24.
Three other women, Gemma Adams, 25, Tania Nicol, 19, and Anneli Anderton, 24, were found last week, in what been described as one of the worst spate of killings in the area
Suffolk Police, who are heading the inquiry into the murders of the four women, have received more than 7,000 calls after appealing for information on the killer.
Jim Duell, whose daughter Tania Nicol was found in a brook at Hintlesham, spoke about his daughter at a press conference in which he appealed for the public to help police catch her killer.
“Unfortunately drugs took her away into her own secret world, a world that neither of us were aware of,” Mr Duell said.
He described his daughter as “loving and sensitive”, adding the dead girls were “now at peace”.
Detectives, who have scoured CCTV pictures in the hope of catching the killer on screen, have been overwhelmed by the response of the public since news of the murders were made public.
They have appealed for any information on the driver of a blue BMW car, who is the key suspect in the murder of prostitute Anneli Alderton, who was reportedly seen getting into the car before her body was discovered.
Det Chief Supt Stewart Gull, who is leading the investigation, said: “We are making good progress. We have had a significant response.
“We are looking at a number of interesting people, pursuing a number of interesting lines of inquiry.
“We have got a range of individuals who have been suggested to us. Some are local but some are not. Some are not punters.”
Officers are working round the clock on the case with each murder having been assigned its own specialist team.
Suffolk Police are being helped by 26 other forces and 250 officers are working on the five murder inquiries.
“All these resources are committed solely to catching those responsible for the murder of these five vulnerable women,” Mr Gull said.
Detectives had received 1,800 calls from the public in the last 24 hours, on top of the 5,500 already logged.
