$4.5M hunt brings police no closer to ‘Yorkshire Ripper’

Press, 10 April 1979, Page 8

$4.5M hunt brings police no closer to ‘Yorkshire Ripper’

NZPA-Reuter London A series of grisly murders in the tough red light districts of northern England’s mill towns has brought the biggest manhunt in British criminal history for an elusive killer dubbed “the Yorkshire Ripper.” Even the homicide hardened detectives assigned to the Ripper case speak in horror at the savagery of the attacks which have killed 11 women and critically injured four others. The Ripper, named for London's infamous prostitute killer “Jack the Ripper” of the 1880 s, has eluded a huge police hunt during the last three years and a half. The police say the distinct slash marks left by the Ripper on his victims’ abdomens are a virtual

signature of his work. But they refuse to describe the marks, fearing imitation. Last Thursday the Ripper added a new dimension to his late night killing which has spread terror through the w r omen who work the side-streets and alleys in the red light districts of Yorkshire’s towns and cities. His latest victim had no connections with prostitutes and was murdered in the respectable middle-class neigh-, bourhood where she lived with her parents. For the 12 senior detectives working full-time on the case, the murder of a 19-year-old secretary, Josephine Whitaker, suggests a chilling thought. The Ripper has branched out and any single woman could now be a target. The detectives, aided at times by

up to 100 officers, have struggled to find one solid clue. A reward of £25,000 ($45,000) is offered for information leading to the Ripper’s arrest. The police have combed the prostitute haunts in the cities of Manchester, Leeds, Bradford, and now the respectable streets of Halifax, but still have no real lead. They have checked on 147,000 cars in the areas where the murders took place, interviewed 112,606 people and spent more than £2.5M ($4.5M). George Oldfield, the 55-year-old detective who leads the hunt, recently told reporters: “Clearly, we have a homicidal maniac at large. I have repeatedly said that this man will continue to kill until he is caught, and I am still of that opinion.”

i He said the case was hamI pered by the Ripper’s choice of victims. Prostitutes and ■ their clients are hesitant to come forward and help the > police with their inquiries. Mr Oldfield said he feels ■ he almost knows the man he lis hunting. He said lie bei lieves the Ripper is a white > man between 30 and 50, i powerfully built, intelligent, i and probably a skilled ; worker. The killer probably lives in the Yorkshire area. But the detective said most disturbing was the fact ■ that he was convinced somei one is protecting the Ripper. Someone, somewhere, must . now know who he is,” ' Mr Oldfield said. “They are : doing the killer and the 1 community a disservice by i not coming forward and telling us of their suspicions.”