Suffolk Serial Killer Case: Latest Update

Stephen Wright the second man arrested in relation to the Suffolk serial killer case has been formally charged with murdering Gemma Adams, Anneli Alderton, Tania Nicol, Paula Clennell, and Annette Nicholls. Tom Stephens the first man arrested in the case has been released on police bail subject to further inquries.

Murder Suspect Stephen Wright



Media watch



Headline

Girlfriend insists new suspect is innocent as forensic teams search their home.

Published

20th December

Click Here To Read The Guardian Article In Full

Other Links



Click Here For The Latest Police Briefing

Suffolk Serial Killer Latest

A second man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering Gemma Adams, Anneli Alderton, Tania Nicol, Paula Clennell and Annette Nicholls. The 48 year old man was arrested at 5am this morning from his home which is very close to the red light district were the murder victims worked. Tom Stephens who was arrested yesterday remains in custody.

Media watch



Headline

I know I fit the profile - but I also know I'm innocent

Published

19th December

Summary

Intersting article about Tom Stephens, the first man to be arrested in connection with the five murders. The article includes an interview with Jacci Goldsmith who knows Stephens very well and spoke to him shortly before his arrest.

Click Here To Read The Times Article In Full

Other Links



Click Here For The Latest Police Briefing

Tom Stephens MySpace Profile Picture



Thanks to Carey for sending me the link to Tom Stephens MySpace account, which has now been deleted. Sections of the British press have made a great deal out of the fact that Stephens called himself the 'bishop' on his MySpace account.

Suffolk Serial Killer Latest (man arrested on suspicion of murder)

37-year-old Tom Stephens has been arrested on suspicion of murdering Gemma Adams, Anneli Alderton, Tania Nicol, Paula Clennell and Annette Nicholls. He is curently in custody and will be questioned by detectives later on Monday.

Murder Suspect Tom Stephens



Stephens was arrested at 0720 GMT on Monday in the village of Trimley, which is close to the A14 road between Ipswich and Felixstowe.



Stephens was interviewed by the Sunday Mirror newspaper yesterday, stating that he knew the girls well and had been interviewed by police four times but claimed he was completely innocent.

Let's hope the police have the right man, however, I think caution needs to be exercised at this stage, particularly given the money newspapers are willing to pay for information and exclusive stories relating to the case.

Links



Click Here For The Latest Police Briefing

Click Here To Read The Sunday Mirror Interview With Tom Stephens

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For a free and comprehensive guide to the world of forensic psychology, including several pages dedicated to criminal profiling don't forget to visit the main forensic psychology website.

http://www.all-about-forensic-psychology.com/

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The Psychology of The Suffolk Serial Killer (Latest Update)

As the hunt for the Suffolk serial killer continues and as the case unfolds I will be posting regular updates, particularly in relation to any psychological information or theories. I will also be including links to the latest police briefings and any other credible information sources.

If you would like to be alerted as soon as a new psychology of a serial killer post appears, you can do so by clicking on the orange RSS button (bottom left hand side of the page) to receive automatic content updates in My Yahoo!, Newsgator, Bloglines, and other news readers. Alternatively you can get instant updates via e-mail (see subscribe link, also bottom left hand side of page). You can also bookmark each update by clicking on the social bookmark this link that appears after each post.

Media Watch



Headline

Forensic Psychologists Tackle UK Serial Killer

Published

13th December

Psychology aspect

Contributions from forensic psychologist Keith Ashcroft, Joseph Diaz, a criminologist at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina, David Canter, director of the Centre for Investigative Psychology at the University of Liverpool, and Glenn Wilson, an expert in deviant personalities at the Institute of Psychiatry in London.

Key points

Police say that the spate of serial murders in such a short time period is extremely unusual and may be unprecedented.

Keith Ashcroft, a forensic psychologist and expert in sex crimes, based in Edinburgh, UK, speculates that the murderer is deliberately “taunting” police and that the person probably has some massive grudge against the police force, probably even in Suffolk and wants to make the police look inadequate.

Joseph Diaz, a criminologist at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina, US, says that the fact the bodies were dumped in water suggests that the killer is of above average intelligence, because he knows physical evidence will be washed away.

David Canter, director of the Centre for Investigative Psychology at the University of Liverpool, says: "His first murder was likely to be a carefully considered attempt to hide some other crime: killing the victim because she was a crucial witness."

Glenn Wilson an expert in deviant personalities at the Institute of Psychiatry in London states that Psychologists can paint a picture of a typical serial killer based on profiles of the limited number of serial killers available, but this will not necessarily be accurate, or help police, It may even lead detectives down a blind alley. In supporting his contention Wilson argues that the police may not even consider a female suspect or be alert for a female accomplice. Wilson cites the infamous murder of model Rachel Nickell in Wimbledon, London, in 1992, where he says police adhered so closely to the psychological profile provided that they became blind to other possibilities and wasted valuable time prosecuting Colin Stagg. He was later acquitted of the murder, which has never been solved.

Wilson claims that geographical profiling would be much more useful than psychological profiling, particularly as in this case the bodies were all found close to the A14, a major road that runs from Felixstowe to the Midlands, skirting Ipswich. The killer probably knows the route well and may live somewhere along its path.


Links



Click Here For The Latest Police Briefing

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For a free and comprehensive guide to the world of forensic psychology, including several pages dedicated to criminal profiling don't forget to visit the main forensic psychology website.

http://www.all-about-forensic-psychology.com/

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The Psychology of the Serial Killer

Visitors from the UK will be aware that the news story currently gripping the country concerns the murder of several prostitutes, promting fears that a serial killer is on the loose. To date five bodies have been found near Ipswich over the past fortnight. The bodies of Gemma Adams, Tania Nicol and and Anneli Alderton, were all found in rural locations around Ipswich between the 2nd and the 10th of December. On the 12th of December two more bodies were found which are being formally identified today. Police strongly suspect that the bodies will prove to be the missing prostitutes Paula Clennell and Annette Nicholls.



Since the story broke a number of criminal psychologists, forensic psychologists and other behavioural scientists have commented on the case.

Dr Ian Stephen a psychologist working with police on the current investigation stated that The killer is losing control and there is a compulsion taking over, he also claims that the recent deaths may be part of a larger killing spree, adding; "What may be an issue is that when he starts running out of prostitutes not becoming available, he will see any woman who's out on the street at night on their own as a prostitute and will target them as a possible victim."

Writing for the BBC Dr Stephen said the suspect was probably male, white, in his late 20s, 30s or 40s, and is someone who probably had been let down by women in his past.

"He maybe had a mother who has let him down, or a mother who has abandoned him," he added. "In some sense he may have idolised women and then they let him down." He also notes that the killer may be on "some kind of Christian mission" believing he is "clearing the world of prostitutes".

Speaking on BBC radio, Film-maker and criminologist Roger Graef said that he also believes the killer may have had negative experiences with women in the past.

"You can calculate if it's prostitutes that it's somebody who was damaged by a woman, who is ashamed of his own impulses possibly, who is, you know, a religious zealot, who feels that they're corrupting the whole of mankind."

During an interview for the BBC newsnight, Professor David Canter, from the Centre for Investigative Psychology, said that while "almost certainly" the killings were the work of one individual, there were too few details yet to form a detailed profile of the suspect.

"It is difficult to assume anything at the moment without a lot more detailed information," he told BBC Newsnight...because serial murders are rare, it is difficult to generalise about the killers involved..The two or three individuals that come to mind have all been rather disturbed but they have very different characteristics...Some of them found their way into these sorts of murders really from a life of crime where they just become ever more extreme in their criminal acts and in their violence...Some serial killers also have a "bizarre understanding of the nature of women" and may attack women because they believe they are "seductresses who destroy their virtue",

Professor Canter inicated that it was more likely that the case would be solved by using police records to try to discover where the suspect may be based rather than building an "intense personal description of the offender". To read more about the work of Professor David Canter and the Centre for Investigative Psychology just click on the following link.

http://www.all-about-forensic-psychology.com/david-canter.html

Video Link

To watch a video of consultant forensic psychologist Dr Ian Stephen discussing the case just click on the following link.

Click Here To Watch The Video