User:Rhipsaspis/sandbox/East Lancs Ripper

The East Lancs Ripper is the name given to an unidentified serial killer who is believed to have been active in East Lancashire, England, in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

This unidentified serial killer became known as the "East Lancs Ripper" due to a police suggestion that the first murder may have been inspired by the broadcast of the Michael Caine TV film Jack the Ripper on the same night that the crime took place, and the locations of the victims’ bodies within an area crossed by the East Lancashire Road (A580) and the M6 and M62 motorways.

In 2018 Greater Manchester Police offered a £50,000 reward for information which identifies the killer.

Possible Victims

Linda Suzanne Donaldson

Linda Suzanne Donaldson (age 31) was found dead by an elderly couple in Winwick Lane, Lowton, at around 1:00 PM on 19 October 1988. Donaldson was killed by two stab wounds to the back, while a further eight stab wounds were inflicted after death. An attempt was made to decapitate her body, and her breasts were missing. The murder weapon was believed to be a heavy-bladed knife at least eight inches long. A sex worker, Donaldson had appeared on the BBC television talk show Kilroy in December 1987, discussing sex work.

All of Donaldson's clothing was missing, including her underclothes, black ankle boots, a black miniskirt, black jacket, and studded belt. A navy blue shoulder bag containing makeup and an address book was also missing.

Donaldson was last seen alive at around 4:00 AM close to her home in Canning Street, Liverpool. A maroon Ford Granada Mark II was seen at 5:45 AM on 19 October, parked in Winwick Lane close to the spot where Donaldson's body was found, and remained there for around one hour.

A man described as being in his late 20s, around 5' 11" tall, wearing a white crew-neck jumper, dark jacket, and jeans, and carrying a toolbag, was reported to have had a confrontation with another sex worker in Canning Street shortly before Donaldson's disappearance. Another man, described as described as being 42-45 years old around 6'-6' 2", of thin build and with mid-brown greying hair spoke to Donaldson not long before her disappearance. He wore gold-rimmed square spectacles, a silver-coloured wristwatch, a green quilted anorak, a crew-neck jumper and dark trousers.

Donaldson's murder was featured on the BBC Crimewatch UK television programme on 8 December 1988.

Maria Christina Requena

Maria Christina Requena (age 26) was found dead in Pennington Flash lake, Leigh, by anglers on 6 January 1991. She had last been seen at around 10:15 PM on January 1 1991, working as a sex worker in the Minshull Street area of Manchester city centre. Requena had been killed by strangulation, following which her body had been dismembered with a chainsaw or circular saw and placed in five plastic bin bags, which were then put into the lake. Her clothing, consisting of a three-quarter-length coat, miniskirt, and a floral pullover, was not recovered. Requena's movments on 29-31 December 1990 are unknown, and police believe that she may have spent this time with her killer.

Vera Anderson

Vera Anderson (age 38) was found dead in her Ford Cortina car at around 3:00 AM on 25 August 1991 at Tannery Lane, Penketh, by a man chasing car thieves across the disused tannery site. Her throat had been cut. A glove stained with Anderson's blood, and a length of cord were found at the scene. Anderson had last been seen alive at her home on Hadfield Road in Widnes at around 10:00 PM on 24 August, when she asked a neighbour to look after her 6-year-old son. She had left the television on, and her purse was on a chair.. Anderson emptied the boot of her car before leaving, and her son said that she had received a telephone call just before going out.

A possible later sighting of Vera Anderson took place at around 10:30 PM on 24 August, when a woman matching her description was seen in the Crown and Cushion pub in Penketh. She was accompanied by a man described as being in his late 30s to early 40s, of slim build, with a thin face, a neatly trimmed moustache, and whispy, mousey-coloured hair. He wore a fawn-coloured jacket. A number of sightings of Anderson in a silver car being driven by a man were reported, and the driver may have been the same individual seen in the Crown and Cushion pub.

Police believe that Anderson was killed between 11:30 PM and 2:30 AM, and a local resident reported seeing a car with its headlights on at around 11:00 PM on 24 August, parked in the same spot where Anderson's body was later found in her car.

A taxi driver reported picking up a man on Warrington Road, Penketh, at around 1:40 AM on 25 August 1991. The man had an injury to his right hand which he covered with a handkerchief, and appeared to be in pain. He was described as being between 30-35 years old, around 5' 10" tall, with dark brown hair and a pale complexion.

Anderson's murder was featured on the BBC Crimewatch UK television programme on 7 November 1991.

Julie Finley

Julie Finley (age 23) was found dead in a field close to the Wheatsheaf Hotel in Rainford, St Helens, by a cyclist at around 1:30 PM on 6 August 1994. She had been killed through strangulation, and her clothing was missing. Finley was a heroin and cocaine user who was friends with sex workers, but her family said that she herself was not a sex worker.

Finley was last seen at around 11:20 PM on 5 August at Pembroke Place in Liverpool. A motorist reported a woman who matched Finley's description running across Pembroke Place towards a man described as being aged 23 to 28, 5' 10"-6' tall, with dark hair, dark clothing, and a smart appearance. Later information received suggested that the man was a drug dealer who went by the name of "Nelly".

A white van was seen parked in a lay-by close to where Finley's body was discovered.

Clothing believed to be Finley's, consisting of a white top, dark top, trousers and bra were spotted at the corner of Low Hill and Prescott Street, Liverpool at around 4:00 PM on 6 August, but police were only able to recover the bra, and believed that the other clothes had been taken by someone unaware of their significance.

A telephone call received by the police incident room within two weeks of Finley's murder from a woman calling herself "Tina" claimed that on the night she was killed, Finley had planned to meet a taxi driver from Prescot in order to obtain money from him. Tina promised to meet with the police but never did so. The telephone call she made was traced to a telephone box in Blackpool.

Merseyside Police suggested the possibility of a link between Julie Finley's murder and an attack on a sex worker in the Aigburth area of Liverpool at around 9:30 PM on 29 September 1994. In this incident, a man using the name "Mike" attempted to strangle a sex worker. When she persuaded him to let her go, he stole money from her and then pursued her when she ran down Riversdale Drive. She escaped after flagging down a passing motorist. The man was described as being in his late 20s or early 30s, clean shaven, with straight deep brown hair, and had distinctive tattoos on his forearms including a snake-and-dagger design on the left arm. He wore a black t-shirt with a yellow print design, navy blue shell suit trousers, and trainers. He may have driven a silver Ford Escort with a vehicle registration plate number beginning "M83".

Finley's case was featured on the BBC Crimewatch UK television programme on 13 April 1995.

In 1996, a witness who may have seen Finley and her killer shortly before the murder was located. A man whose motorbike had broken down on the Rainford Bypass of the A570 early on the morning of 6 August 1994 heard a woman screaming, and upon investigating discovered a partially-dressed woman in the back of a van parked in a lay-by. He had been about to offer assistance but instead left the scene after a man told him that the woman was his girlfriend.

Ongoing Investigation

Operation Enigma

In May 1996 Operation Enigma was launched by the Association of Chief Police Officers. It examined 200 unsolved murders with female victims dating back to 1986, and sought common features between cases that might indicate connections. The murders of Linda Donaldson, Maria Requena, and Vera Anderson were included. The analysis suggested that there was a strong link between the Linda Donaldson and Maria Requena murders, but that a connection to the murder of Vera Anderson was more tenuous.

Possible Suspects

Duncan Munro McLuckie

Duncan Munro McLuckie was jailed for life in 1989 for the murder on 26 January that year of Sylvia Harding (age 42), a sex worker, in Manchester. Harding was strangled to death and then stabbed seven times. While serving in the Royal Corps of Signals in 1972, McLuckie shot Ulster Defence Regiment Warrant Officer Bernard Adamson dead during a training exercise. A 1972 inquest into the shooting recorded an open verdict. A further inquest in 2011 found that the shooting was accidental.

David Smith

David Smith received a life sentence in December 1999 for the murder of Amanda Walker (age 21), a sex worker, in Surrey. In 1993 he had been acquitted of the murder of Sarah Crump (age 33), a sex worker, in Southall, London.

Alun Kyte

Alun Kyte, sometimes referred to as the “Midlands Ripper”, was convicted in March 2000 of the murders of two sex workers. Samo Paull (age 20) was murdered in Swinford, Leicestershire, in December 1993. Tracey Turner (age 32), was murdered in March 1994 near Bitteswell, Leicestershire. Kyte claimed to have killed a total of 12 women. Possible link to Julie Finley murder.

Christopher Halliwell

Christopher Haliwell was convicted in October 2012 of the murder of Sian O'Callaghan in Swindon in 2011. He has been linked to Linda Donaldson and Maria Requena murders by retired Police Intelligence Officer Chris Clark.