LONDON – A 40-year-old man accused of murdering three women who worked as prostitutes in Bradford told a court yesterday his name was “the crossbow cannibal”.
Stephen Griffiths – reported to be a mature student studying criminology at Bradford University, according to media reports – was charged on Thursday with killing sex workers Suzanne Blamires (36), Shelley Armitage (31) and Susan Rushworth (43).
The remains of Ms Blamires, who had been missing since last Friday, were discovered in a river in west Yorkshire on Tuesday, while Ms Armitage has been missing since April 26th, and Ms Rushworth disappeared on June 22nd last year.
Mr Griffiths, a former public schoolboy, appeared at Bradford Magistrates Court yesterday morning for a brief hearing and when asked to confirm his name, he said: “The crossbow cannibal.”
At other times he sat fidgeting and touching his head or staring silently at the floor.
Hours later he appeared at Bradford Crown Court where he only spoke to confirm his full name. He was remanded in custody and will appear at the same court again on June 7th via video link from Wakefield Prison.
After confirmation that her daughter had been killed, Ms Blamires’s mother Nicky paid tribute to her.
“Unfortunately my daughter went down the wrong path and she did not have the life she was meant to have,” she said in a statement.
“She was a much-loved daughter, sister and niece and what has happened to her will haunt me to the day I die. At the end of the day nobody deserves this.”
Prime minister David Cameron said he hoped police would do everything they could to find the two missing women. “I recognise what a terrible shock it is for everyone here in the Leeds area,” he told local BBC television.
The English Collective of Prostitutes said the deaths, coming just a few years after the murder of five sex workers by Steve Wright in Ipswich, showed there needed to be a change in the law.
The group said prostitutes in Bradford had been complaining about increased arrests and prosecutions.
“Sex workers continue to pay the price for decades of criminalisation and, more recently, for a government-led moral crusade against prostitution,” it said.
West Yorkshire police said it made great efforts to help women out of the sex trade.
“Whilst we accept that these women are among the more vulnerable members of our society, we fully accept that it is an illegal activity and one on which we do take robust action,” said Supt Angela Williams.
“But we also recognise that the women involved in prostitution need help and support, if they are to make a fresh start.” – (Reuters)