A man has been arrested over the murder of five prostitutes in Suffolk. Already dubbed the Suffolk Strangler, the case has attracted interest from around the world. This is for many reasons. For instance, the case fascinates me.
There is no ghoulish intent behind this fascination. The reason is simply that the case does not fit the usual serial killer scenario. Such killers kill over many months or even years. Yet it seems we have had a frenzy of murder more akin to the spree killer.
Occasionally, a serial killer will go into a frenzy, but the result is usually absolute carnage of the bloody kind. But the victims in this case seem to have been strangled. It just does not fit an understood pattern. And here is my interest: are we seeing the emergence of a new type of serial killer?
The media, however, has no such urge to understand. Rather, media has become too involved in ratings and sales. And for that, a man will be surrounded by a media circus which, in the end, does nothing for the victim’s families.
But this is the least of the problems. As the media circus rolls on, we come closer and closer to the point where a fair trial cannot be had. When a person has already been tried in image and print, true justice goes out of the window.
I don’t know if Steve Wright is the killer of five prostitutes in Suffolk. The trial will decide that. But that is dependent upon the trial being fair. If, through media interference, that is deemed impossible, then a killer could walk free. Which is no good for justice, or the victim’s families.
© Anthony North, December 2006
