The AustralianPolice play down fears of second serial killer
By AMANDA KEENAN
3jun99
PERTH was not at the mercy of a second serial killer despite fears that
two sex workers who recently vanished from city streets had been
murdered, police said yesterday.
Investigators probing the disappearance of 23-year-old mother of one
and massage parlour worker Jennifer Jean Wilby say it is unconnected
to the the disappearance last November of prostitute Lisa Jane Brown.
Police were quick to allay growing fears that Perth had fallen victim to
another serial killer, a murderer who struck highly vulnerable street
walkers and sex workers or, worse, the same serial killer who haunted
the Claremont area in 1996.
The disappearance of the two women is unrelated to the victims of the
Claremont serial killer Ciara Glennon, 27, Sarah Spiers, 18 and
23-year-old Jane Rimmer.
The bodies of Ms Glennon and Ms Rimmer were found, but Ms Spiers
was never seen again. Perth was gripped by fear when the three
women disappeared after each had been to a popular nightspot in
Claremont, south-west of Perth.
Sergeant Tony Potts, spokesman for Operation Storm, the taskforce
formed to search for Ms Wilby, stressed that a second serial killer was
not at large, nor had the first one struck again.
"There are significant differences in their disappearances this (the
Wilby case) is a completely independent investigation," he said.
Two other women, one of whom was a prostitute who disappeared last
week, were found a short time later, Sergeant Potts said.
He said, however, that investigators would continue to consult with
Operation Hyde, formed to investigate Ms Brown's disappearance, and
the Macro taskforce, which is still hunting the Claremont serial killer.
A 41-year-old public servant from Cottesloe has been identified as the
prime suspect in the Claremont killings, but police have been unable to
garner enough evidence to charge him.