UK UK- Sally Shepherd, 24, Worked @ Young Vic Theatre, Dragged through wire fence, Raped & beaten by ‘Beast of Peckham’, 1 Dec.'79 *Rootless Hair*

[jojojaja]

I could see it after I searched The Guardian archive by date. It didn't appear as a direct link...

It's a paid subscription. You have to put links when referring to anything here, or putting images. I previously had a subscription.
Most historians have old newspaper subscriptions for research purposes, the only problem is they don't have all the newspapers, I belonged to two to have a wider scope, even then you don't get them all. Plus the nearer the date to modern day, the less there is available. And you get too many hits that have nothing to do with what you were searching for, very time consuming.
I think they allow one free viewing. After that everything goes blurry.

 

[tes1984]

Possibly frogmarched? Otherwise wouldn't her takeaway have been found dropped way closer to where she collected her food?

I was actually wrong about her collecting the takeaway locally, but I still don't think she could have been dragged far.

 

[jojojaja]

I was actually wrong about her collecting the takeaway locally, but I still don't think she could have been dragged far.

Well she had her bag with her when taken into the builders yard, (they didn't mention if the takeaway was in a separate bag) her boots were left outside where she was dragged through.
Yes they think she was forced down that street and dragged into the yard, which was very close to where the bus terminated and why they think she was followed from the bus. They hadn't decided if it was one very strong man or two.

Levi as you know would follow people from bus stops, even following the bus someone was on if I recall correctly after seeing them get on it.

This would be early for them, however it reminds me of them, but the Railway killers, John Duffy and David Mulcahy were sadistic rapists. They were expelled from school I think after battering a hedgehog to death and were covered in blood, they played with victims.

 

[TheRockingRev]

It has some similarities to this case (although not completely) the stripping of the victim, and the fact the police thought it may be two perpetrators: UK - UK- Jacqueline Johns, 16, missed last train home @ Victoria Station, found raped, strangled & body dumped near Battersea Power Station, 1/10/ 73.

 

[Bibagirl1965]

I worked in Peckham in the late 80s & can remember Sally's murder being discussed by people there who remember it happening. Apparently most people living in the area at the time believed Sally was murdered by 2 travellers from the caravan site which was on Staffordshire Street - no idea if there is any basis to this, or if it was just down to prejudice against travellers. I have not been able to find any newspaper articles suggesting a link to travellers - can anyone elaborate on this ??

 

[tes1984]

I worked in Peckham in the late 80s & can remember Sally's murder being discussed by people there who remember it happening. Apparently most people living in the area at the time believed Sally was murdered by 2 travellers from the caravan site which was on Staffordshire Street - no idea if there is any basis to this, or if it was just down to prejudice against travellers. I have not been able to find any newspaper articles suggesting a link to travellers - can anyone elaborate on this ??

There was speculation that it was a traveller, and a man was named as a POI. I always have my doubts about local gossip, as I can't think of any UK cases where the gossip turned out to be correct.

There was apparently a traveller site nearby, but the murder scene was extremely close to the police station, so I can't see travellers being unaware of very local police presence. I suppose the same could be said about anyone local though. Would anyone who knew the area, even fleetingly, have committed such a crime so close to a police station?

 

[tes1984]

I'm going by memory but IIRC a pimp from a different part of South London was also questioned, but there was no solid evidence against him.

The perp could be a commuter offender, as a car was sighted nearby, and because the perp or perps attacked so close to the police station.

A local offender makes sense too though, as Sally's murder seems impulsive, and it wasn't the sort of area an outsider would have wanted to loiter with intent for long. Someone might have mugged him, stolen his hub caps etc...

 

[dotr]

I worked in Peckham in the late 80s & can remember Sally's murder being discussed by people there who remember it happening. Apparently most people living in the area at the time believed Sally was murdered by 2 travellers from the caravan site which was on Staffordshire Street - no idea if there is any basis to this, or if it was just down to prejudice against travellers. I have not been able to find any newspaper articles suggesting a link to travellers - can anyone elaborate on this ??

Welcome to Ws @Bibagirl1965, thanks for chiming in!
The speculation about travelers came from the first link in post #18 on page 1 of this thread.
My guess is that some people might prefer to believe that as opposed to a killer within the community, imo, speculation.

 

[Bibagirl1965]

I'm going by memory but IIRC a pimp from a different part of South London was also questioned, but there was no solid evidence against him.

The perp could be a commuter offender, as a car was sighted nearby, and because the perp or perps attacked so close to the police station.

A local offender makes sense too though, as Sally's murder seems impulsive, and it wasn't the sort of area an outsider would have wanted to loiter with intent for long. Someone might have mugged him, stolen his hub caps etc...

I agree, Peckham was not an area any stranger would want to loiter in, but Sutcliffe was known to prowl around run-down areas looking for victims. He picked up Jean Jordan in Moss Side & others in Chapeltown in Leeds, so would probably feel confident enough walking around Peckham, and it could well have been his car parked close by. I don't think Sutcliffe is responsible for every murder he has been accused of in recent years, but I do think he is a serious suspect for Sally's killing. Still don't understand why Sally walked into a dark & unlit street though - I lived in New Cross in the 80s & even walking up the well-lit main road could be scary at night !!

 

[tes1984]

Sutcliffe doesn't seem to have been physically capable of rape though. Hence his ripper suit with kneepads, so he could kneel and masturbate near to his murder victims.

His known murders start close to home and he then becomes more mobile over time. JMO but I can't see him murdering in London before his first known Yorkshire murder, and then becoming less mobile.

Sally was raped, so I don't see why the Met police don't have semen samples, like they did four years earlier with Eve Stratford and Lynne Weedon.

 

[tes1984]

The police were looking for a black man, wearing a tracksuit, who was witnessed nearby crying and banging his head against a wall. I've no idea if the man was ever tracked down, but had he just seen or done something terrible?

 

[Bibagirl1965]

The police were looking for a black man, wearing a tracksuit, who was witnessed nearby crying and banging his head against a wall. I've no idea if the man was ever tracked down, but had he just seen or done something terrible?

Interesting - I have seen reports that a man was seen crying near the murder scene but didn't know whether he was black or white. Obviously if true, this potentially rules out both Sutcliffe & the travellers.

 

[tes1984]

The black male hasn't been confirmed as being involved in the murder.

I was going by my (dodgy) memory, and completely wrong about Sutcliffe being an inexperienced murderer in 1979 though. He was extremely prolific by the time Sally was killed.

He did have links to London in the early 70s, but no known links to Peckham. He was looked at for 60 additional crimes, and ruled out for 40 by way of his work records. I'm not sure if Sally's murder was one of the 60 cases re-examined.

Interestingly there was a depot for long distance lorry drivers near where Sally was killed. Presumably it wasn't somewhere Sutcliffe has known work links to.

I don't think Sutcliffe murdered Sally. He was questioned by police four times in 1979, but all his known later crimes were in the north of England. There's no evidence he fled south to continue offending after becoming a POI in the Ripper enquiry.

 

[tes1984]

This was an absolutely horrific and prolonged murder.

Sally was bludgeoned unconscious, then dragged through the gap in the fence. She was raped, perhaps more than once, whilst still unconscious, then stamped on and battered to death.