*When did you get interested in writing about true crime?
I left the police with severe PTSD in 1994 and didn't want to know about true crime for some 16 years after, having been divorced in 1999. What triggered my interest was a story my second wife Jeanne told me of the following: 'I was born and brought up in Offord Darcy, Cambridgeshire, where I lived until I was 20 and I went to Longsands College High School in St Neots. I started my last year at Longsands during the Autumn Term of September 1970 and during the following year on one hot sunny Sunday during late spring I went by cycle ride the 4 miles to the open air pool in Huntingdon Street, St Neots; where I swam before returning home. Although I was just turned 15 I looked more like a 10 year old as my downloaded photo depicts (taken at Colwyn Bay Summer Holiday 1970) I was dressed in shorts, t shirt and ankle socks and had my swimming gear in my saddlebag. On my return during the afternoon I was cycling between St Neots and Great Paxton along the B1043 Road and when I was where the open fields are (3rd Image) I was aware of a dog lead lying in the middle of my side of the road. I stopped and picked it up.
As I stood up with it I was aware of a vehicle a dark blue Minivan stopped on the other side of the road facing St Neots. I looked up and saw the male driver staring intently at my legs, he was of short build and clean shaven and had short brown hair with a side parting; I cannot remember whether he wore spectacles. He drove off towards St Neots and I felt relieved and carried on cycling towards Great Paxton. Not long after the same vehicle and driver drove very slowly past me and very slowly in front of me towards Great Paxton and I saw that it had 777 in the number but cannot remember any of the letters. It carried on for about a minute or so before driving off in the same direction. By this time I was terrified but carried on cycling for home. When I was about 200 yards along the straight from the first cottage on the bend after the railway bridge I saw the same vehicle parked in a field gateway (4th & 5th Image) and the driver was standing at the back of the vehicle. By this time I was completely petrified and in fear of my life so as I got closer I cycled as fast as I could and onto the wrong side of the road. I did this for about 200 yards and cycled into the driveway of the first property that I came to (6th Image) a Cottage. I knocked on the door but no one was in. After a short time I came out of the drive and cycled as fast as I could down Paxton Hill and went to a Cottage facing the road near the end of the village and the lady of the house took me in. Her Husband (Hank) came home later and took me home and my Dad phoned for the police by contacting Huntingdonshire Police from a neighbours phone and a male officer and a female officer attended but I heard nothing more about it and it appears that no report was made of it. When a few years ago I eventually confided to my Husband Chris Clark, a retired Norfolk Constabulary Intelligence Officer what had nearly happened to me, he said that it had all the hallmarks of an attempted abduction by serial child killer Robert Black and the method was very similar to that of April Fabb during 1969 in Norfolk and later during 1978 to Genette Tate in Devon and during 1981 to Jennifer Cardy in Ireland and the abduction and murder of Susan Maxwell as well as 2 attempted abductions during 1988 and 1990; the first two which Robert Black is suspected of and the last four which Black has been convicted for. However I was not convinced as all of the photos of Black that I had seen apart from one as an 11 year old bore little or no resemblance to the man who tried to take me away. During the last week I have seen a 1963 Image of Robert Black when he was age 16 and some 8 years before my incident. Take away the spectacles and straight hair instead of gelled then this is a good likeness of the man who tried to abduct me on that day in 1971. I am aware that during August 1972 Robert Black was arrested with another in North London in a stolen Ford Zephyr car and that he had a bunch of keys for going equipped to steal and that he had another case TIC. I feel certain that a photograph would have been taken then and will still be on his original London CRO File, which if it is I would like to see if I can definitely identify or not identify from. I would like Cambridgeshire Constabulary to investigate this incident and see if there are any connections with my near abduction and the abduction of April Fabb in Norfolk in 1969 and Genette Tate in Devon during 1978.
*The Ripper is one of the most notorious criminals of the 20th century, what was it like delving into his history?
After I had exhausted my research into Robert Black, I noticed that during the 1970's there are a lot of unsolved murders of unaccompanied women, which all seemed to have a similar theme of over the top violence and negrophilic tendencies, coupled with a sexual motivated nature. These had the method and motive of the solved murders and attacks of Peter Sutcliffe, wrongly dubbed The Yorkshire Ripper. I then researched everything that was known of his canocial crimes. I then read a book 'Somebody's Husband Somebody's Son' by the late Gordon Burn and this placed Sutcliffe in the areas of my unsolved murders, which gave the missing element the opportunity.
*Did you ever correspond with him?
No, although I only lived some twelve miles from him in County Durham and believe my book 'Yorkshire Ripper: The Secret Murders' was in some way responsible for sending Sutcliffe from Broadmoor to HMP Frankland Prison in 2016
*Sutcliffe managed to dodge responsibility for 23 other murders that 3 innocent men paid the price for, what manipulative techniques did he use to evade the police?
Basically, as he was wrongly labelled 'The Yorkshire Ripper' other police forces never considered that their unsolved murders were his responsibility and travelling some distance from Bingley/Bradford in West Yorkshire, to The Midlands and London the travelling criminal element was never considered.
*How did the documentary come to be made?
We tried for 6 years to get a TV Company interested. During 2020 we had two companies interested in making a documentary. One was screened by Channel 5 for which I was never credited: The Yorkshire Ripper's New Victims Channel 5, Thursday 4th March 2021 at 9pm. Want to learn more about how psychologists are trying to change the way police officers think about offenders and victims? The other company Impossible Factual made the ITV two parter screened 23rd and 24th February and repeated the following week: Series examining the police investigation into the crimes of serial killer Peter Sutcliffe, known as the Yorkshire Ripper, and the missed opportunities to charge him for his earlier, unacknowledged crimes. Yorkshire Ripper the Secret Murders Series 1 - Episode 1 This episode explores Peter Sutcliffe's early offending and presents evidence to show that his campaign of murder started at least six years earlier than thought. Series overview For the first time on television, brand new ITV series, Yorkshire Ripper: The Secret Murders links more than 20 unsolved murders and attempted murders to Peter Sutcliffe. Through a thorough re-examining of evidence in several cases, including interviews with victims’ relatives, many speaking on television for the first time, as well as leading experts, the series places these events within the timeline of Sutcliffe’s confirmed crimes and MO, and asks why he has never been considered a suspect. Episode 2 The second episode sees the pressure continuing to build on West Yorkshire Police as they step up the hunt for the killer the press have dubbed the Yorkshire Ripper. On top of the crimes that police decide to include in the Ripper investigation, murders and attempted murders with a clear link to the killer are discarded and left unsolved. When a series of mysterious letters and tapes are received by the senior detectives, the investigation is derailed even further, allowing the Ripper to go on killing. Meanwhile a third innocent man is sent to prison for life.
*Where did you start with your research regarding all these new crimes?
My research into these crimes started during 2011 and continued until the book was sent for publication during 2014.
*What do you have planned for your next book?
So far I have had three other books published: 'The Face Of Evil' Robert Black published 2017. 'Gone Fishing' Angus Sinclair published 2021 and 'The New Millennium Serial Killer' published 2021. In the pipeline I have other books on Steve Wright The Suffolk Strangler. Hissing Sid, Sidney Cooke. The Camden Ripper, Anthony Hardy. and several others.
Chris Clark' Official Website
