Helen Rytka - Yorkshire Ripper Victim
On the 31st January 1978, Helen Rytka, an active prostitute, was murdered by Peter Sutcliffe in Huddersfield.
Helen's body was discovered in a timber yard by a police search on the 3rd February and the subsequent post-mortem examination revealed that she had died from hammer blows to the head together with a number of stab wounds to the body which had previously been exposed.
Peter Sutcliffe has since claimed that he had intercourse with Helen during the attack because he was sexually aroused and taxi drivers were close by. Intercourse wasn't part of Sutcliffe's usual pattern - and there was no conclusive proof that this took place.
Assistant Chief Constable Oldfield took charge of this murder inquiry and established an incident room at Huddersfield.
Police inquiries were fairly productive and although a number of people were traced and eliminated from the inquiry, details of three motor vehicles were circulated as being wanted for elimination purposes. These were a Morris Oxford saloon, a Ford Cortina Mark I and a white coloured Datsun 160/180B. The Ford Cortina and the Datsun were subsequently eliminated and attention was focussed on the Morris Oxford and the BMC "Farina" range of similar cars. Because some of the vehicles in the range did not fit the tyre track of the Irene Richardson murder a new vehicle inquiry, referred to as the "Farina Index" was started. This was a considerable commitment which was still running when Sutcliffe was arrested.
