Vera Millward - Yorkshire Ripper Victim
On the 16th May 1978, Vera Millward, a convicted prostitute, was murdered by Peter Sutcliffe in Manchester.
Her body was discovered in a compound in the Brunswick area of the city the following day and an examination disclosed the traditional pattern of Ripper injuries. Following three severe blows to the head with a hammer, her body had been exposed before being stabbed and slashed with a knife. This crime immediately came under the control of Detective Chief Superintendent Ridgway, still hunting for the murderer of Jean Jordan, and an incident room was established in Manchester to service the police investigation.
In this case tyre tracks and footprints were found at the scene. The make and distribution of the tyres on the vehicle which left the tracks were very similar to those found at the scenes of the murder of Irene Richardson and the attempted murder of Marilyn Moore and the crime was immediately regarded as being part of the Ripper series.
As a result of their investigations into the tyre tracks at the scene of the Millward murder the Greater Manchester Police were satisfied that they were not made by a car from the "Farina" range. They subsequently discontinued their participation in the "Farina" inquiry.
The West Yorkshire Police were not as convinced as their Manchester colleagues on this point and continued their inquiry with regard to "Farina" cars until Sutcliffe’s arrest. Sutcliffe never owned a "Farina" car and the tyre marks at the scene of the Richardson murder were probably left by his white Corsair, whilst those at the Moore and Millward scenes were probably from the red Corsair which he acquired in September 1977.
