'Ripper' murder charges for student of serial killers

• Two of Griffiths' alleged victims Suzanne Blamires, 36, and Shelley Armitage, 31. Picture: PA

Stephen Griffiths, 40, was charged with the murders of Suzanne Blamires, Shelley Armitage and Susan Rushworth.

The remains of Ms Blamires, 36, were found in the River Aire at Shipley, West Yorkshire, on Tuesday. She disappeared from Bradford last week.

Last night, at a press conference outside Trafalgar House police station in Bradford, Peter Mann of the Crown Prosecution Service said there was sufficient evidence to charge Griffiths with all three murders.

Mr Mann said Griffiths would appear before magistrates in Bradford today.

He said: "Following the arrest earlier this week of Stephen Griffiths, the Crown Prosecution Service has been working closely with West Yorkshire Police.

"I have carefully considered all of the evidence provided to me arising from their investigation into the murders of Suzanne Blamires, Shelley Armitage and Susan Rushworth.

"I have decided that there is sufficient evidence to charge Stephen Griffiths with their murders and that it is in the public interest to do so."

The charges came after a body found in the River Aire was confirmed as that of Ms Blamires.

A police spokesman said: "An examination of human remains recovered from the River Aire has confirmed a positive match to Suzanne Blamires."

Ms Blamires was last seen on Friday, while Ms Armitage, 31, has been missing since Monday, 26 April, and Ms Rushworth, 43, disappeared on 22 June last year.

Griffiths is believed to be a mature student at the University of Bradford who researched serial killers.

The 40-year-old appeared on the social networking site MySpace under the pseudonym Ven Pariah and username Ven99, and styled himself as the "misanthrope who brought hate into heaven".

A woman who works in a shop near his house said Griffiths used to come in on a daily basis to buy papers and other items. She described him as "a bit weird".

"He wouldn't say much but used to say hello and buy a few things," she said. "I thought he was a bit weird."

Griffiths was arrested by armed officers on Monday at his home on the edge of Bradford's red-light district.

A man who works close to Griffiths' flat said police arrived at the building brandishing guns.

He said: "He lives on the third floor. I've been told it's been completely sealed off now and everybody moved out.

"He was brought down and led away by the armed officers. They have been all over the place."

People working around the Thornton Road area said police had seized hours of CCTV footage.

Bradford's red-light area, centred on the city's Sunbridge Road, became notorious during the killings of the Yorkshire Ripper 30 years ago.

'My daughter did not have the life she was meant to'

THE mother of Suzanne Blamires spoke last night of her "bright and articulate" daughter, saying she "went down the wrong path".

In a statement issued through West Yorkshire Police, Nicky Blamires, 55, said her daughter went to college and was training to be a nurse, but added: "Unfortunately my daughter went down the wrong path and she did not have the life she was meant to have.

"She was a much-loved daughter, sister and niece and what has happened to her will haunt me to the day I die.

"Even though she ended up on the wrong path, she tried to protect her family and kept herself to herself so people knew very little about her.

"She always knew she could come home and that the door was always open. We also saw her all the time and were always there for her.

"At the end of the day, nobody deserves this. All these girls were human beings and people's daughters."