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Driver 'saw victim with two men' | |
(about 5 hours later) | |
One of five women found murdered in Suffolk was seen on the night of her disappearance talking to two men in a car, Ipswich Crown Court heard. | |
Driver Jane Leighton told jurors she saw Tania Nicol "having a giggle" on the night of 30 October 2006. | |
She was giving evidence in the trial of Steve Wright, 49, from Ipswich, who denies murdering the women. | |
The court also heard from victim Anneli Alderton's mother, who said her daughter would fight any attacker. | |
The victims had all been working as prostitutes at the time of their deaths. | |
Motorist Ms Leighton said she was driving home through the red light district of Ipswich just after 2300 GMT when she saw Miss Nicol. | |
'Posh car' | |
She said she realised the woman was Miss Nicol after seeing her photograph in a newspaper later. | |
"My first thought was, 'Somebody's got some money because it looks like a posh car'," said Ms Leighton. | |
"It was a shiny new blue car with a high boot." | |
Anneli Alderton would "fight" an attacker, the court heard | |
Jurors were told Ms Leighton examined pictures of cars in a motor magazine with police and identified the vehicle as a Peugeot. | |
Anneli Alderton's mother, Maire, said her daughter became hooked on drugs after the death of her father and later served a number of prison sentences. | |
Maire Alderton said she eventually became aware that her daughter was working as a prostitute. | |
The jury heard that Miss Alderton, 24, visited her mother at her Essex home on 3 December 2006, the last time she saw her. | |
'Feisty' daughter | |
Maire Alderton told the court that her daughter would fight back if she was attacked. | |
"She was feisty and believed she could tackle anybody that tried to attack her," she told the court. | |
On Tuesday, Tania Nicol's mother Kerry told the court she thought her daughter was working in a bar or hairdressers, although men she did not know had twice called at the house. | |
She said she had received telephone calls from a man named Tom Stephens asking a "strange question" about whether the women would still go out and what they would do if one was murdered. | She said she had received telephone calls from a man named Tom Stephens asking a "strange question" about whether the women would still go out and what they would do if one was murdered. |
The court also heard from Gail Adams - mother of victim Gemma Adams - who said her daughter had lost contact with her family in the last few months of her life. | The court also heard from Gail Adams - mother of victim Gemma Adams - who said her daughter had lost contact with her family in the last few months of her life. |
Miss Nicol, 19, Miss Adams, 25, Miss Alderton, Paula Clennell, 24, and Annette Nicholls, 29, went missing during six weeks from October to December 2006 before their bodies were found. | |
The trial continues. | The trial continues. |