Annette's uncle in plea to killer

Murder victim Annette Nicholls has today been described as a kind and caring woman who always put others before herself.

Police today confirmed that Miss Nicholls, 29, is the fifth victim of the Suffolk serial killer.

Opening their hearts to The Evening Star, Miss Nicholls' uncle Peter Nicholls today spoke of his affection for his missing niece - and also sent a message to the killer.

He said: “Why can't you stop? You have done enough damage. For the sake of my family and the families of the other girls please just leave this town alone.

“Please explain to us the reason of why you have done what you have done? Give us that peace of mind.”

Mr Nicholls said Miss Nicholls was a “wonderful and caring” woman who was more concerned about the problems of other family members than her own.

He said: “She heard I got cancer three months ago and she came and visited.

“She hugged me and kissed me

“She was a lovely girl and a very caring person and more concerned about others than herself.”

Mr Nicholls, of Drake Avenue, on the Gainsborough estate in Ipswich, said the “very close” family of Miss Nicholls was completely devastated on hearing news the former Holywells pupil was missing.

He and his wife Yvonne had been visiting Annette's parents, Rosemary and Horace (believed to be known as Johnny to many people), when they received a call from a friend to tell them a television channel was stating two more women had been found.

Mrs Nicholls, said: “Everybody broke down in tears when they heard.

“They had previously been trying to be strong for one another.

“The police came around about half an hour later to inform them that two bodies had been found. They said one of them had dark hair.”

Peter Nicholls had just returned from six hours of scouring the countryside at Nacton and Levington in the hopes of finding the body of his 29-year-old niece.

Although police have not identified the fifth body as that of Annette, Mr Nicholls believed all hope was lost and her body was in that location because of a premonition the night before.

Mr Nicholls said: “I searched the whole area. I walked around fields in Nacton and in Levington Marina.

“At one point I wanted to stop but there was a taxi and three other cars behind me so I carried on further down the road. I later found out that was the spot where the women were found and I can't forgive myself for not looking there.”

Mr Nicholls, said he wants a police officer to visit him to explain why a wider search was not carried out when the third woman was found.

He said: “I want answers. I want to know why I was the only one searching that area that day. I spent the whole day trying to get into this man's mind - a normal everyday man.

“The police don't seem to be doing that.”