Wilma McCann worked as a prostitute in Leeds. She was the
first publicly acknowledged victim of the Ripper, who was to be branded as
such after the linked murder of Emily Jackson in Leeds on the 20th January
1976 some 11 weeks later. Jackson's murder was immediately linked to the
murder of Wilma McCann because they were both prostitutes and in the same
area and within a short interval of time and both were murdered with
brutal violence by only 2 or 3 blows to the head, accompanied by sexual
ritual. The Ripper was believed to have used a stone or some other blunt
instrument to strike her down first. The subsequent murders were carried
out with a hammer. Wilma had her throat cut. She received multiple stab
wounds and was stripped. B blood semen was found on her. Only minimal
details were released by police about her injuries.
Wilma McCann was the mother of four children
The police probably have other linking factors never
disclosed but these murders were always linked as Ripper murders. Hammer
attacks were unheard of at that time although they are not unheard of now.
Killer blows to the head, prostitutes, Leeds and timing, were the linking
factors.
Police (Right) make an inch by inch search of the murder
scene
The murder scene
The knife that Tracey used to stab Wilma was to be buried
into prostitute Barbara Booth's skull only nine weeks later in another
part of Leeds. That murder was quickly taken off the books by Detective
Dick Holland with the arrest of Mark Rowntree. If the murderer did not go
on to taunt the West Yorkshire police with more linked murders these would
have been forgotten about in time and put down to pimp violence. But this
was not an ordinary man. This was a man on a mission to show the police
that he was unafraid of them and hated them. This was a criminal of the
most violent type who was taunting the police and chose to link some of
his crimes deliberately so that they would be in the same frame. This was
a man who knew he was inviting serious attention to himself and the
attention of every policeman.
