It has sex, death, police, fear, nudity and immoral women getting what's coming to them. Toss in a couple celebrities and the tabloids could be making money off it well into the next century.

As soon as you grab a blog quote from someone named Twisty, you lose credibilty. Serious commentary shouldn't hide behind silly monikers.

FYI - 6 of Sutcliffe's victims were not protitutes but students, clerks, bearacrats and doctors. Furthermore complaining about reporting the "The Sun" is akin to complaining about media bias when watching Fox News.

The crimes seem very similar. Both involve multiple female victims. Victims in both cases were prostitutes. Some of the women in both cases were strangled. Ongoing investigations are having a hard time narrowing the search for the killer. Identical comparisons are made between the murderer and Jack the Ripper.

About the only difference is that there have been some attempts to humanize the victims of the Atlatic City murders. (I can't recall any of them being referred to by their hair color, for instance.) Other than that, both are examples of how crimes against women are sensationalized by the news media.

I Blame the Patriarchy has it exactly *wrong*. Yes the tabloids are sensationalizing the case, in their usual way, but the overall attitude towards the women victims, and the sex workers the police are belatedly trying to protect, is generally extremely sympathetc. IBtP are just recycling knoee-jerk cliches about attitudes towards prostitutes, and towards women victims of violence. Nowhere has anyone suggested they "got what was coming to them". As one letter-writer to the Sun put it, we know none of these women put down "Prostitute" on the little form at school career day, but life has led them to this career and they deserve all the help they can get.

Anyway, a little sensationalism is warranted. This is a spree killer, not a serial killer, and they usually don't stop unless they're caught (remember the guy who killed Versace?).

I try not to entertain delusions of any lasting romanticism in the sex trade. But I would remind the men of every country that, to deranged children such as this, the line between 'immoral women' and your wife, your sister, your mother, is an equally fragile illusion.

I strongly recommend Alan Moore's "From Hell" to anyone insterested in these issues.

I wish there was something to be done about our attitudes towards sex and prostitution. In those confused messages, serial killers are born. If I were the Empress, I'd legalize prostitution, outlaw pimps, create safe places for these women to work with medical care and round the clock security. The way these women are treated as throw away members of society is so sad.

"The crimes seem very similar. Both involve multiple female victims. Victims in both cases were prostitutes. Some of the women in both cases were strangled. Ongoing investigations are having a hard time narrowing the search for the killer. Identical comparisons are made between the murderer and Jack the Ripper."

I've heard this theory and it seems... frivolous? Unless there is something they're not telling us "strangled prostitutes" doesn't seem like much of an exclusive MO. Prostitutes can be gone for a while without anyone looking so they make good victims. Strangulation is a handy way to kill someone smaller and weaker than you and not leave weapons lying around as evidence.

I have to agree with GeeBee. The "sensationalism" of violence against women is good for women. The coverage is, as was pointed out, generally sympathetic to the victims, and it brings attention to the crimes. Even when serious media outlets cover women who are missing or domestic violence murder victims, they are accused of "tabloidization"; many self-styled media critics are appalled that they're covering violence against women instead of real news. Stories about missing men, of course (James Kim), don't generally elicit this kind of skepticism.

So bring on the "tabloid journalism"!

Unfortunately, this kind of crime is all too common. And pointing out the parallels in these cases is hardly frivolous; they are tragic in their similarities and the lack of traction in their investigations.

Publicizing crimes against women is fine. I'm all for shining a light in dark places. But dwelling lovingly on their sensationalistic aspects is another story. Look at the coverage of Laci Peterson's, Nicole Brown Simpson's and Jon Benet Ramsay's murders and Natalee Holloway's disappearance. Did it shed more light on these tragedies, or bathe the nation in bathos and sleaze to juice the ratings?

"And pointing out the parallels in these cases is hardly frivolous; they are tragic in their similarities and the lack of traction in their investigations."

I apologize, I was unclear. A local news item was reaching to imply that it was the same person doing them (I accidentally left this out of my letter). That's where my declartion of 'frivilous' comes from. i.e. -- speculating that there is a trans atlantic serial killer is just another way to sensationalize the murders.

Yeah, legalize it. that'll solve all the problems associated with prostitution. Look what legalizing alcohol and cigarettes have done. Uh huh.