Twenty-two-year-old Amala Ruth De Vere Whelan had only moved into her new place in Maida Vale, West London, three weeks before. Prior to that, she had lived and worked in Camden, at the Bar Lotus on Regents Park Road. She was a popular, socially outgoing young woman, involved in the local art scene and an active member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.
At around ten-thirty p.m. on the night of November 12th, 1972, Amala was seen leaving the Warrington pub on Sutherland Avenue, after which she presumably headed back toward home.
Her fate would not be discovered for four days. On November 16th, police discovered the body of twenty-two-year-old Amala Ruth De Vere Whelan in her flat in Maida Vale. She had been beaten and raped, and then strangled to death with a stocking.
Most chillingly, her killer had sprayed the word “ripper” on the wall with dishwashing detergent.
Authorities noted that there had been no sign of forced entry, and speculated that Amala might have known her attacker. Fingerprints were evidently recovered from the scene, but matched no previously known individuals. Beyond that, there were no suspects and no leads, and the case soon went fallow, though detectives have tried to keep the investigation alive, and have published new appeals as recently as 2017.
Crime Immemorial 