The youngest and first non-prostitute to be killed, the 16 year-old
shop-assistant was only a short distance from her home
The Ripper was trying to catch a victim alone outside the
entrance and car park to The Hayfield public house, which was a spot where
prostitutes drank and solicited for punters, outside the pub, at closing
time.
This was one of the prime prostitute haunts in Leeds.
Prostitutes were all up tight because of him and nobody was working alone.
Their pimps were also vigilant and aware of the danger of their profession
at that time. As the night wore on and he could not get one alone,
Tracey, not one to back down from a decided task, decided
to kill the innocent Jayne McDonald who was walking home alone through the
car park after a night out with her boyfriend. She got the full treatment
he intended to give to his preferred victim. The full extent of her
injuries was never revealed by the police but a broken bottle was rammed
into her by Tracey.
The location of the stabbing and the other atrocities were
not reported, but the police were in no doubt that it was the work of the
Ripper from the start. They knew the Hayfield pub, and the prostitution
associated with it, and the close links with the McCann and Jackson
murders. George Oldfield took the overall control of the investigation of
what had been a series of separate murder investigations.
Peter Sutcliffe could only look on in amazement as the
massive publicity and fear of the Ripper escalated. Billy Tracey was
baiting him and this was the third in a row, with Richardson being the
first , in exactly the same spot where he had attacked Marcella Claxton,
the year before without much fanfare. Sutcliffe knew he had awakened an
evil monster who was signalling to him. He was unrelenting. There would be
another innocent victim like Jayne two months later if he did not stop it.
Strange warfare indeed but Sutcliffe's statements bear out this
assessment.
