Same Time Next Week

Chapter 58

Yorkshire Standard

MAN ARRESTED AS SECOND PENNINE PROWLER AFTER TWENTY YEARS LIVING IN PLAIN SIGHT

A 69-year-old retired businessman has been arrested after new forensic evidence was revealed linking him to the murders committed by the Pennine Prowler who was active in the mid 1990s to early 2000s. A 73-year-old woman has also been arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice. Police believed there was a second prowler after victim Gillian Smith reported she was attacked by two men, but the second man remained at large as Wayne Craven, who died in 2009, refused to identify him.

One theory is that Craven kept silent in exchange for his wife being looked after financially, although she subsequently died less than four months after he did. The only known connection to date between the suspect and Wayne Craven is that Craven was at one time employed by him on a casual basis. We can only hope fuller details will come to light in due course.

What is clear is that for the family of Edek Urbaniak, who was believed for many years to have been the prime suspect, a man who was tried in the court of public opinion and found guilty, there may be peace at last. But the victims of the second Prowler, however, may still be denied justice, as the man arrested is reportedly in poor health and may not be capable of standing trial.