Victim's mum didn't know she was a prostitute

LONDON (Reuters) - The mother of Tania Nicol, the first and youngest of five women to be murdered around Ipswich, told a court on Tuesday she did not know her daughter was working as a prostitute.

Nicol, 19, disappeared on October 30, 2006, and her body was finally found in a stream on December 8.

Forklift truck driver Steve Wright, 49, is accused of killing Nicol, Gemma Adams, Anneli Alderton, Paula Clennell and Annette Nicholls. Their naked bodies were found around the town in the space of just 10 days.

Giving evidence from behind a screen at Ipswich Crown Court, Kerry Nicol said she had last seen her daughter at home until about 10.45 p.m. on the day the vanished when she went to catch a bus to meet some friends.

Nicol told the court she spoke to her again at 10.57 p.m. to check she had got the bus. She never heard from her again and did not realise her daughter was missing until the following evening.

"I presumed she was staying at a friend's and had not got round to telling me," she said.

Nicol said she knew her daughter had made some phone calls on the home telephone before she left. The court heard that the numbers were for an unnamed man and for another called Tom Stephens.

Nicol also said she was unaware that Tania was working as a prostitute as she had told her she had a job and was doing "alright".

However she said on one occasion someone had phoned the house from a massage parlour asking for "Chantelle". She also found a letter in her daughter's bedroom addressed to a Chantelle.