A MATURE student will today appear in court charged with the murder of Huddersfield prostitute Shelley Armitage.
Stephen Griffiths, 40, who is believed to have attended the private Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield, as a child, was yesterday charged with Shelley’s murder and that of two other prostitutes: Suzanne Blamires and Susan Rushworth.
Police have not as yet found Shelley’s body or any clues as to where she may be.
Shelley, 31, disappeared in the early hours of Tuesday April 27 – exactly a month before Griffiths was charged with her murder.
She had been working the streets of Bradford after moving to the city from Huddersfield, where she had worked last year.
Peter Mann, head of the Crown Prosecution Service West Yorkshire’s Complex Casework Unit, said yesterday: “Following the arrest earlier this week of Stephen Griffiths, the Crown Prosecution Service has been working closely with West Yorkshire Police.
“I have carefully considered all of the evidence provided to me arising from their investigation into the murders of Suzanne Blamires, Shelley Armitage and Susan Rushworth.
“I have decided that there is sufficient evidence to charge Stephen Griffiths with their murders, and that it is in the public interest to do so.
“Accordingly, I have authorised the police to charge him this afternoon.
He will appear at Bradford Magistrates’ Court this morning and he will then be remanded into custody to appear at Bradford Crown Court this afternoon.
“The events of the last few days have understandably been very upsetting for the families and friends of Suzanne, Shelley and Susan as well as for the wider public in Bradford.
“Their families have been informed of my decision by the police and I hope soon to be able to meet them and explain the trial process to them and answer any questions they may have.
“Mr Griffiths now stands charged with three extremely serious criminal offences and has the right to a fair trial.”
Since her disappearance, Shelley has not claimed her benefit or used her phone.
Police have previously said she had drink and drug problems. She was due in court charged with assaulting a police officer alongside her partner Craig Preston on May 17.
Griffiths’ arrest earlier this week came after the remains of one of the women, Suzanne Blamires, 36, were found in the River Aire at Shipley on Tuesday. She disappeared from Bradford last week.
Shelley was the second woman to disappear.
She has been described as a “much-loved daughter and sister” and a “bubbly, lovely” person.
She disappeared at some point between the late evening of Monday April 26 and the early morning of the next day in Rebecca Street, in Bradford city centre.
Jan Harrison, who works in a market, told how she chatted to Ms Armitage five or six weeks ago.
“She was pleasant,” Mrs Harrison said. “Nothing to write home about but she wasn’t scruffy, she wasn’t dirty. She was just a normal girl.”
Emile, a volunteer who worked with prostitutes in the area, said of her: “She was bubbly, lovely, a really nice person. She would always say hi, and was always doing something, always got friends.”
