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| CRIME WRITER: PCSO David Bullock will get the hard copy of The Man Who Would Be Jack in his hands after 18 years. |
A COMMUNITY support officer has swapped crime fighting for crime writing after completing an 18-year project on Jack the Ripper.
PCSO David Bullock, 36, patrols Windsor town centre during the day, but his love of writing and fascination with the Ripper case led him to research the character of Thomas Hayne Cutbush. He was a man suspected, but never tried, as being the unidentified serial killer who terrorised London prostitutes in 1888.
Mr Bullock began researching Cutbush's background in 1994. Once he finally gained unprecedented access to files from the suspect's time at the high security Broadmoor Hospital, in Crowthorne, in 2008, he knew publishing a book was possible.
Speaking to The Observer, Mr Bullock said: "That moment really was a big thing for me and from there I started to look seriously at putting a story together.
"Examining the notes from Broadmoor was amazing. It gives a lot of new insight into Cutbush's anger and his paranoia that people were after him.
"The process of writing the book was brilliant. It was hard, but anything worth doing you have to put your all into it."
While uncovering the details of Cutbush's life and character, The Man Who Would Be Jack explores the story of Inspector William Race, who first suspected the 25-year-old, and his relationship with two newspaper journalists who helped him to identify crucial eye-witnesses.
Mr Bullock added: "Inspector Race took an incredible risk by going to the press because his superiors refused to look into Cutbush. By going to the press he re-ignited the interest in the case and a lot more information was uncovered."
The Man Who Would Be Jack will be released on Tuesday, August 14, and will be available in Waterstones and at www.amazon.co.uk
PCSO David Bullock, 36, patrols Windsor town centre during the day, but his love of writing and fascination with the Ripper case led him to research the character of Thomas Hayne Cutbush. He was a man suspected, but never tried, as being the unidentified serial killer who terrorised London prostitutes in 1888.
Mr Bullock began researching Cutbush's background in 1994. Once he finally gained unprecedented access to files from the suspect's time at the high security Broadmoor Hospital, in Crowthorne, in 2008, he knew publishing a book was possible.
Speaking to The Observer, Mr Bullock said: "That moment really was a big thing for me and from there I started to look seriously at putting a story together.
"Examining the notes from Broadmoor was amazing. It gives a lot of new insight into Cutbush's anger and his paranoia that people were after him.
"The process of writing the book was brilliant. It was hard, but anything worth doing you have to put your all into it."
While uncovering the details of Cutbush's life and character, The Man Who Would Be Jack explores the story of Inspector William Race, who first suspected the 25-year-old, and his relationship with two newspaper journalists who helped him to identify crucial eye-witnesses.
Mr Bullock added: "Inspector Race took an incredible risk by going to the press because his superiors refused to look into Cutbush. By going to the press he re-ignited the interest in the case and a lot more information was uncovered."
The Man Who Would Be Jack will be released on Tuesday, August 14, and will be available in Waterstones and at www.amazon.co.uk
www.windsorobserver.co.uk
6.8.12
