A LEADING criminologist believes the killer of Saudi Arabian student Nahid Almanea could also be responsible for the murder of James Attfield, who was stabbed more than 100 times in Colchester in March this year.
Professor David Wilson has said the fact that both victims were "overkilled", or stabbed numerous times, indicates a link between the pair.
Speaking to Sky News the Professor, from the University of Essex, said: "So here we've got something really unusual happening in Colchester - we've got two random attacks in a very concentrated geographic area and both victims have been 'overkilled'.
"They've been stabbed numerous times - more times than would be necessary to actually take their life.
"Clearly there is some link between these two, although the police don't want to make that link because it scares people to think there might be somebody of this background at loose in the community."
He also added that the killer responsible for the murder of 31-year-old Nahid on the Salary Brook Trail is likely to be known to mental health services, and perhaps well-known as an "odd" character within the community.
"This kind of person doesn't stop attacking," he added.
"This kind of person continues to attack until they are caught."
