A FORMER murder squad detective will give a North-East theatre audience his twist on one of the UK’s most infamous murders.

Former Bedfordshire Police officer Trevor Marriott is bringing his show Jack The Ripper – A 21st Century Investigation to The Customs House in South Shields, South Tyneside, on Monday (September 22).

Mr Marriott is sceptical of recent claims that Polish immigrant Aaron Kosminski was the notorious murderer.

Mr Marriott said: “When I decided to look at the Jack the Ripper case I looked at it from a professional point of view, as a cold case and not with any preconceptions or hidden agendas.

“As I looked deeper into the Whitechapel Murders, I discovered that there simply was no Jack the Ripper, and the name simply evolved from an overzealous newspaper reporter in 1888.

“I have found little evidence which points to any of the so-called prime suspects and in my show each of the suspects – including Kosminski – are looked at closely and in a twist to any other Ripper show are eliminated one by one.

“It’s a new telling of an old story, which discovers that ‘Jack’ was a convenient cover for shortfalls in policing, while also being the product of a media frenzy.”

Mr Marriott is looking forward to returning to The Customs House, having presented his talk The Evil Within: The World’s Worst Serial Killers earlier this year.

He said: “The Customs House is a lovely venue and last time I came I had a very interested audience, I’m hoping for much of the same next week.”

The show starts at 7.45pm. Tickets, priced £14 and £12 concessions, are available from the box office on 0191-454-1234 or by visiting www.customshouse.co.uk.