KEY POINTS:
A man wrongly identified by a newspaper as a suspect in the Ipswich prostitute murders has been found dead at his home.
Gareth Huw Roberts, 48, was pictured on the front page of the Daily Mail and named as Steve Wright, who was eventually charged with the murders.
Mr Roberts, a former colleague of Mr Wright, was found dead with another man at his home in Pwlhelli, North Wales.
Police said the deaths were "unexplained" but not suspicious.
The newspaper's mistaken identification of Mr Roberts occurred on December 21, at the height of the murder investigation, when it used a 20-year-old photograph which had captured both him and Mr Wright, who were serving together at the time on the QE2.
The picture, taken on New Years' Eve, 1976, was cropped to highlight only Mr Roberts and captioned: "Steve Wright during his time as a crew member on the QE2."
It is understood that a "five figure sum" was later paid to Mr Roberts in compensation.
A friend of Mr Roberts contacted police after becoming concerned about him and his friend Ian Stedham, who shared a flat in Pwlhelli.
The bodies of both men were found at 11am on Tuesday morning.
In December, Mr Roberts described his horror at being identified as a suspect.
A newsagent told him: 'Your picture is in the paper.' "There it was. I felt nauseous," he said. "I've never even been to Ipswich."
The newspaper printed a formal apology to Mr Roberts the following day and agreed to pay compensation.
The paper said the picture had been supplied by a "normally reliable news agency", adding: "Mr Roberts has no connection to the inquiry. We apologise to Mr Roberts and his family for our error and any embarrassment caused."
A solicitor acting for Mr Roberts, Michael Strain, confirmed yesterday that the newspaper had paid Mr Wright compensation.
The discarded bodies of Annette Nicholls, 29, Gemma Adams, 25, Tania Nicol, 19, Anneli Alderton, 24, and Paula Clennell, 24, were all found in remote locations around Ipswich within two weeks of each other in December.
Mr Wright, 48, has been charged with the murder of all five women.
He is due to appear at Ipswich Crown Court on May 1.
- INDEPENDENT
