Despite the false lead, Sutcliffe was interviewed on at least two other occasions in 1979. [13] The resulting photofit bore a strong resemblance to Sutcliffe, as had those from other survivors, and Moore provided a good description of Sutcliffe's car, which had been seen in red light areas. West Yorkshire Police faced heavy and sustained criticism for their failure to catch him despite having interviewed him nine times in the course of their five-year investigation. The 5 note, hidden in a secret compartment in Jordan's handbag, was traced to branches of the Midland Bank in Shipley and Bingley. He had experienced a number of health issues in recent years and was At his trial he pleaded not guilty to murder on grounds of diminished responsibility, but he was convicted of murder on a majority verdict. The police told him he was "very lucky", as the woman did not want to press charges. [107] He began his sentence at HM Prison Parkhurst on 22 May 1981. THIS was the last-ever sighting of the Yorkshire Ripper as he was taken to hospital for an eye operation. The play was produced by New Diorama.[142]. [78], Clark and Tate claimed there were links between Sutcliffe and unsolved murders across the country, such as that of Jacqueline Ansell-Lamb and Barbara Mayo, Judith Roberts, Wendy Sewell, Eve Stratford and Lynne Weedon, Patsy Morris and Carol Wilkinson. [96][97], Other links made by police between unsolved attacks and Sutcliffe would also be subsequently disproven. Peter Sutcliffe: Prison report examines death of killer The House of Lords held that the Chief Constable of West Yorkshire did not owe a duty of care to the victim due to the lack of proximity, and therefore failing on the second limb of the Caparo test. The letters, signed "Jack the Ripper", claimed responsibility for the murder of 26-year-old Joan Harrison in Preston in November 1975. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. 1970s Jack the Ripper: How Peter Sutcliffe Terrorized the Thankfully, there is no reason to think he committed any further murderous assaults within that period. [108] In March 1984, Sutcliffe was sent to Broadmoor Hospital, under Section 47 of the Mental Health Act 1983.[109]. A witness said at the time:Sutcliffe looked really calm and quite happy. ", Yet Sutcliffe's plea of diminished responsibility, which could have resulted in a lighter sentence, wasn't successful. We, as a police force, will continue to arrest prostitutes. [100] Ripper detective Jim Hobson duly visited the site of the murder in Bristol, but there were a number of differences from Sutcliffe's known modus operandi. Claxton survived and testified against Sutcliffe at his trial. [145], In November 2021, American heavy metal band Slipknot released a song titled "The Chapeltown Rag", which is inspired by the media reporting on the murders. Following Sutcliffe's death in 2020, a police constable issued an apology "for the additional distress and anxiety caused to all relatives by the language, tone and terminology used by senior officers at the time in relation to Peter Sutcliffe's victims. [92] South Yorkshire Police also interviewed Sutcliffe on the murder of Ann Marie Harold in Mexborough in 1980, but links to him were later disproved when another man was convicted of her murder in 1982. [103], In 2015, authors Chris Clark and Tim Tate published a book claiming links between Sutcliffe and unsolved murders, titled Yorkshire Ripper: The Secret Murders. Referring to the period between 1969, when Sutcliffe first came to the attention of police, and 1975, the year of his first documented murder, the report states: "There is a curious and unexplained lull in Sutcliffe's criminal activities" and "it is my firm conclusion that between 1969 and 1980 Sutcliffe was probably responsible for many attacks on unaccompanied women, which he has not yet admitted, not only in the West Yorkshire and Manchester areas, but also in other parts of the country". Sutcliffe himself said at his trial, "It was just a miracle they did not apprehend me earlier they had all the facts." [74][75] Wilkinson's murder had initially been considered as a possible "Ripper" killing, but this was quickly ruled out as she was not a prostitute. Sutcliffe confessed to being the perpetrator, saying that the voice of God had sent him on a mission to kill prostitutes. But multiple investigatory missteps kept police from capturing Sutcliffe. [86] Most notably, Sutcliffe's work record also showed that he was delivering to an engineering plant 100 yards from Schlessinger's home on the day she was killed. [138], On 26 August 2016, the police investigation was the subject of BBC Radio 4's The Reunion. It was one of the largest investigations by a British police force[55] and predated the use of computers. Sutcliffe took two more lives in 1980: civil servant Marguerite Walls, 47, in August and 20-year-old Jacqueline Hill, a student, in November. 28 Serial Killer Crime Scene Photos From Famous [34], Joan Smith wrote in Misogynies (1989, 1993), that "even Sutcliffe, at his trial, did not go quite this far; he did at least claim he was demented at the time". [32] Sutcliffe hit her on the head with a hammer, dragged her body into a rubbish-strewn yard, then used a sharpened screwdriver to stab her in the neck, chest and abdomen. The hoaxer, dubbed "Wearside Jack", sent two letters to police and the Daily Mirror in March 1978 boasting of his crimes. And a five-pound banknote discovered on one victim was traced to Sutcliffe's employer, but police accepted Sutcliffe's alibi that he had been at a party. Despite matching several forensic clues and being on the list of 300 names in connection with the 5 note, he was not strongly suspected. [72] Later that year, in September 1969,[73] he was arrested in Bradford's red light area for being in possession of a hammer, an offensive weapon, but he was charged with "going equipped for stealing" as it was assumed he was a potential burglar. Sutcliffe was interviewed by the police nine times prior to his arrest. Wearing red trousers, a beige coat and cap, the monster looked a world away from the smirking killer who slaughtered 13 in a murderous rampage. [66][34][67] Jim Hobson, a senior West Yorkshire detective, told a press conference in October 1979 the perpetrator: "has made it clear that he hates prostitutes. In 2001, Angus Sinclair was convicted of the murder of Mary Gallagher on DNA evidence, and he was also convicted of the World's End murders in 2014 in a highly publicised trial. Peter Sutcliffe was a British serial killer known as the Yorkshire Ripper whose 1975-80 murder spree left residents of northern England living in fear. The DNA matched that of John Samuel Humble, an unemployed alcoholic and longtime resident of the Ford Estate in Sunderland a few miles from Castletown whose DNA had been taken following a drunk and disorderly offence in 2001. On 1 September, Sutcliffe murdered 20-year-old Barbara Leach, a Bradford University student. Over three months the police interviewed 5,000 men, including Sutcliffe. At the time of this attack, Claxton had been four months pregnant and subsequently miscarried her baby. [75][82] The location Wilkinson was killed was very close to Sutcliffe's place of employment at T. & W. H. Clark, where he would have clocked in for work that afternoon. Sutcliffe picked up Jackson, who was soliciting outside the Gaiety pub on Roundhay Road, then drove about half a mile to some derelict buildings on Enfield Terrace in the Manor Industrial Estate. She survived and provided police with a description of her attacker. [9][10], Through his childhood and his early adolescence, Sutcliffe showed no signs of abnormality. [105] The Home Office confirmed that it was, indicating that Sutcliffe can be ruled out of unsolved murder cases in which there is existing DNA evidence such as in the Mayo, Stratford and Weedon cases. Yorkshire Ripper not allowed to call wife for final time as [86] The killing took place only two days before Sutcliffe's known killing of Patricia Atkinson in Bradford. Sutcliffe committed his second assault on the night of 5 July 1975 in Keighley. Peter Sutcliffe Cause of Death: How Did the Killer Die? Her visits reportedly stopped after she got married again in 1997. That indicates your mental state and that you are in urgent need of medical attention. Sutcliffe experienced numerous assaults while in custody. In April 1979, Sutcliffe killed Josephine Whittaker, a 19-year-old bank clerk. Terror spread through the area as the attacks continued, spurring a years-long manhunt that incorporated an estimated 2.5 million police hours. [78], In 1982, West Yorkshire Police appointed detective Keith Hellawell to lead a secret investigation into possible additional murders committed by Sutcliffe. Peter Sutcliffe Photos and Premium High Res Pictures [100] Jenkins' murder remains unsolved. In addition, a 1982 government inquiry noted, "We feel it is highly improbable that the crimes in respect of which Sutcliffe has been charged and convicted are the only ones attributable to him." Sutcliffe, 74, was serving 20 life terms at Heartbroken dad speaks out as body of teen and 6 others found after sleepover, Seven bodies found just hours after Amber Alert for two missing girls, 'Cult mom' Lori Vallow's hair found on duct tape used to wrap son's body, Inside Jeffrey Epstein's private calendar including meeting with Noam Chomsky, 2020 THE SUN, US, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY | YOUR AD CHOICES | SITEMAP, This was the last-ever sighting of Peter Sutcliffe in 2015, The bloated killer looked a world away from the monster who terrorised the North in the 1970s, The killer was escorted to a hospital for treatment to his eye, He appeared in good spirits and joked with staff, It was the first time Sutcliffe had been seen in 34 years, The monster lost the sight in his left eye after he was stabbed in the face with a pen by fellow Broadmoor patient Ian Kay in 1997, Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe dead at 74 Serial killer who murdered 13 women dies from Covid. On 16 July 2010, the High Court issued Sutcliffe with a whole life tariff, meaning he was never to be released. Peter Sutcliffe tests positive for Covid He lost the sight in his left eye after he was stabbed in the face with a pen by fellow Broadmoor patient Ian Kay in 1997. [71], In 1969, Sutcliffe, described in the Byford Report as an "otherwise unremarkable young man", came to the notice of police on two occasions over incidents with prostitutes. Ripper victim's son told photo of mum Sutcliffe's first and last murders also occurred in Leeds. An independent report into the death of serial killer Peter Sutcliffe has concluded he caught Covid-19 in hospital rather than in prison. [86] Although a hammer was not used, Sutcliffe also often used a knife to stab his victims. [84] As part of the research for the book, the authors claimed to have found evidence that pointed to the wrong man having been convicted for the Sewell murder, having unearthed a pathology report which allegedly indicated that the originally convicted Stephen Downing could not have committed the crime. "[27], On the night of 15 August, Sutcliffe attacked Olive Smelt in Halifax. On 6 April 1991, Sutcliffe's father, John Sutcliffe, talked about his son on the television discussion programme After Dark. Eleven marches in various towns across the United Kingdom took place on the night of 12 November 1977, making the point that women should be able to walk anywhere without restriction and that they should not be blamed for men's violence. [90] The other male listed as a possible victim was John Tomey, who was attacked by a hammer by a man who matched Sutcliffe's description in his taxi in 1967. Peter Sutcliffe Photos and Premium High Res Pictures MacDonald was not a prostitute and, in the public perception, her murder showed that all women were potential victims. Self: Martin Kemp's Murder Files. Updated: 20:52, 6 Nov 2020 YORKSHIRE Ripper Peter Sutcliffe has tested positive for Covid after leaving hospital. [75] In 2015, former detective Chris Clark and investigative journalist Tim Tate published a book, Yorkshire Ripper: The Secret Murders[84] (see below), which supported the theory that Sutcliffe had murdered Wilkinson, pointing out that her body had been posed and partially stripped in a manner similar to the Ripper's modus operandi. He attacked Anna Rogulskyj, who was walking alone, striking her unconscious with a hammer and slashing her stomach with a knife. They were snapped as the Ripper was taken for tests Wearing red trousers, a beige coat and cap, the monster looked a world away from the smirking killer who slaughtered 13 in a murderous rampage. The pictures taken in 2015 are the last ever taken of Sutcliffe before he died from Covid this morning in hospital. Clark (Holdings) Ltd. on the Canal Road Industrial Estate in Bradford. [10], On 2 January 1981, Sutcliffe was stopped by the police with 24-year-old prostitute Olivia Reivers in the driveway of Light Trades House in Melbourne Avenue, Broomhill, Sheffield, South Yorkshire. Read our Yorkshire Ripper live blog for the latest news & updates. We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right,contact us! [14] On 5 March 1976, Sutcliffe was dismissed for the theft of used tyres. [98] Investigators had taken DNA from Sutcliffe at Broadmoor Hospital in December 1997 in order to see if they could find links between him and unsolved crimes. [2]:144 He was sentenced to twenty concurrent sentences of life imprisonment, which were converted to a whole life order in 2010. Many people do. As [23][133][19][134] A private funeral ceremony was held, and Sutcliffe's body was cremated. [31] In dire financial straits, Jackson had been persuaded by her husband to engage in prostitution, using the van of their family roofing business. Peter Sutcliffe dead - Yorkshire Ripper was last seen in public Peter William Sutcliffe (2 June 1946 13 November 2020), also known as Peter Coonan and dubbed in press reports as the Yorkshire Ripper (an allusion to Jack the Ripper) was an English serial killer who was convicted of murdering thirteen women and attempting to murder seven others between 1975 and 1980. [80] He was familiar with the council estate where she was murdered and was known to have regularly frequented the area; in February 1977, only months before the murder, he was reported to police for acting suspiciously on the street where Wilkinson lived. They divorced in 1994. Leading eye doctors were trying to save the sight of the frail serial killer in one of many trips Sutcliffe made to hospital during his final years. He left his friend Trevor Birdsall's minivan and walked up St. Paul's Road in Bradford until he was out of sight. [126], In December 2015, Sutcliffe was assessed as being "no longer mentally ill". He reportedly refused treatment. During his interrogation, Sutcliffe confessed to the crimes, saying, "It's all right, I know what you're leading up to. [40] Humble died on 30 July 2019, aged 63.[41]. [33] The police described her as the first "innocent" victim. Police bought into the hoax even as some survivors informed authorities that their assailant had spoken with a Yorkshire accent. [2]:30, Sutcliffe attacked 20-year-old Marcella Claxton in Roundhay Park, Leeds, on 9 May. [81] Furthermore, earlier on the day as Wilkinson's murder, Sutcliffe had gone back to mutilate Jordan's body before returning to Bradford, showing he had already gone out to attack victims that day and would have been in Bradford to attack Wilkinson after he returned from mutilating Jordan. [43] On 25 November 1980, Trevor Birdsall, an associate of Sutcliffe and the unwitting getaway driver in his first documented assault in 1969, reported him to the police as a suspect. It was decided that prosecution for these offences was "not in the public interest". Sutcliffe met Sonia Szurma, whose parents were refugees from Poland and Ukraine, in 1966. He added that he was with Sutcliffe when he got out of a car to pursue a woman with whom he had had an argument at a bar in Halifax on 16 August 1975 the date and place of the Olive Smelt attack. [104], A number of murders Clark and Tate claimed could be linked to Sutcliffe already have DNA evidence, such as the murders of Mayo, Stratford and Weedon, and investigators are known to already have a copy of Sutcliffe's DNA and have been able to rule him out of unsolved cases as a result. All Rights Reserved. Peter Sutcliffe was a British serial killer known as the Yorkshire Ripper whose 1975-80 murder spree left residents of northern England living in fear. Paul Wilson, a convicted robber, asked to borrow a videotape before attempting to strangle Sutcliffe with the cable from a pair of stereo headphones. [69] Byford said: The failure to take advantage of Birdsall's anonymous letter and his visit to the police station was yet again a stark illustration of the progressive decline in the overall efficiency of the major incident room. [110] On 23 February 1996, he was attacked in his room in Broadmoor's Henley Ward. Ch 5, documentary "Born to Kill" broadcast 12.05am 21 September 2022 a profile of the serial killer. ", Sutcliffe's trial began on May 4, 1981. [90], Hellawell had listed the attacks on Tracey Browne in 1975 and Ann Rooney in 1979 as possible Sutcliffe attacks, and it was to him he confessed to these crimes to in 1992, confirming police suspicions that he was responsible for more attacks than those he confessed to at trial. Peter Sutcliffe Sutcliffe was serving a Sutcliffe was reported to have been transferred from Broadmoor to HM Prison Frankland in August 2016. (The death penalty was not an option, having been abolished in 1965.). In February 1975, he took redundancy and used half of the 400 pay-off to train as a heavy goods vehicle (HGV) driver. He was remanded in custody, and on 21 March 2006, was convicted and sentenced to eight years in prison. Sutcliffe initially attacked women and girls in residential areas, but appears to have shifted his focus to red-light districts because he was attracted by the vulnerability of prostitutes and the perceived ambivalent attitude, at the time, of police to prostitutes' safety. Sutcliffe, who murdered at least 13 women and attempted to murder at least seven more, died in hospital from coronavirus on November 13, 2020. [84] It alleged that, between 1966 and 1980, Sutcliffe was responsible for at least twenty-two more murders than he was convicted of. Based on the recorded message, police began searching for a man with a Wearside accent, which linguists narrowed down to the Castletown area of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear. It was a beautiful sunny day and he looked like an old man strolling to his allotment or something. Read our Yorkshire Ripper live blog for the latest news & updates. Sutcliffe has one other confirmed victim in 1969 he used a sock with a stone in it to strike a woman; she survived but declined to press charges. In the series she questions whether the attitude of both the police and society towards women prevented Sutcliffe from being caught sooner. Peter Sutcliffe was born to a working-class family in Bingley, West Riding of Yorkshire. He left school at fifteen and held a variety of jobs, including work at a factory, as a gravedigger [131][132], Sutcliffe died at University Hospital of North Durham aged 74 on 13 November 2020, after having previously returned to HMP Frankland following treatment for a suspected heart attack at the same hospital two weeks prior. [93][92], Also believed to be included on the list were the murders of 20-year-old Anna Kenny, 36-year-old Hilda McAuley and 23-year-old Agnes Cooney in separate incidents in Glasgow in 1977, as well as the World's End murders of Helen Scott and Christine Eadie in Edinburgh in 1978. At his 1981 trial Sutcliffe was also found guilty of attacking seven other women in the 1975 to 1980 time period. [111] Kay admitted trying to kill Sutcliffe and was ordered to be detained in a secure mental hospital without limit of time. [79] Like Wilkinson, Pearson was bludgeoned with a heavy stone and was not stabbed, and was initially ruled out as a "Ripper" victim. [78] Even though his confession failed to include any details of the murder, and Ripper detective Jim Hobson testified at trial that he did not find the confession credible, Steel was narrowly convicted. He then disarranged her clothing and slashed her lower back with a knife. He bragged to friends about robbing bodies at the morgue. Apart from a terrorist outrage, it is difficult to conceive of circumstances in which one man could account for so many victims. [26] She later said, "I've been afraid to go out much because I feel people are staring and pointing at me. Straw responded that whilst the matter of Sutcliffe's release was a parole board matter, "that all the evidence that I have seen on this case, and it's a great deal, suggests to me that there are no circumstances in which this man will be released".[117]. The urge inside me to kill girls was now practically uncontrollable. Peter William Sutcliffe (2June 1946 13November 2020), also known as Peter Coonan and dubbed in press reports as the Yorkshire Ripper (an allusion to Jack the Ripper) was an English serial killer who was convicted of murdering thirteen women and attempting to murder seven others between 1975 and 1980. Once she was dead, Sutcliffe mutilated her corpse with a knife. To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. The force of the impact tore the toe off the sock and whatever was in it came out. [2]:92 In a later confession, Sutcliffe said he had realised the new 5 note he had given to Jordan was traceable. [90] One of these was Fred Craven, a bookkeeper murdered with a hammer on the same street Sutcliffe lived on in Bingley in 1966, and whose daughter Sutcliffe was known to have approached and been rejected by. killer known as the Yorkshire Ripper dies after [9], Sutcliffe was known to be acquaintances with Wilkinson, and was known to have argued violently with Wilkinson's stepfather over his advances towards her. LONDON Peter Sutcliffe, who was convicted of killing 13 women and attempting to murder seven others in a yearslong spree that led newspapers to call him On 20 October 2005, Humble was charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice for sending the hoax letters and tape. [86], Another noteworthy case was the April 1977 murder of 18-year-old Debbie Schlessinger, who was killed as she walked home one evening in Leeds after a night out. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. This inquiry also looked at the killings of two prostitutes in southern Sweden in 1980. Police also dismissed some victims who didn't fit into their "prostitute killer" profile. [34]:190[35] The following month, Sutcliffe assaulted Maureen Long in Bradford, but was interrupted and left her for dead. The first woman Sutcliffe is known to have killed was 28-year-old Wilma McCann in October 1975. Fears also heightened following the death of 20-year-old student Barbara Leach in September 1979. These victims survived, though with lasting trauma and severe injuries. [7] The High Court dismissed an appeal by Sutcliffe in 2010, confirming that he would serve a whole life order and never be released from custody. Shipley. He succumbed to Covid-19 after refusing treatment. THIS was the last-ever sighting of the Yorkshire Ripper as he was taken to hospital for an eye operation. British serial killer, Peter Sutcliffe, who is infamous as the 'Yorkshire Ripper' was born under fairly normal surroundings. [69], Birdsall's letter was marked "Priority No. "Bastard prostitutes who were littering the streets. "I was shocked he was not handcuffed considering who he is. In these brutal crimes victims were often battered with a hammer, as well as being stabbed and mutilated with a knife or sharpened screwdriver. For other inquiries, Contact Us. The next day investigators returned to the scene of the arrest and discovered a knife, hammer, and rope he had discarded when he briefly slipped away after telling police he was "bursting for a pee". The last six attacks were on totally respectable women." He recommended a minimum term of thirty years to be served before parole could be considered, meaning Sutcliffe would have been unlikely to be freed until at least 2011. [8] Kathleen was a Roman Catholic and John was a member of the choir at the local Anglican church of St Wilfred's; their children were raised in their mother's Catholic faith, and Sutcliffe briefly served as an altar boy. [13] Because of this occupation, he developed a macabre sense of humour. In December 2007, McCann's eldest daughter Sonia Newlands died by suicide, reportedly after years of anguish and depression over the circumstances of her mother's death, and consequences to her and her siblings. [5] This drew condemnation from the English Collective of Prostitutes (ECP), who protested outside the Old Bailey. [92] Detectives had been able to compare Sutcliffe's DNA with the killer's in order to eliminate him from the inquiry. According to one police detective, "mass hysteria" ensued because more women felt threatened; Whittaker, who'd been killed while walking home, was seen as a "respectable" woman. I killed all those women.".