The so-called Yorkshire Ripper is finally caught by British police, ending one of the largest manhunts in history. [2]:107, Ten days later, he killed Helen Rytka, an 18-year-old prostitute from Huddersfield. "The women I killed were filth", he told police. A police check by probationary constable Robert Hydes revealed Sutcliffe's car had false number plates and he was arrested and transferred to Dewsbury Police Station in West Yorkshire. [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 in December 1982 when another man was convicted of her murder. The 1982 Byford Report into the investigation concluded: "The ineffectiveness of the major incident room was a serious handicap to the Ripper investigation. [84] As part of the research for the book, Clark and Tate 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. Her body was dumped at the rear of 13 Ashgrove under a pile of bricks, close to the university and her lodgings. Give yourself up before another innocent woman dies". [115], On 17 February 2009, it was reported[116] that Sutcliffe was "fit to leave Broadmoor". [54], West Yorkshire Police was criticised for being inadequately prepared for an investigation on this scale. Walking home from a party, she accepted an offer of a lift from Sutcliffe. 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 play was produced by New Diorama.[142]. [38] Sutcliffe displayed regret only when talking of his youngest murder victim, Jayne MacDonald, and when questioned about the killing of Joan Harrison, he vehemently denied responsibility. [6] Since his conviction in 1981 Sutcliffe has been linked to a number of other unsolved murders and attacks. During his imprisonment, Sutcliffe was noted to show "particular anxiety" at mentions of Wilkinson due to the possible unsoundness of Steel's conviction. Despite forensic evidence, police efforts were diverted for several months following receipt of the taped message purporting to be from the murderer taunting Assistant Chief Constable George Oldfield of the West Yorkshire Police, who was leading the investigation. Sutcliffe struck the back of her skull twice with a hammer, then inflicted "a stab wound to the throat; two stab wounds below the right breast; three stab wounds below the left breast and a series of nine stab wounds around the umbilicus". [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. The prosecution intended to accept Sutcliffe's plea after four psychiatrists diagnosed him with paranoid schizophrenia, but the trial judge, Justice Sir Leslie Boreham, demanded an unusually detailed explanation of the prosecution reasoning. The last six attacks were on totally respectable women". An application by Sutcliffe for a minimum term to be set, offering the possibility of parole after that date if it were thought safe to release him, was heard by the High Court on 16 July 2010. West Yorkshire Police made it clear that the victims wished to remain anonymous. The trial proper was set to commence on 5 May 1981. On 9 October, Jordan's body was discovered by local dairy worker and future actor Bruce Jones,[36] who had an allotment on land adjoining the site where the body was found and was searching for house bricks when he made the discovery. Sutcliffe's first and last murders also occurred in Leeds. "[27], On the night of 15 August, Sutcliffe attacked Olive Smelt in Halifax. [2]:92 In a confession, Sutcliffe said he had realised the new 5 note he had given her was traceable. Born and raised in Yorkshire, England, he had mental troubles since childhood. The urge inside me to kill girls was now practically uncontrollable. [121], Psychological reports describing Sutcliffe's mental state were taken into consideration, as was the severity of his crimes. The letters, signed "Jack the Ripper", claimed responsibility for the murder of 26-year-old Joan Harrison in Preston in November 1975. Hill's body was found on wasteland near the Arndale Centre. [86] Although a hammer was not used, Sutcliffe also often used a knife to stab his victims. [69], Amongst other things, Byford's report asserted that there was a high likelihood of Sutcliffe having claimed more victims both during and before his known killing spree. Humble was remanded in custody and on 21 March 2006 was convicted and sentenced to eight years in prison. Fans likely wouldn't have recognised Bruce in the horror show (Picture: S Meddle/ ITV/ REX/ Shutterstock) Speaking about what happened that day, Bruce shared his story in the documentary The Ripper. I have the greatest respect for you George, but Lord! He went on a killing spree and was even a suspect of the cops, but by the time they put 2 and 2. Sutcliffe's wife obtained a separation from him around 1989 and a divorce in July 1994. [140] On 31 July 2020, the series won the BAFTA prize for Specialist Factual TV programming. Sign up to our newsletter to get more articles like this delivered straight to your inbox. His 200-strong ripper squad eventually carried out more than 130,000 interviews, visited more than 23,000 homes and checked 150,000 cars. [68] Nina Lopez, who was one of the ECP protestors in 1981, told The Independent forty years later, Sir Michael's comments were "an indictment of the whole way in which the police and the establishment were dealing with the Yorkshire Ripper case". Sutcliffe was reported to have been transferred from Broadmoor to HM Prison Frankland in Durham, in August 2016. Despite being found sane at his trial, Sutcliffe was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. Apart from a terrorist outrage, it is difficult to conceive of circumstances in which one man could account for so many victims. [124] The appeal was rejected on 14 January 2011. [146], In February 2022, Channel 5 released a 60-minute documentary entitled The Ripper Speaks: The Lost Tapes, which recounts interviews and Sutcliffe speaking about life in prison and in Broadmoor Hospital, as well the crimes he had committed but which had not been seen or treated as "a Ripper killing".[147]. Serial killer Peter Sutcliffe, known as the Yorkshire Ripper, has died in hospital after contracting Covid-19. The identification and subsequent capture of the man labelled 'The Yorkshire Ripper' by the media was actually quite fortuitous. His victim was Yvonne Pearson, a 21-year-old prostitute from Bradford. Attempts to send him to a secure psychiatric unit were blocked. Police spent five years pursuing the elusive killer - but Peter Sutcliffe was actually caught on a trivial pretext. [9][pageneeded], The first victim to be killed by Sutcliffe was Wilma McCann on 30 October. He was unemployed until October 1976, when he found a job as an HGV driver for T. & W.H. [85] In 2022, ITV broadcast a documentary based on Clark and Tate's book which discussed links between Wilkinson's murder and Sutcliffe. [92] Sutcliffe was also linked to the 1975 murder of Lesley Molseed after a man was found to have been wrongly imprisoned for the crime in 1992, but Ronald Castree was convicted of his murder after a DNA match in 2007. The only explanation for it, on the jury's verdict, was anger, hatred and obsession. [106] One supposedly "unsolved" murder linked to Sutcliffe in The Secret Murders, that of Marion Spence in Leeds, in 1979, had in fact already been solved in January 1980 when a man was convicted of her murder. 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. [29] After two days of intensive questioning, on the afternoon of 4 January 1981, Sutcliffe suddenly declared he was the Ripper. [58] He found wanting Oldfield's focus on the hoax confessional tape[59]:8687 that seemed to indicate a perpetrator with a Wearside background,[60] and his ignoring advice from survivors of Sutcliffe's attacks and several eminent specialists, including from the FBI in the United States, along with dialect analysts[61] such as Stanley Ellis and Jack Windsor Lewis,[59]:88 whom he had also consulted throughout the manhunt, that "Wearside Jack" was a hoaxer. It was his sixteenth attack. In January 1981, Peter was jailed after police caught him with a 24-year-old prostitute called Olivia Reivers. [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. [86][87] Within yards of her home she was stabbed randomly by a man with dark hair and a beard, and there was no clear motive. I have the greatest respect for you, George, but Lord, you're no nearer catching me now than four years ago when I started."[39]. Peter Sutcliffe, the man also known as the Yorkshire Ripper after he murdered 13 women in the north of England throughout the 70s and 80s, died of coronavirus last month at the age of 74. This Is Personal: The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper, a British television crime drama miniseries, first shown on ITV from 26 January to 2 February 2000, is a dramatisation of the real-life investigation into the murders, showing the effect that it had on the health and career of Assistant Chief Constable George Oldfield (Alun Armstrong). But after a pattern began to emerge with all the killings - victims were all struck over the head with a hammer before being stabbed with a knife or screwdriver - it was clear they were after one man. Sutcliffe was transferred from prison to Broadmoor Hospital in March 1984 after being diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. I see you are still having no luck catching me. It was one of the largest investigations by a British police force[55] and predated the use of computers. [86] He fitted Sutcliffe's description, being described as 5feet 8inches (1.73m) tall with black hair and a beard, and hit her with a hammer. [91][92] These included the murders of prostitute Carol Lannen and trainee nursery nurse Elizabeth McCabe in Dundee in 1979 and 1980 respectively, which together became known as the "Templeton Woods murders" due to their bodies being found only 150 yards apart in Templeton Woods in the city. 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. 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. His first. The 5 note, hidden in a secret compartment in Jordan's handbag, was traced to branches of the Midland Bank in Shipley and Bingley. Despite matching several forensic clues and being on the list of 300 names in connection with the 5 note, he was not strongly suspected. Name: Peter Sutcliffe. In April 1980, Peter Sutcliffe was arrested for drink driving. I hasten to add that I feel sure that the senior police officers in the areas concerned are also mindful of this possibility but, in order to ensure full account is taken of all the information available, I have arranged for an effective liaison to take place.[69]. The Ripper was originally jailed for 20 years in 1981, with the sentence converted to a whole-life order in 2010. Peter Sutcliffe, during his time as a serial killer, managed to kill at least 13 women and attempted to kill seven more, making a name for himself as the Yorkshire Ripper. The basis of his defence was that he claimed to be the tool of God's will. Although Sutcliffe was interviewed about it, he was not investigated further (he was contacted and disregarded by the Ripper Squad on several further occasions). [110] On 23 February 1996, he was attacked in his room in Broadmoor's Henley Ward. ", "Son of Yorkshire Ripper victim Emily Jackson says 'thank f*** for that' after killer's death", "How Coronation Street's Les Battersby actor became a Yorkshire Ripper suspect Bruce Jones says the mix-up cost him his marriage", "Peter Sutcliffe murdered 13 women: I was nearly one of them", "Wearside Jack: I deserve to go to jail for 'evil' Ripper hoax", "Yorkshire Ripper hoaxer Wearside Jack dies", "THE ATTACKS AND MURDERS - THERESA SYKES", "DNA helps police "solve" 1975 Joan Harrison murder", "Yorkshire Ripper, Peter Sutcliffe's weight-gain strategy in latest bid for freedom", "Yorkshire Ripper: Tribunal rules Peter Sutcliffe can be sent to mainstream prison", "Six more attacks that the Ripper won't admit", "Story of Yorkshire Ripper hoaxer "Wearside Jack" to be made into movie", Judgments Brooks (FC) (Respondent) versus Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis (Appellant) and others, "Families of Yorkshire Ripper victims receive police apology for language used during investigation", Report into the Police Handling of the Yorkshire Ripper Case, "Ripper guilty of additional crimes, says secret report", "Peter Sutcliffe, the bullied mummy's boy who gave millions nightmares", "BBC - Inside Out - Yorkshire & Lincolnshire - Ripper mystery", "Yorkshire Ripper: The Secret Murders. [86] She survived the attack with serious injuries as a man distrupted the attacker, who matched Sutcliffe's description. On January 2, 1981, the police pulled Sutcliffe over with a young woman in his car. [23], Sutcliffe's first documented assault was of a female prostitute, whom he had met while searching for another woman who had tricked him out of money. But the Ripper is now killing innocent girls. Wilma McCann's son Richard, who was just five-years-old at the time of his mother's murder, said the serial killer's death would bring "some kind of closure" for himself and the other family members of his victims.