The Yorkshire Ripper dead age 74

Today, the Yorkshire Ripper (Peter Sutcliffe) has died in hospital after contracting the Coronavirus, as he refused treatment for it, at the age of 74.

Serving life in prison, the serial killer was convicted of murdering 13 women from the date 1975 to 1980, across the Yorkshire and North West regions. He was also convicted for attempted murder on 7 other women. Sutcliffe was convicted in 1981 and was at Broadmoor Hospital for 30 years before being sent to HMP Frankland in County Durham, in 2016.

Today we remember the women who were victims of his actions.

Wilma McCann, 28, Leeds, October 1975 - Emily Jackson, 42, Leeds, January 1976 - Irene Richardson, 28, Leeds, February 1977 - Patricia Atkinson, 32, Bradford, April 1977 - Jayne McDonald, 16, Leeds, June 1977 – Jean Jordan, 21, Manchester, October 1977 - Yvonne Pearson, 22, Bradford, January 1978 - Helen Rytka, 18, Huddersfield, January 1978 -Vera Millward, 41, Manchester, May 1978 - Josephine Whittaker, 19, Halifax, May 1979 - Barbara Leach, 20, Bradford, September 1979 - Marguerite Walls, 47, Leeds, August 1980 – Jacqueline Hill, 20, Leeds, November 1980.

Wilma McCann’s son, who was 5 at the time of his mother’s death, stated that Sutcliffe’s death brought “some kind of closure,” from the suffering that has been put in place for the victim’s relatives, and a former police officer, Bob Bridgestock, who worked on the serial killer investigation, said this death will be one that he will not be “shedding any tears over.”

The investigation of the Yorkshire Ripper was huge. The police operation consisted of 150 police officers who conducted over 11,000 interviews. The serial killer was interviewed 9 times but was not arrested at any point during them, so he continued to kill people. However, in February 1981, Sutcliffe was charged with murder and attempted murder at Dewsbury Magistrates Court.