Peter Sutcliffe - ‘The Yorkshire Ripper’

By Ellie and Becca

Early life• Was born in Bingley West riding of

Yorkshire

• Supposedly bullied at school and left at 15

• Was in and out of jobs- one f which was grave digging

• He first met wife Sonia Szurma in 1967 and they married in 1974

• She suffered several miscarriages and was later told she would be unable to have children

“I couldn’t believe it of him, because he had behaved so normally at

home”

Sonia Sutcliffe

The Crimes

• Peter Sutcliffe killed 13 women over the 5 years

• In addition he attacked seven other women during this time

• On several of the victims it was discovered that there were traces of semen

Possible Causes

• He claimed that god had spoken to him while he did his grave digging job, ultimately ordering him to kill prostitutes.

• Was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia but this was dismissed and the case was decided to be dealt with by a jury.

• As a young man he was a frequent user of prostitutes, and it is thought that a bad experience spurred on the attacks and his hate for woman.

Hoaxer• The investigation to find the ‘Yorkshire ripper’

was mislead by a hoaxer claiming to have committed the crimes.

• He first dubbed the crimes as the ‘Yorkshire ripper’.

• He mislead them as he knew intimate details of the some of the crimes and had an accent from Sunderland.

• At that time, one woman had been murdered while police focused on the search for him in Sunderland.

• John Humble was then convicted and given eight years in prison.

"Some may not have died if Humble hadn't hoaxed the police"

mother of victim

1981:Yorkshire Ripper jailed for life

• Convicted of 13 counts of murder and 7 counts of attempted murder.

• In the end, Sutcliffe was caught after police discovered he had false number plates on his car and found weapons in the boot.

• When he was strip searched by the police they discovered a sexually explicit outfit.

“I wont let anybody down who visits me. I will always give them a really nice visit. I guess I’m a guy who need

friends.”

Life in prison• He has been attacked several times in

prison.

• He was sent to Broadmoor after being diagnosed with paranoid Schizophrenia

‘Pen Pals’

• Despite his crimes he still receives an average of 30 letters from woman.

Sandra Lester

“A lot of woman believe that they can heal him…in all cases women

have been disillusioned and dejected and played one off

against another by him.”

Christine Morgan who interviewed some of Sutcliffe's ‘Pen Pals’

A second chance?• On the 16th of July 2010 his application to

have a tariff set will be heard in the high court in London.

• This tariff could lead to parole but only if the authorities consider he no longer poses a danger the public.

• Although he does not have a minimum sentence the High court must take into account the gravity of his crimes

Mimics

• Stephen Griffiths was convicted of the murders of 3 prostitutes in the Bradford area.

• This brought back harsh memories of the Yorshire Ripper and has been compared to Peter Sutcliffes crimes

• The Ipswich Murders carried out by Steve Wright in 2006 can also be compared as prostitutes were once again the victims