Peter Sutcliffe was convicted in 1981 of murdering thirteen women and attempting to murder seven others in West Yorkshire and Manchester between 1975 and 1980, in one of the largest manhunts in British history.
Sir Peter Coats and friend (geograph 7170438) — Credit: Richard Sutcliffe · CC BY-SA 2.0
Between 1975 and 1980, a series of attacks and murders of women took place across West Yorkshire and Manchester, England. Press reports at the time dubbed the perpetrator the "Yorkshire Ripper," referencing the Victorian-era killer Jack the Ripper. The case became one of the largest and most expensive police manhunts in British history, involving thousands of interviews and generating an overwhelming volume of paper records that hampered the investigation.
Peter William Sutcliffe, born in Shipley, West Riding of Yorkshire, on 2 June 1946, was eventually identified as the perpetrator. His documented pattern of violence began in 1969 with a non-fatal assault on a woman in Bradford. His first confirmed murder victim was Wilma McCann, killed in Leeds in October 1975. Over the following five years, further victims included Emily Jackson, Irene Richardson, Patricia Atkinson, Jayne MacDonald, Jean Jordan, Yvonne Pearson, Helen Rytka, Vera Millward, Josephine Whitaker, Barbara Leach, Marguerite Walls, and Jacqueline Hill — thirteen women in total whose murders resulted in convictions. Several other women, including Anna Rogulskyj, Olive Smelt, Marcella Claxton, Maureen Long, Marilyn Moore, Upadhya Bandara, Maureen Lea, and Theresa Sykes, survived attacks attributed to the same perpetrator.
The West Yorkshire Police investigation was significantly diverted by a hoax audio tape and letters purporting to be from the killer, sent by a man using the name "Wearside Jack." This material led investigators to focus on a suspect profile with a Sunderland accent, causing them to disregard Sutcliffe despite having interviewed him nine times over the course of the inquiry. The hoaxer was later identified through DNA analysis in 2005 as John Samuel Humble, who was convicted in 2006 of perverting the course of justice.
Sutcliffe was arrested on 2 January 1981 in Sheffield after being stopped by South Yorkshire Police for driving with false number plates. Weapons he had discarded near the arrest scene were subsequently discovered, and he confessed to being the perpetrator of the killings. At his trial in 1981, Sutcliffe pleaded not guilty to murder on grounds of diminished responsibility, citing paranoid schizophrenia, but the trial judge rejected the psychiatric plea basis and directed the matter to a jury. He was found guilty of murder on all counts and sentenced to twenty concurrent life sentences, later converted to a whole life order by the High Court in 2010.
A subsequent government-ordered review, the Byford Report, found significant failures in the police investigation, including an ineffective incident room and failure to properly follow up a tip naming Sutcliffe sent by his friend Trevor Birdsall. The report's findings were made fully public in 2006. Sutcliffe was later diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and transferred to Broadmoor Hospital in 1984, before being ruled fit for prison and transferred to HM Prison Frankland in 2016. He died in November 2020.
Jean Jordan, Olive Smelt, Maureen Lea, Jayne MacDonald, Marcella Claxton, Yvonne Pearson, Vera Millward, Patricia Atkinson, Josephine Whitaker, Theresa Sykes, Emily Jackson, Anna Rogulskyj, Jacqueline Hill, Marilyn Moore, Wilma McCann, Marguerite Walls, Maureen Long, Irene Richardson, Helen Rytka, Barbara Leach, Upadhya Bandara
Date
1975
Location
West Yorkshire and Manchester, England
Case status
solved
Case timeline
1969
Sutcliffe's first documented assault occurs against a woman in Bradford.
1975-07
Sutcliffe attacks Anna Rogulskyj in Keighley; she survives.
1975-08
Sutcliffe attacks Olive Smelt in Halifax; she survives.
1975-10
Sutcliffe murders Wilma McCann in Leeds, his first confirmed murder victim.
1976-01
Sutcliffe murders Emily Jackson in Leeds.
1977-02
Sutcliffe murders Irene Richardson in Leeds.
1977-04
Sutcliffe murders Patricia Atkinson in Bradford.
1977-06
Sutcliffe murders Jayne MacDonald in Leeds.
1977-10
Sutcliffe murders Jean Jordan in Manchester.
1978-01
Sutcliffe murders Yvonne Pearson in Bradford.
1978-01
Sutcliffe murders Helen Rytka in Huddersfield.
1978-05
Sutcliffe murders Vera Millward in Manchester.
1978-03
Hoaxer 'Wearside Jack' sends letters to police and the Daily Mirror claiming responsibility for the killings.
1979-04
Sutcliffe murders Josephine Whitaker in Halifax.
1979-09
Sutcliffe murders Barbara Leach in Bradford.
1980-08
Sutcliffe murders Marguerite Walls in Farsley.
1980-11
Sutcliffe murders Jacqueline Hill in Leeds, his last known murder victim.
1980-11-25
Trevor Birdsall reports Sutcliffe to police as a suspect.
1981-01-02
Sutcliffe is arrested in Sheffield for driving with false number plates and subsequently confesses to being the Yorkshire Ripper.
1981-01-04
Sutcliffe is charged with murder.
1981-05
Sutcliffe's trial begins; he is convicted of murder on all counts and sentenced to twenty concurrent life sentences.
1984-03
Sutcliffe is transferred from prison to Broadmoor Hospital after being diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
2005-10-20
John Samuel Humble is charged in connection with the 'Wearside Jack' hoax after DNA matching.
2006-03-21
John Samuel Humble is convicted and sentenced to eight years in prison for the hoax.
2006-06-01
The Byford Report's findings are made fully public by the Home Office.
2010-07-16
The High Court imposes a whole life tariff on Sutcliffe.
2016-08
Sutcliffe is ruled mentally fit and transferred to HM Prison Frankland.
2020-11-13
Sutcliffe dies in hospital from Covid-19.
Best coverage
Titles and descriptions are the creators’ own and may not reflect current legal status; see the dossier above for sourced case facts.
VIDEO
Eleanor Neale / 1 hr 7 min
THE YORKSHIRE RIPPER CASE
People
Jean Jordan
VICTIM
Murdered in Manchester in October 1977.
Olive Smelt
VICTIM
Survived an attack by Sutcliffe in Halifax in August 1975.
Maureen Lea
VICTIM
Survived an attack by Sutcliffe in Chapeltown in October 1980.
Jayne MacDonald
VICTIM
Murdered in Leeds in June 1977, aged 16.
Marcella Claxton
VICTIM
Survived an attack by Sutcliffe in Roundhay Park in May 1976 and later testified against him at trial.
Yvonne Pearson
VICTIM
Murdered in Bradford in January 1978.
Peter Sutcliffe
CONVICTED
Convicted in 1981 of thirteen counts of murder and seven counts of attempted murder; sentenced to twenty concurrent life sentences, later a whole life order.
Vera Millward
VICTIM
Murdered in Manchester in May 1978.
Patricia Atkinson
VICTIM
Murdered in Bradford in April 1977.
Josephine Whitaker
VICTIM
Murdered in Halifax in April 1979.
Theresa Sykes
VICTIM
Survived an attack by Sutcliffe in Huddersfield in November 1980.
Emily Jackson
VICTIM
Murdered in Leeds in January 1976.
Anna Rogulskyj
VICTIM
Survived an attack by Sutcliffe in Keighley in July 1975.
Jacqueline Hill
VICTIM
Murdered in Leeds in November 1980, Sutcliffe's last known murder victim.
Marilyn Moore
VICTIM
Survived an attack by Sutcliffe in Scott Hall in December 1977.
Wilma McCann
VICTIM
Murdered in Leeds in October 1975; Sutcliffe's first confirmed murder victim.
John Samuel Humble
CONVICTED
Convicted in 2006 of attempting to pervert the course of justice for sending hoax 'Wearside Jack' letters and a tape claiming responsibility for the killings.
Marguerite Walls
VICTIM
Murdered in Farsley in August 1980.
Maureen Long
VICTIM
Survived an attack by Sutcliffe in Bradford in July 1977.
Irene Richardson
VICTIM
Murdered in Leeds in February 1977.
Helen Rytka
VICTIM
Murdered in Huddersfield in January 1978.
Barbara Leach
VICTIM
Murdered in Bradford in September 1979.
Upadhya Bandara
VICTIM
Survived an attack by Sutcliffe in Headingley in September 1980.
Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.
Peter Sutcliffe was convicted in 1981 of murdering thirteen women and attempting to murder seven others in West Yorkshire and Manchester between 1975 and 1980, in one of the largest manhunts in British history.
Where did the murders happen?
West Yorkshire and Manchester, England.
Who was convicted?
Peter Sutcliffe (Convicted in 1981 of thirteen counts of murder and seven counts of attempted murder; sentenced to twenty concurrent life sentences, later a whole life order.) and John Samuel Humble (Convicted in 2006 of attempting to pervert the course of justice for sending hoax 'Wearside Jack' letters and a tape claiming responsibility for the killings.).
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