The Yorkshire Ripper has died at the age of 74
Peter Sutcliffe tested positive for Covid-19 and was suffering from underlying health conditions
Last updated 13th Nov 2020
The Yorkshire Ripper serial killer has died in hospital, the Prison Service has confirmed.
Peter Sutcliffe, 74, had tested positive for Covid-19 and was suffering from underlying health conditions.
He was taken to the University Hospital of North Durham after being transferred there from maximum security HMP Frankland, where he was an inmate.
He was serving a whole life term for murdering 13 women across Yorkshire and the North West between 1975 and 1980.
He was convicted in 1981 and, after a long spell in Broadmoor Hospital in Berkshire, he was transferred to HMP Frankland in 2016 after being deemed stable enough to serve time in prison.
A Prison Service spokesman said:
"HMP Frankland prisoner Peter Coonan (born Sutcliffe) died in hospital on November 13. The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has been informed.''
Sutcliffe had reportedly suffered from a range of conditions before his death including heart trouble, diabetes and obesity.
He claimed the lives of 13 women over 5 years - they were:
- Wilma McCann, 28, from Chapeltown, Leeds, who was killed in October 1975.
- Emily Jackson, 42, a mother-of-three from Morley, Leeds. Killed on January 20, 1976.
- Irene Richardson, 28, a mother-of-two from Chapeltown, Leeds. Killed on February 6, 1977.
- Patricia Atkinson, 32, a mother-of-three from Manningham, Bradford. Killed on April 24, 1977.
- Jayne MacDonald, 16, a shop assistant from Leeds. Killed on June 26, 1977.
- Jean Jordan, 21, from Manchester, who died between September 30 and October 11, 1977.
- Yvonne Pearson, 22, from Bradford. Murdered between January 20 and March 26, 1978.
- Helen Rytka, 18, from Huddersfield. Murdered on January 31, 1978.
- Vera Millward, 40, a mother-of-seven from Manchester, who was killed on May 16, 1978.
- Josephine Whitaker, 19, a building society worker from Halifax. Killed on April 4, 1979.
- Barbara Leach, 20, a student who was murdered while walking in Bradford on September 1, 1979.
- Marguerite Walls, 47, a civil servant from Leeds who was murdered on August 20, 1980
- Jacqueline Hill, 20, a student, who was found at Headingley on November 16, 1980.
A spokesperson for the Prime Minister said:
“The Prime Minister’s thoughts are with those who lost their lives, the survivors and with the families and friends of Sutcliffe’s victims.
“Peter Sutcliffe was a depraved and evil individual, whose crimes caused unimaginable suffering and appalled this country.
“Nothing will ever detract from the harm that he caused, but it is right that he died behind bars for his barbaric murders and attempted murders.”
Richard McCann (see photo above) was five when his mother Wilma was murdered by Sutcliffe in 1975.
He was left terrified after his mother's killing was followed by that of Jayne MacDonald, who lived in his street.
Brian Booth, chairman of West Yorkshire Police Federation, said:
"On hearing of the death of Peter Sutcliffe today, I feel: good riddance.
"He is the very reason most people step to the plate and become police officers - to protect our communities from people like him.''