Peter Sutcliffe

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Lore & Background

Peter Sutcliffe was born in Shipley, West Riding of Yorkshire, on 2 June 1946, to a working-class family. His father was an alcoholic who subjected his mother to domestic abuse, and Sutcliffe was born prematurely, spending two weeks in hospital. He left school at 15 and held menial jobs, including two stints as a gravedigger at Bingley Cemetery in the 1960s, where he developed a macabre sense of humour—co-workers reported that Sutcliffe enjoyed his work too much and would even volunteer to do overtime washing corpses. He married Sonia Szurma on 10 August 1974; she was later diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. Sutcliffe initially attacked women and girls in residential areas, but appears to have shifted his focus to red-light districts because he was attracted by the vulnerability of prostitutes and the ambivalent attitude of police to prostitutes' safety. After his arrest in Sheffield by South Yorkshire Police for driving with false number plates in January 1981, he was transferred to the custody of West Yorkshire Police, who questioned him about the killings. Sutcliffe confessed to being the perpetrator, saying that the voice of God had sent him on a mission to kill prostitutes. At his trial he pleaded not guilty to murder on grounds of diminished responsibility but was convicted of murder on a majority verdict. Following his conviction, Sutcliffe began using his mother's maiden name of Coonan.

Reader's Guide

The search for Sutcliffe was one of the largest and most expensive manhunts in British history. West Yorkshire Police faced severe criticism for their failure to catch Sutcliffe despite having interviewed him nine times in the course of their five-year investigation. The government ordered a review of the Ripper investigation, conducted by Inspector of Constabulary Lawrence Byford, known as the 'Byford Report'. The findings were made fully public in 2006 and confirmed the validity of the criticism of the force. The report led to changes to investigative procedures that were adopted by all British police forces. Sutcliffe was transferred from prison to Broadmoor Hospital in March 1984 after being diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. 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. In August 2016, it was ruled that Sutcliffe was mentally fit to be returned to prison, and he was transferred that month to HM Prison Frankland. In 2020, Sutcliffe died in hospital from COVID-19. Criminal psychologist David Holmes characterised Sutcliffe as being an 'extremely callous, sexually sadistic serial killer'.

Did You Know?

• Sutcliffe briefly served as an altar boy as a child.
• He worked as a gravedigger at Bingley Cemetery in the 1960s and would volunteer to do overtime washing corpses.
• Sutcliffe's first documented assault was against a prostitute he struck with a stone wrapped in a sock in 1969.
• His first confirmed murder victim was 28-year-old Wilma Mary McCann, a mother of four, on 30 October 1975.
• Sutcliffe was arrested in Sheffield for driving with false number plates in January 1981.