Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe dies 'after contracting Covid'
Video report by ITV News Correspondent Neil Connery
Serial killer Peter Sutcliffe, known as the Yorkshire Ripper, has died in hospital after contracting Covid-19.
The 74-year-old had been serving a life term for murdering 13 women across Yorkshire and the North West between 1975 and 1980.Sutcliffe had reportedly refused treatment for coronavirus after he was transferred to University Hospital of North Durham from maximum security HMP Frankland.
His death comes after close to four decades in custody.
The serial killer was treated at the same hospital last month after a suspected heart attack and is reported to have had a range of health conditions including diabetes and obesity.
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."
In May 1981, he was jailed for 20 life terms at the Old Bailey, the judge recommending a minimum sentence of 30 years.
More than two decades later, a secret report revealed that Sutcliffe probably committed more crimes than the 13 murders and seven attempted murders for which he was convicted.
The victims of Sutcliffe's reign of terror:
Sutcliffe’s five-year reign of terror claimed the lives of 13 women, though police suspect that number could be higher. His known victims were:
Wilma McCann, 28, from Chapeltown, Leeds, who was killed in October 1975.
Emily Jackson, 42, a prostitute and 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.
Reacting on Friday morning Richard McCann, the son of Sutcliffe’s first recognised victim, Wilma McCann, told BBC Breakfast: "I’m surprised how I feel. It brings me some degree of closure, not that I wished him dead, far from it."
In an interview with ITV News, Mr McCann said he had learnt the "power of forgiveness" and had "let go" of the anger he felt towards Sutcliffe.
Mr McCann told the BBC on Friday that he had been in touch with one of Peter Sutcliffe’s brothers, Carl, following the news that the murderer had died in prison on Friday.
Mr McCann said: "I gave him a call when I got the news to offer my condolences.
"Carl Sutcliffe reached out to me many years ago when he read about my journey — he reached out to me with compassion and I felt the same."
Speaking after his death, one of Surcliffe's surviving victims said she was still suffering from the effects of his attack in Leeds in May 1976, 44 years on.
Marcella Claxton told Sky News: "I have to live with my injuries, 54 stitches in my head, back and front, plus I lost a baby, I was four months pregnant. I still get headaches, dizzy spells and black outs."
Former Sergeant Megan Winterburn was working in the West Yorkshire Police incident room in the years Sutcliffe evaded authorities.
Ms Winterburn told ITV News she suspected there were many more victims.
"I'm sure he has taken secrets to the grave," she said.
Born in Bingley, West Yorkshire, in 1946, Sutcliffe left school aged 15 and worked in menial jobs before becoming a grave digger.
He began his killing spree in 1975, battering 28-year-old sex worker Wilma McCann to death on October 30, 1975 - which followed three non-fatal attacks on women earlier in the year.
Sutcliffe avoided detection for years due to a series of missed opportunities by police.
He eventually confessed in 1981 when he was brought in due to a police check discovering stolen number plates on his car.
Despite his 24-hour-long confession to the killings, Sutcliffe denied the murders when indicted at court.
After an ITV News investigation in 2017, Sutcliffe wrote a letter to the journalists involved admitting: "I did some bad things".
Sutcliffe's killing spree, which began before he turned 30, remains among the most sickening murder investigations of the last century.