He is one of the most notorious serial killers in British history, and tonight a new ITV drama The Long Shadow will air, depicting the harrowing impact Peter Sutcliffe's heinous crimes had on the families of his victims and those in and around Yorkshire. Dubbed the Yorkshire Ripper, Sutcliffe was found guilty of murdering 13 women and attempting to kill seven in 1981 - though it's believed he harmed many more during his six-year killing spree.
When the twisted murderer died behind bars, with coronavirus at the age of 74 in November 2020, Sutcliffe took many dark secrets to his grave, including the identities of all his victims. But, telephone interviews, letters, victim reports and police investigations over the years have revealed a sinister insight into the killer's mind and how he believed he was on a 'mission from God' to kill sex workers, although not all his victims were.
Sutcliffe claimed he was driven to kill by a male voice inside his head (REX/Shutterstock)
Experts formerly believe he had a hatred for women, particularly those who sold sex (REX/Shutterstock)At first, Sutcliffe targeted women working as prostitutes in the red light districts of Yorkshire. It's believed he had a hatred of women, triggered by interactions with them throughout his life, and an upbringing that gave him a conflicted view of the opposite sex. Sutcliffe was brought up as Catholic and taught that women should always be demure but respected. He is thought to have begun to see his mother Kathleen as perfect - putting her on a pedestal until his father John, who was described by Sutcliffe's other siblings as a 'monster', would expose her as a cheat to their six kids.
It is believed John would often hit his wife. Dr Keri Nixon, a forensic psychologist, claims there was domestic abuse when Kathleen was pregnant with Sutcliffe, which could also have been a trigger for his behaviour and attitude to women. "We now know the effects of witnessing domestic abuse are catastrophic to a young person," Keri said on Murderers And Their Mothers in 2017. "They are more likely to commit crime, they are more likely to commit domestic abuse, they are more likely to be violent and they are more likely to suffer mental health problems."
On October 30, 1975, Sutcliffe murdered his first victim, Wilma McCann, with his trademark method of killing - violently hitting women on the back of the head with a hammer before slashing at them. He would then always leave their lower halves of their bodies exposed, a final insult betraying his hatred for women, and particularly those who sold sex. Over the next nine months, he took another five lives. Criminal psychologist Dr David Holmes explained on the same programme: "He was an extremely callous, sexually sadistic serial killer, he was someone who was very much indifferent to the suffering of others. Peter Sutcliffe's personal success with getting away with so many murders for so long will have emboldened him. He will have become slightly more reckless, more blasé."
Man who 'killed 4 students' was 'creepy' regular at brewery and 'harassed women'
Twelve of the 13 victims of Sutcliffe (left to right): Wilma McCann, Emily Jackson, Irene Richardson, Patricia Atkinson, Jayne McDonald, Jean Jordan, Yvonne Pearson, Helen Rytka, Vera Millward, Josephine Whitaker, Barbara Leach and Jacqueline Hill (PA)After seven more murders, in January 1980, he was arrested almost by accident and when police questioned Sutcliffe about the killings, he eventually confessed. He received 20 life sentences the following year, with a recommendation that he serve at least 30 years in prison. In 1984, Sutcliffe developed paranoid schizophrenia and was transferred to Broadmoor secure hospital. In 2016, he was transferred to Frankland Prison in Durham, and three years ago, he died in hospital after being transferred there with coronavirus.
Following his death, many more 'unofficial' victims who suffered at the hands of Sutcliffe came forward and gave harrowing accounts of being attacked by the twisted killer. In a Channel 5 documentary The Yorkshire Ripper's New Victims, these forgotten victims blew apart Sutcliffe's defence that he only wanted to kill female sex workers. Fred Craven's family believe he was Sutcliffe's first victim in 1966, and John Tomey was attacked by a man he claimed to be the Ripper eight years before his killing spree 'officially' began; while Tracy Browne and Mo Lea were attacked while walking home at night.
In a book titled I'm The Yorkshire Ripper released in 2021, based on hundreds of telephone interviews author Alfie James conducted with Sutcliffe, the killer claimed a 'voice of God' would tell him what to do. He said: "The voice gives me advice. It interferes with you all the time, it's telling you things that you've got to do, instructions. And you can't shut it out, can't block your ears." He explained he would hear the voice for hours or even days before he would attack someone. "I might have been hearing the voices for a few days, but once it felt like I was primed I couldn't stop myself," he explained. "Once I had killed, that was it - it was a release from the pressure, it was over." Sutcliffe added: "It's a male, authoritative voice. It seemed to come from things, trees, walls. It's not like anyone I've ever known. It doesn't remind me of my father or anyone else I can pinpoint."
The Long Shadow airs tonight at 9pm on ITV.
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