Jump directly to the content
FACES OF THE VICTIMS

The 13 young women and teen girls slaughtered by vile monster Peter Sutcliffe

EVIL Peter Sutcliffe killed 13 young women and teenage girls in a terrifying spree.

The Yorkshire Ripper died today aged 74 after refusing treatment for Covid-19.

⚠️ Read our Yorkshire Ripper live blog for the latest news & updates

The Yorkshire Ripper's murder victims - (left-right, top-bottom) 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
15
The Yorkshire Ripper's murder victims - (left-right, top-bottom) 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
Evil Peter Sutcliffe died today from Covid-19
15
Evil Peter Sutcliffe died today from Covid-19

Sutcliffe had spent almost 40 years locked up in Broadmoor and prison for murdering 13 women and attempting to kill seven others between 1975 and 1980.

These are the women who cruelly had their lives taken by the vile monster.

Wilma McCann

Wilma McCann was the Yorkshire Ripper's first victim
15
Wilma McCann was the Yorkshire Ripper's first victim

The first victim to lose her life in a Sutcliffe attack was Wilma McCann, 28, on October 30, 1975.

McCann, from Scott Hall in Leeds, was a mum-of-four.

Sutcliffe struck her twice with a hammer before stabbing her 15 times in the neck, chest and abdomen.

An extensive inquiry, involving 150 police officers and 11,000 interviews, failed to find the culprit.

One of McCann's daughters died by suicide in December 2007, reportedly after suffering years of depression over her mother's death.

In 2016 it was revealed her son Richard had forgiven the killer after hearing a talk about forgiveness from South African archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Emily Jackson

Emily Jackson was Sutcliffe's second victim
15
Emily Jackson was Sutcliffe's second victim

Sutcliffe committed his second murder in Leeds in January 1976, when he stabbed 42-year-old Emily Jackson 52 times.

Emily's family had been going through tough financial times when she was killed.

Sutcliffe hit her on the head with a hammer, and then dragged her body into a rubbish strewn yard and used a sharpened screwdriver to stab her in the neck, chest and abdomen.

Sutcliffe stamped on her thigh, leaving behind an impression of his boot.

Irene Richardson

Irene Richardson was bludgeoned to death with a hammer
15
Irene Richardson was bludgeoned to death with a hammer

On February 5, 1977, Sutcliffe attacked 28-year-old Irene Richardson in Roundhay Park.

Richardson was bludgeoned to death with a hammer.

Tyre tracks left near the murder scene resulted in a long list of possible suspect vehicles.

Richardson had been down on her luck when she was attacked by Sutcliffe, having spent most of the previous 10 days almost penniless.

Patricia Atkinson

Patricia Atkinson was murdered her in her own flat
15
Patricia Atkinson was murdered her in her own flat

On April 23, 1977, Sutcliffe killed Patricia "Tina" Atkinson, 32, from Bradford.

He murdered her in her own flat, where police found a bootprint on her bedclothes.

She had been drinking at a local pub before she was brutally attacked by Sutcliffe.

The killer managed to coax his way into her flat before beating her with a hammer.

Jayne MacDonald

Jayne MacDonald was the youngest known murder victim of evil Sutcliffe
15
Jayne MacDonald was the youngest known murder victim of evil Sutcliffe

On June 26, 1977, Sutcliffe murdered 16-year-old Jayne MacDonald in Chapeltown.

Her body was found at an adventure playground in Reginald Street, Leeds.

Jayne was the youngest known murder victim of evil Sutcliffe.

She was a fan of the band the Bay City Rollers and enjoyed dancing and roller skating.

Jayne was killed by Sutcliffe as she walked home, having missed the last bus.

After Sutcliffe was convicted, Jayne's mum Irene said: "I hope other prisoners have the decency to make every minute he is inside a living hell for him."

Jean Jordan

Jean Jordan was killed by the Yorkshire Ripper in 1977
15
Jean Jordan was killed by the Yorkshire Ripper in 1977

On October 1, 1977, Sutcliffe murdered Jean Jordan, from Manchester.

In a later confession, Sutcliffe said he had realised the new £5 note he had given her was traceable.

After hosting a family party at his new home, he returned to the wasteland behind Manchester's Southern Cemetery, where he had left the body, to retrieve the note.

Unable to find it, he mutilated Jordan's corpse and moved it.

On October 9, 1977, Jordan's body was discovered by local dairy worker and future actor Bruce Jones.

The £5 note, hidden in a secret compartment in Jordan's handbag, was traced to branches of the Midland Bank in Shipley and Bingley.

Police analysis of bank operations allowed them to narrow their field of inquiry to 8,000 employees who could have received it in their wage packet.

Over three months the police interviewed 5,000 men, including Sutcliffe.

Yvonne Pearson

Yvonne Pearson was bludgeoned with a hammer
15
Yvonne Pearson was bludgeoned with a hammer

Sutcliffe's next victim was Yvonne Pearson, a 21-year-old from Bradford who was murdered by Sutcliffe on January 21, 1978.

He repeatedly bludgeoned her across the head with a ball-peen hammer.

He then jumped on her chest before stuffing horse-hair into her mouth from a discarded sofa under which he hid her body.

Her body was not found until March 26, 1978.

Yvonne had been drinking at a pub before she was killed.

Helen Rytka

Helen Rytka's panicked twin sister alerted police after she went missing
15
Helen Rytka's panicked twin sister alerted police after she went missing

Sutcliffe killed Helen Rytka, an 18-year-old from Huddersfield.

He struck Rytka on the head five times as she exited his car, before stripping most of the clothes from her body, then repeatedly stabbing her in the chest.

Her body was found three days later beneath railway arches in Garrards timber-yard, the exact location where he had committed the murder.

Helen's panicked twin sister Rita notified cops after she went missing.

Vera Millward

Vera Millward had told her boyfriend she was going out for cigarettes before Sutcliffe killed her
15
Vera Millward had told her boyfriend she was going out for cigarettes before Sutcliffe killed her

Vera Millward, 40, was killed on May 16, 1978.

Her body was found in the grounds of Manchester Royal Infirmary.

Vera was a frail woman who had one lung and had undergone numerous major operations.

She lived in a council flat with her boyfriend, having told him she was going out for cigarettes before she was murdered by Sutcliffe.

Josephine Whitaker

Josephine Whitaker had been visiting her grandparents before she was attacked
15
Josephine Whitaker had been visiting her grandparents before she was attacked

On April 4, 1979, Sutcliffe killed 19-year-old Josephine Whitaker.

He attacked the building society clerk on Savile Park Moor in Halifax as she was walking home.

She had been visiting her grandparents, Tom and Mary Priestley.

Sutcliffe approached her while she walked home and struck up a conversation with her.

The evil killer said "you don't know who you can trust these days" before attacking her.

Barbara Leach

Barbara Leach was about to start her final year at university
15
Barbara Leach was about to start her final year at university

On September 1, 1979, Sutcliffe murdered 20-year-old Barbara Leach, a Bradford University student.

Her body was dumped under a pile of bricks, close to the university and her lodgings.

Barbara was about to start her third and final year in social psychology.

She had earlier been at a pub, having helped the landlord with collecting the empties and tidying up before walking home.

Her flatmates were concerned when she still had not returned home and called the police.

TIMELINE OF TERROR

June 1946: Peter Sutcliffe is born in Bingley, West Yorks

August 1974: Sutcliffe marries Sonia Szurma

October 1975: Sutcliffe kills Wilma McCann in Leeds – his first murder.

January 1981: Sutcliffe is arrested by police in Sheffield. He confesses to being The Ripper.

May 1981: He is given 20 life sentences at The Old Bailey over 13 murders and seven attempted murders. He starts sentence at HMP Parkhurst, Isle of Wight.

March 1984: Sent to Broadmoor High-security Hospital after being declared paranoid schizophrenic

August 2016: Sutcliffe moved from Broadmoor to Category A Frankland Prison, County Durham

November 13, 2020 – Sutcliffe dies.

Marguerite Walls

Marguerite Walls had been working late on the night she was murdered
15
Marguerite Walls had been working late on the night she was murdered

In April 1980, Sutcliffe was arrested for drink driving.

While awaiting trial, he killed two more women - one of whom was 47-year-old Marguerite Walls on the night of August, 20, 1980,

Her body was found in the garden of a house in Farsley, Leeds.

Marguerite worked as a civil servant, and had been working late on the night she was killed as she was due to take time off work to go on holiday.

Jacqueline Hill

Jacqueline Hill was Sutcliffe's last victim in 1980
15
Jacqueline Hill was Sutcliffe's last victim in 1980

Sutcliffe brutally murdered 20-year-old Jacqueline Hill, a student at Leeds University, who was his last victim.

He killed her on the night of November 17, 1980.

She was a student in the third year of her English degree course.

READ MORE SUN STORIES

Hill had been at a probation officers' seminar in Leeds city centre on the night she was murdered by Sutcliffe.

Hill's body was found on wasteland near the Arndale Centre.

Son of the first victim of the Yorkshire Ripper reacts to Peter Sutcliffe's death
Topics