Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe admitted ‘I should be hanged’ moments after being jailed for 13 murders
THE Yorkshire Ripper admitted “I should be hanged” moments after being jailed for his twisted killing spree, it's been revealed.
Peter Sutcliffe - who murdered at least 13 women between 1975 and 1980 - spoke the chilling words to a cop who helped bring him to justice.
Detective Constable Alan Foster promptly replied to the infamous serial killer: “Yes, you should.”
The pair reportedly spoke in a passage underneath the courts at the Old Bailey moments after Sutcliffe's trial in 1981.
The widow of the police officer has now recalled the conversation in an interview with
And Christine Foster, 73, revealed Sutcliffe - who died in HMP Frankland, Co Durham last week - haunted her husband long after he was banged behind bars.
She said: "After retirement Alan became obsessed with Sutcliffe.
"He knew what a monster he was and said ‘he must, never, ever, be released’."
The dedicated detective was an exhibits officer at Sutcliffe’s high-profile trial.
He kept evidence he’d been told to burn including the open-crotch leggings Sutcliffe was wearing the night he was arrested in Sheffield.
He also kept some items containing DNA in the hope that one day they could be used to link Sutcliffe to even more crimes.
However, he returned them all to the authorities in 2003.
Alan, who served with the West Yorkshire force, uncovered dozens of incidents with potential links to the Bradford lorry driver.
It's long been though the Ripper killed more women - with one ex cop saying the true death toll could be more than 40.
Ex-intelligence officer Chris Clark told the Mirror that he is convinced that the grim tally of unsolved cases could be the work of the vile serial killer, who died in hospital on Friday.
He said he wants the National Crime Agency to reinvestigate the killings - and urged the PM to order a “ground-breaking” probe into the murderer’s activities.
MONSTER'S DEAD
Mr Clark said: “I’ve been able to link the Ripper by method, motive and opportunity to cold cases that have remained dormant for decades.
“The key to tying these threads together was a timeline of Sutcliffe’s life with his wife, Sonia, and his job as an HGV driver travelling across the length and breadth of the UK.
“The evidence is out there and the victims deserve better.”
Sutcliffe carried out a terrifying killing spree in the north of England, often targeting young and vulnerable sex workers.
He was finally caught in January, 1981, after being stopped for having false number-plates.
Just four months later he was handed 20 life terms at the Old Bailey for the sickening crimes.
But Mr Clark is convinced the monster was responsible for a long list of other murder cases, as well as another seventeen attacks in which the victims survived.
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Sutcliffe was taken from Frankland to University Hospital of North Durham on October 28, following a suspected heart attack.
After five nights on a cardiac ward, he was discharged back to jail, where he tested positive for Covid-19 and was placed in isolation.
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Sutcliffe started “deteriorating rapidly” on Wednesday, before dying alone.