Yorkshire Ripper’s ex-wife strolls arm-in-arm with hairdresser husband she’s kept hidden for 21 years
The couple married shortly after Sonia's divorce to the Ripper in 1994, but have been living apart since 2003
THE YORKSHIRE Ripper’s ex-wife strolls arm-in-arm with the second husband she has spent 21 years trying to keep hidden from the world.
Sonia Sutcliffe, 67, was pictured with hairdresser Michael Woodward, 58, for the first time as they mingled with city centre shoppers.
The couple married in a low-key ceremony in 1997 but have spent most of their marriage living apart.
Reclusive Sonia refuses to move out of the marital home in Bradford she and serial killer Peter Sutcliffe bought for £16,000 in 1977 during his murder spree.
And Michael has declined to move in with her. He lives alone in a flat a 15-minute drive away but they remain wed and were pictured among unsuspecting shoppers in Leeds.
Ex-teacher Sonia clung to her husband in the rain as he held an umbrella over both of them.
Sonia married Sutcliffe in 1974, a year before his first killing.
By the time he was arrested in 1981, he had murdered 13 women and tried to kill seven more, mutilating his victims with a hammer, screwdriver and knife.
Sonia later visited him at a police station, where he confessed: “It’s me, luv. I’m the Yorkshire Ripper.”
He got 20 life terms in 1981 yet Sonia stood by him and visited him several times. Referring to his mental state, she once said: “I feel compassion for him.”
And her sister Marianne once remarked: “He’s the only man in the world for her and always will be.”
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Sonia did not divorce the Ripper until 1994, before marrying Michael under a different name.
She moved in to Michael’s flat but left in 2003 and the pair have lived separately ever since.
The Ripper, 71, is now in Frankland Prison, Co Durham, and has gone blind.
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