Peter Sutcliffe: Fake Notes, Bad Assumptions, and the Yorkshire Ripper's Reign of Terror

wow yes another video that's a little bit murdery and by that i mean a lot murdery if that's the sort of thing you're looking for don't forget to check out my new podcast the casual criminalist that puts out two new episodes every week from serial killers that haven't aged out of primary school yet to schizophrenic breakdowns and bible-obsessed sociopaths my writer callum is combing through the graveyards of history like an absolute weirdo and it's all in the name of giving you some more sweet sweet content so if you're looking for a good true crime podcast that's casually done why not give the casual criminalist a try there are links in the description below and let's get into today's video throughout the second half of the 1970s there was a horrifying presence that loomed over the north of england so gruesome was this specter of death that in the minds of many he hearkened back to the country's most notorious figure jack the ripper this modern day counterpart turned out to be just as vicious and bloodthirsty which is why he came to be known as the yorkshire ripper [Music] the world at large was first introduced the ripper on the 30th of october 1975 when the body of 28 year old scottish mother of four wilma mccann was found near her home in the suburb of scott hall in leeds yorkshire county in the north of england she had been hit in the head with a hammer and stabbed 15 times in her stomach chest and neck due to the viciousness of this crime over a hundred police officers were assigned to catch the killer but from the very beginning they showed prejudice that ended up prolonging the investigation and causing yet more murders will mccann was not exactly a stay-at-home mum she was separated from her husband and would sometimes go out partying leaving her children in the care of her eldest daughter since it was too early to know that her death was the work of a serial killer police looked into her private life thinking that the culprit may have been someone who knew her personally they initially described her as having several boyfriends and from there rumors appeared that this was simply a euphemism for prostitution the gossip was repeated by the media and the police never really bothered to correct them so soon enough it became accepted as fact that will mccann had been a prostitute even though this had never been proven conclusively a few months later the killer struck again this time the victim was 42 year old emily jackson whose body was found the morning of january the 20th 1976 on an abandoned industrial estate in leeds like will mccann jackson's killer first struck her in the head with a hammer to incapacitate her but then he stabbed her over 50 times most likely with a sharpened screwdriver as if that was not enough overkill he then proceeded to stomp on her body with his foot this actually gave the police their first clue regarding the identity of the killer because he left a boot impression on emily jackson's thigh it belonged to a wellington boot size seven later identified by the pattern as a dunlop warwick model emily jackson lived in morley west of leeds with her husband sydney and three children the family was in dire financial straits after sydney jackson's roofing business went under so as a last resort his wife had turned to prostitution the jacksons were in the habit of traveling to leeds in their van which emily used to meet clients while her husband waited for her in a nearby bar despite the extreme escalation in violence police were confident from the outset that emily jackson and will mccann had been murdered by the same man however they also became convinced that the culprit was motivated by a hatred of prostitutes this plus the ferocity of the crimes immediately drew comparisons to the country's most infamous killer jack the ripper soon enough the media had the perfect name for this new predator the yorkshire ripper [Music] the ripper did not kill again for over a year on february the 5th 1977 the body of 28 year old irene richardson was found in another suburb of leeds called chapel town like the others she had been struck repeatedly in the head with a hammer and then stabbed multiple times it looked like the killer left another important clue behind tire tracks which looked like they belonged to a van or a medium-sized sedan police actually managed to track down the make and compiled a list of 26 models of cars that were fitted with these tires it sounded like a promising lead but in the end it resulted in over 100 000 compatible cars in west yorkshire alone the victim's story was similar to that of emily jackson broken homeless irene richardson was also another woman who had resorted to prostitution out of desperation unlike the previous year the ripper was very active in 1977. he killed again on april the 23rd just two months after the murder of irene richardson this time he ventured away from leeds and killed in bradford a city about 14 kilometers away there was another significant departure from his usual modus operandi as he committed the crime inside the victim's apartment we don't know if this was coincidental or if he was actively trying to make it look like the work of another killer but it was not enough to fool the authorities not only was the killing method the same but again he left a size 7 wellington boot print at the scene the victim was another cool girl called patricia atkinson who usually went by tina and would regularly visit pubs to pick up clients and take them to her apartment this further reinforced the police's theory that the killer was acting out of a hatred for prostitutes a theory that they would refuse to dismiss even when presented with clear evidence that pointed to the contrary that evidence came two months later on june 26 1977. sixteen-year-old jane mcdonald was returning to her home in chapel town after a night of dancing with her friends it was late at night and jane had missed the last bus and could not find a taxi so she had to walk back she was attacked by the ripper and her body was dumped in a playground where she was discovered by some children the next morning her injuries made it clear that jane had been killed by the same man who killed all the other women however both the police and the media treated her very differently in their eyes jane mcdonald was not like the others words like innocent and respectable were used whenever describing her which of course heavily implied that this was not the case for the other victims it was even suggested that the ripper had made a terrible mistake by killing jane mcdonald as he probably confused her with the prostitute since she was out alone at night for better or worse this kind of inflammatory speech had an effect on the british public a lot more people were getting involved with the case some who shared the same prejudices as the police and the media felt outrage at the violent murder of jane mcdonald in a way they did not for the other victims others now realize that no woman was safe so simply being an upstanding citizen did not guarantee protection from the ripper there was also a lot of anger at the police for their inability to catch the ripper for their victim blaming and for their strategy of preventing more killings by making women stay at home after dark these actions directly led to the appearance of the reclaim the night protests as part of england's women's liberation movement the first march was held in november 1977 in leeds after police suggested a curfew for women [Music] the ripper's next attack occurred in july of the same year but there was something different about this one the victim survived on july the 9th maureen long left her home in farsley and traveled to bradford for a fun saturday night out she visited a few pubs and then went dancing in a club after the night's festivities had ended she went looking for a taxi but a white car pulled up instead and offered her a ride maureen accepted and got inside the car not knowing that she was being driven by the yorkshire ripper after taking her to a secluded area the driver attacked maureen long with a hammer but she was incapacitated he dragged her out of the car and began stabbing her fortunately for maureen there was a dog nearby that started howling which prompted the attacker to drive away in a hurry before he could finish his murderous deed a night watchman spotted the car speeding away but did not actually see maureen's body it wasn't until the next morning that a few women found her barely clinging to life as you will soon discover maureen long was not the first ripper victim to survive her encounter but she was the first that the police actually bothered to investigate as part of the case right before she went in for emergency surgery detectives were by her side to note down whatever details she could remember about her attacker she managed to provide a decent description white guy in his mid-30s large build with light brown hair it was a lot more than they had before and it got even better when the night watchmen identified the car as a ford cortina mark ii that was the same model often used by taxi drivers even before this revelation investigators are toyed with the idea that the killer might drive a taxi it gave him a good reason to be out alone at night it also meant that he had good knowledge of the area and would know where to find prostitutes and where to take them based on this new information the police began looking into taxi drivers more aggressively and they even found a good suspect his name was terry hawkshaw he hit the description he lived with his mother close to where the murders occurred and he had poor alibis for the night when they happened detectives started surveilling him 24 7 and even served a warrant to search his home of course in hindsight we know they didn't find anything because hawkshaw was innocent meanwhile the real killer was still prowling the streets unimpeded in a car that was not a ford cortina mark ii it was actually a ford corsair all that effort had been wasted because the night watchman had made a mistake when he id the vehicle the ripper's last murder of 1977 occurred on october the 1st when he ventured farther off the beaten path and traveled to manchester where he picked up a working girl named jean jordan a 20-year-old scottish runaway who resorted to prostitution to feed her family he drove to a secluded vacant lot between allotments and killed her by smashing her head repeatedly with a hammer the ripper then went home but soon realized he'd made a mistake he had paid jordan with a brand new five pound bill which could have been traced back to him the killer hesitated to go back to retrieve the note fearing that the police would be around however when an entire week had passed without any mention of the ripper's latest victim in the newspapers he concluded that the body had not yet been found and it was safe for him to return he was right gene jordan's lifeless figure was still where he left it but he could not find her purse filled with rage the ripper took out the knife and unleashed his anger on the victim once more mutilating her already decaying body with vicious swipes afterwards he gave up on the bill and went home the body was discovered a day later as this time the ripper left it in a more obvious place it was actually found by a zen 23 year old dairy worker named bruce jones who went on to become a soap actor most famous for his role on coronation street in later interviews the actor admitted that he was investigated as a possible suspect in the killings following the discovery the police also found the purse with a five pound bill and were able to trace it to the shipley branch of the midland bank it had been dispersed as part of payroll but there were 34 possible firms to investigate police interviewed around 5 000 workers but nobody stood out among them was one peter sutliff who was questioned twice by detectives but managed to ease their suspicions by providing an alibi the yorkshire ripper evaded the law once more the killer ended the year with another attack where the victim survived on december 14th he picked up marilyn moore in leeds and took her to an empty lot he began his attack as always with a vicious hammer blow to the head but it was a dog who saved the day again by barking loudly and prompting the ripper to leave the scene a couple found more and called an ambulance she lived through her ordeal and even provided police with a sketch of her attacker who introduced himself as dave but there was still no luck in catching him the yorkshire ripper entered the new year still a free man [Music] after having his deadliest year so far the ripper showed no signs of slowing down in 1978. he killed two women in january 22 year old yvonne pearson and 18 year old helen ritka although yvonne was killed first on january 21 the murderer hid her body under an old sofa and she wasn't discovered until march something else of note happened around that time something that took the case in the completely wrong direction prolonged the investigation and allowed the ripper to claim more lives on march the 8th the police received a letter purported to be from the killer it started like this dear sir i'm sorry i cannot give my name for obvious reasons i am the ripper i've been dubbed a maniac by the press but not by you you call me clever and i am you and your mates haven't a clue that photo in the paper gave me fits and that bit about killing myself no chance i've got things to do my purpose to rid the streets of them [ __ ] my one regret is that young lassie macdonald did not know cause change routine that night the letter went on for a bit in it the writer identified himself as jack the ripper and claimed responsibility for eight killings including one committed in preston in 1975. this referred to the death of joan robinson which police had long suspected could have been a ripper murder it wasn't as they found out later but it wasn't until 2010 that they actually identified a true killer thanks to dna evidence so did the police think the letter was genuine there were doubts of course but they were somewhat assuaged by the fact that the author played into their preconceived notions that the ripper hated prostitutes and that the murder of jane mcdonald had been a mistake the writer also promised that his next victim would be an older woman something that turned out to be true but it was the mention of the preston murder that really sold the investigators on the letter as they mistakenly believed that it had not been publicized in reality everything in the letter was public knowledge which was why the author didn't take credit for the death of yvonne pearson whose body had not yet been discovered this should have been a big red flag but the investigators or the ripper squad as they came to be known came to the conclusion that it was genuine as were the two more letters that followed over the course of a year as for the actual yorkshire ripper his next victim was vera millwood whom he killed in manchester on may the 16th of that year she was 41 older than most of the other victims just like the letter promised atlantic credence although this turned out to simply be a coincidence which benefited the real killer after beer and millwood's death the ripper waited for almost an entire year before striking again but eventually he did strike again on april the 4th 1979 when he attacked 19 year old josephine whitaker on her way to her grandparents house in halifax on her body the pathologists found traces from a mineral oil used in engineering shops which was the same kind of oil found on the envelopes that the lettuce came in this was a massive red herring but the police fell for it hook line and sinker as they were now convinced that the letters were genuine they had a new lead to pursue as the had envelope been mailed in sunderland so a quick english geography lesson here as it will soon become very very relevant the city of sunderland is located further up north than yorkshire where the murders took place this is an area known simply as the north east of england the people there are usually called geordies and they have a very distinct dialect police hoped that geordies and yorkshire would stand out since their accents were quite different so they went public with this information then in june 1979 something new happened the writer was not content with letters anymore so he sent in a tape on it in a thick geordie accent he said i'm jack i see you are still having no look cutting me i have the greatest respect for you george good lord you are no need to catching me now and four years ago when i started i reckon your boys are letting you down george they can't be much good can you i'm not quite sure when i strike again goody will be definitely sometime this year i am not sure where maybe manchester united there there's plenty of them knocking about they i bet you've warned them but they never listen the tape then ended with a short clip from the song thank you for being a friend by andrew gold the george mentioned on the tape was officer george oldfield the man in charge of the ripper squad at the time the police were now convinced more than ever that this was the real killer they brought in voice analysts and linguistic experts and they concluded that the man on the tape spoke with an offshoot of the geordie dialect called a weirside accent present around sunderland and even narrowed the area down further to a suburb named castletown the police went all in on this new lead they launched a massive publicity campaign as they pretty much warned everyone in the country to listen to the voice and read the handwriting to see if they recognized who it belonged to thousands of billboards were put up all over england adverts were placed in hundreds of newspapers a hotline was opened where people could call up to listen to the tape the recording didn't just play on television and radio but everywhere there was a public speaker system malls supermarkets even nightclubs any attempts to suggest that the ripper might not be a geordie were ignored by the authorities even when they came from his surviving victims seven confirmed women had been attacked by the killer and lived through their ordeal some of them provided evidence that directly conflicted with the police's view of the ripper so they were dismissed on the basis that they either remembered incorrectly or they had been attacked by somebody else olive smelt the second victim from 1975 insisted that the ripper spoke with a yorkshire accent but a please fell on deaf ears we cannot say with certainty that the ripper would have been caught sooner if the police weren't busy looking for a geordie but we do know that he was able to kill three more women after the ripper squad launched their failed publicity campaign first was 20 year old barbara leech who was killed on the 1st of september 1979 just a few months after the police received the tape the following year the ripper attacked four more women killing two of them margarite walls and jaclyn hill none of his victims were prostitutes walls was a civil servant while leech and hill were students however the police refused to change their view of their target or their strategy to catch him when the ripper was finally apprehended in early 1981 it was a combination of dumb luck and a lack of prejudice that finally did him in for the first time the killer went to sheffield in south yorkshire looking for a victim ironically he did this because he thought it would be safer but it was what led to his capture because the police there didn't immediately dismiss a suspect because he didn't have a geordie accent he picked up a 24 year old working girl called olivia rivers and was on his way to a remote area when he was pulled over by the cops and then arrested once it was revealed that his car had false number plates before being taken in he managed to discard his weapons by pretending that he was going to pee at the station suspicions were starting to grow the man had the right shoe size he had the right blood type he matched the physical description he lived in the area of the murders everything was lining up except for the accent but the sheffield police decided to ignore this in an inspired move they went back and searched the scene of the arrest and they found the knife hammer and rope that their suspect threw away there was no more doubt they'd just captured the yorkshire ripper and his name was peter sutcliffe so who was the man who had terrorized the north of england for five years and murdered 13 women he was born peter william sutcliffe on june 2nd 1946 in bingley a market town in west yorkshire the oldest son of john suckleth and kathleen conan he dropped out of school when he was 15 and started working various odd jobs including as a grave digger and doesn't undertake his assistant eventually he trained to transport heavy goods and became a lorry driver for a company in bradford he married his longtime girlfriend sonya surma in 1974 and began his killing spree soon after once the world knew who peter sutcliffe was there was even more outrage at the incompetence displayed by the police they'd interviewed him nine times prior to his arrest he was one of the workers paid with the money that included the bill found on gene jordan's body he matched the physical description provided by the surviving victims he had been spotted around the red light district of leeds dozens of times one of his friends named trevor birdsall even came forward and told the police that he suspected suckler for being the ripper all of this was ignored because peter sutcliffe spoke with a yorkshire accent not a drawdy one as for the man who sent the tape and the letters and set the police on the wrong path he became known as weirside jack and it wasn't until 2005 that he was finally identified his real name was john humble and he was sentenced to eight years in prison on four counts of perverting the course of justice as far as cyclif was concerned his trial strategy was to plead to manslaughter instead of murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility this would have made the difference between spending the rest of his life in prison and going to a more relaxed mental institution with hopes of even being released one day claiming that he started killing after hearing the voice of god his lawyers brought in medical experts who argued that sucliff suffered from paranoid schizophrenia neither the judge nor the jury bought it and peter sucliff was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison he died on november 13 2020 shortly after testing positive the coronavirus so i'm not gonna ask whether you enjoyed that video but i do hope you found it interesting if you did please leave a thumbs up below also why not check out that podcast i mentioned the casual criminalist it's also available on youtube i'll leave a link below and thank you for watching

Channel: Biographics

Views: 237,575

Keywords: biographics, biography, biographies, people, famous people, simon whistler

Id: r8FX1YkR4Fg

Length: 20min 45sec (1245 seconds)

Published: Mon May 31 2021