Jack the Ripper was an infamous serial killer in Whitechapel who managed to gut at least six prostitutes. He was known for toying with the police, as well as hiding in the darkness, ensuring that he would continue his reign of terror. Even so, there were other people who had taken on the name “The Ripper”, killers who delighted in the dance of blood. One of these rippers was the Yorkshire Ripper. 

Peter Sutcliffe was rather small for his age. Raised in a hardworking family, he was bullied because of his size, so much so that he would usually hide from them. When he was 15, he dropped out of school, and worked odd jobs to support himself, including grave digging. He was found playing with the skeletons, robbing the graves, as well as watching prostitutes; even when he was married, his watching didn’t stop. 

In October of 1975, Sutcliffe killed Wilma McCann. He later killed again, this time Emily Jackson, a prostitute who’d been using her van. The next attack, however, didn’t go as planned, and it wasn’t until 1977 did he begin again. Time and time again, he would continue to attack women until finally the police finally arrested him. Interestingly enough, while the police did interview Sutcliffe a number of times, they didn’t seriously consider him a suspect until they found his car had a variety of fake plates. What’s more, they noticed how much he resembled the descriptions of the victims. As the police began pressuring him, he finally succumbed, and confessed that he was the Yorkshire Ripper. 

During Sutcliffe’s confession, he stated that he was commanded by God to kill those prostitutes. Though he tried getting a lighter sentence through the use of psychiatric evaluations, he was later found guilty, and was put away for 20 life sentences. When they later found that he suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, he was removed from the prison, and put into a mental institution. While it was accepted that Sutcliffe had managed to kill 13 women, many believe that he was responsible for many more. 

The police’s handling of the Yorkshire Ripper case has been criticized by many. From their inadequate storing of information, to the fact that Sutcliffe was interviewed for a total of nine times before being brought in, it was clear that the police weren’t at all prepared for handling such an important case. Even more telling of the situation was how the Assistant Chief Constable at the time had even ignored the victims’ statements, and had even relied on a false confession as evidence. 

The Yorkshire Ripper has inspired many books and modern movies. For instance, Wicked Beyond Belief: The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper by Michael Bilton, which detailed just how the police handled the Yorkshire ripper case. The Yorkshire Ripper by Roger Cross describes the search for the Yorkshire Ripper. In The Real Yorkshire Ripper, Noel O’Gara illustrates Sutcliffe as merely a copy cat Ripper that was not, in actuality, the Yorkshire Ripper, and focused more on the police’s own mistakes regarding the case. 

The Yorkshire Ripper was a rather complex case with a disturbing individual at the core. The macabre aspects of Sutcliffe, as well as the inadequacy of the police, managed to spark national attention. Many authorities attempted to determine whether or not Sutcliffe was responsible for some of the killings. It’s a case that many mystery buffs still return to despite the years that have passed.