Yorkshire Ripper was ‘not a very intelligent killer’ according to former detective

Peter Sutcliffe, aged 74, died in hospital this morning after testing positive for coronavirus.

The killer, who led a five year reign of terror in the north of England between 1975 and 1980, killed 13 women and attempted to murder seven others.

DEATH: Yorkshire Ripper dead at 74: Peter Sutcliffe dies of coronavirus alone in hospital

He was finally arrested in Sheffield in January 1981 when officers found him in a car with false number plates.

BACKGROUND: Do you remember when serial killer Peter Sutcliffe was arrested on a winter night in Sheffield almost 40 years ago?

The Ripper, who was serving a whole life sentence, spent many years locked up at Broadmoor high security psychiatric hospital before being transferred to HMP Frankland in County Durham in 2016.

Former detective Bob Bridgestock, who was one of the first on the scene when Josephine Whitaker was murdered by Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe in 1979, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Peter Sutcliffe wasn’t a very intelligent killer, he was just brutal.

“It fits, in my mind, into the likes of (Myra) Hindley and (Ian) Brady and the likes of Robert Black – serial killers who will be detested way after they’ve gone.

“I’ve walked with my dog this morning and people have said ‘good news, good riddance’, and that’s what a lot of people will be thinking about (it).”

He added: “It’s the victims that served the life sentence and then the victims’ families that really serve the true life sentences.

“For them today, they will have some kind of closure.

“The news today will bring back some very sad memories for a lot of them. And we should remember the victims, not the killer.”

In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a digital subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. Nancy Fielder, editor.