Yorkshire Ripper: How mass murderer's reign of terror finally came to an end in Sheffield
The Yorkshire Ripper’s reign of terror in the north of England lasted five years and came to an end in Sheffield.
Women were terrified to walk the streets alone as the number of his murders and attempted murders increased year after year as Peter Sutcliffe continued to evade arrest.
His killing spree triggered one of the largest police manhunt’s in history.
The 74-year-old serial killer was serving a whole life sentence for 13 murders and seven attempted murders.
He was finally captured on January 2, 1981, when two police officers on patrol in Sheffield – Sergeant Bob Ring and Police Constable Robert Hydes – spotted a car with false number plates.
Sutcliffe was found in the vehicle with a prostitute in Broomhall, which was Sheffield’s red light district at that time.
He was taken in for initial questioning at Hammerton Road police station, Hillsborough, before being transferred to Dewsbury Police Station to be questioned about the Yorkshire Ripper case as he matched many of the killer’s known physical characteristics.
The following day, Sgt Ring returned to the scene of the arrest and discovered a knife, hammer and rope that Sutcliffe had discarded in bushes when he told officers he was ‘bursting for a pee’.
A second knife was found hidden in a toilet cistern at Hammerton Road police station. He had used the toilet during his time in police custody.
Sgt Ring and PC Hydes were commended for the part they played in bringing the Yorkshire Ripper to justice.
Sutcliffe finally admitted he was the Ripper after two days of intensive questioning but pleaded not guilty to murder at his trial. He admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
He claimed to have heard voices ordering him to kill prostitutes while he worked as a gravedigger.
The basis of his defence was he claimed to have been the tool of God's will.
Sutcliffe had regularly used the services of prostitutes in Leeds and Bradford and his outbreak of violence towards them seems to have occurred because he was swindled out of money by a prostitute and her pimp.
Carrying out his murder spree over five years, his first killing was in 1975.