Yorkshire Ripper said he 'didn't want to do what he did' in letter

Jul 07, 2023

The serial killer known as the Yorkshire Ripper said his life was ‘a torment beyond belief’ in a never-before-seen letter.

Peter Sutcliffe was infamous for his sexually motivated killing spree which saw 13 Greater Manchester and Yorkshire women lose their lives between 1975 and 1980.

He was convicted of 13 counts of murder in 1981, after already pleading guilty to to seven counts of attempted murder, and was handed 20 concurrent life sentences.

Now, a newly emerged letter has offered some rare insight into the state of mind of the murderer, who died three years ago.

Written from inside Broadmoor Hospital to someone unknown named ‘Terry’ on April 4, 1990, Sutcliffe said: ‘I am not the type of person who writes to voyeurs or folk who think I wanted to do what I did! Because I didn’t!

‘My life was an absolute hell on Earth because of it.’

He went on to say: ‘A torment beyond belief and it was a darned relief when it was all over, I can assure you of that.

‘Well, no more to be said. I can’t even think about it and I don’t.

‘Thank god I now know the truth, and I am not living in a fantasy world, that’s all I can say.’

It is signed, ‘yours sincerely, Peter’.

In a second typed letter, Sutcliffe explained to ‘Terry’ that he did not trust anyone he did not know following a previous experience writing to a prisoner.

The letter was revealed by Ben Graves, 32, who said he bought it from an antiques dealer last month.

The control room operator, from Cumbria, said: ‘The dealer had this letter tucked away in a drawer and he sold it to me.

‘Nothing like it has ever been put online before – it struck me that he seems to regret what he’s done with the crimes.’

Sutcliffe, who was believed to have developed an obsession with sex workers, is thought to have assaulted several women before his first official victim in 1975 – Wilma McCann.

The mum-of-four was hit twice in the head with a hammer and stabbed multiple times.

The other 12 victims are:

Sutcliffe was convicted of attacking nine others, and there may well have been more assaults which were never reported.

An explosive ITV documentary aired last February which suggested there were multiple missed opportunities to catch the serial killer.

Viewers were outraged over two innocent men getting convicted for crimes they did not commit, while Sutcliffe was free to murder more.

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People called it ‘staggering police incompetence’ and were disgusted at officers only using the phrase ‘innocent women’ for victims who were not sex workers.

Sutcliffe died from ill health in prison in 2020, aged 74.

ITV announced a seven-part series about the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper starring Toby Jones earlier this month, which will air in September.

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