Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe dead at 74

The Yorkshire Ripper has died, aged 74.

He died in hospital today (Friday), a Prison Service spokesman said.

Peter Sutcliffe murdered 13 women and cast a shadow of terror over Yorkshire for five years until he was arrested in 1981. He had been treated for coronavirus amid claims he refused treatment and was at risk of death.

He was being treated at the University Hospital of North Durham, three miles from the maximum security Frankland jail where he was an inmate.

Two weeks ago, the serial killer was treated at the same hospital after suffering a suspected heart attack.

He went back to prison but returned after developing coronavirus.

According to reports, he turned down treatment for the virus and was at greater risk of dying due to his age and health problems.

Sutcliffe had a range of conditions including heart trouble, diabetes and obesity, it has been reported.

He is serving a whole life term for murdering 13 women across Yorkshire and the North West between 1975 and 1980.

He was convicted in 1981 and, after a long spell in Broadmoor Hospital in Berkshire, he was transferred to HMP Frankland in 2016 after being deemed stable enough to serve time in prison.

A Prison Service spokesman said: “HMP Frankland prisoner Peter Coonan (born Sutcliffe) died in hospital on November 13. The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has been informed.”

Sutcliffe had reportedly suffered from a range of conditions before his death including heart trouble, diabetes and obesity.