Peter Sutcliffe claimed his first murder victim in 1975, although he had made several previous attempts to kill, dating back as far as 1969.

Wilma McCann was a 28 year old mother of 4 when she was attacked from behind by Sutcliffe. He smashed her twice over the head with a hammer, before stabbing her 15 times in the neck and chest. One of McCann’s daughters died in 2007 by suicide, having suffered years of depression over her mother’s death.

Sutcliffe went on to murder another 12 women while the police spent the next 5 years desperately trying to catch him. Many of his victims were prostitutes, but not all. He usually attacked from behind with hammer blows to the head, before stabbing and slashing. His crimes terrorized all of England during the late 1970’s.

After his arrest Sutcliffe confessed to the murders. There are also thought to be up to 17 more possible victims.

He was tried and convicted, after a failed diminished responsibility plea. He was sentenced to 20 life sentences. Initially in prison, he was later diagnosed as being paranoid schizophrenic and transferred to Broadmoor Hospital. In 2016 he was returned to prison.

To date the cost of keeping Peter Sutcliffe comfortable has exceeded 10 million British Pounds.