Peter Sutcliffe

Lore & Background

Peter Sutcliffe was born in Shipley, West Riding of Yorkshire, to a working-class family. He left school at 15 and held menial jobs, including two stints as a gravedigger. He married Sonia Szurma in 1974; she was later diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. Sutcliffe's first documented assault was in 1969 against a prostitute, and his attacks escalated from 1975 onward, initially targeting women in residential areas before shifting to red-light districts. He was arrested in Sheffield in January 1981 for driving with false number plates and subsequently confessed to the killings, claiming the voice of God had sent him on a mission to kill prostitutes. At trial he pleaded not guilty on grounds of diminished responsibility but was convicted of murder on a majority verdict. In 1992, he legally changed his surname to Coonan, his mother's maiden name.

Reader's Guide

Sutcliffe's case had a profound impact on British policing and public consciousness. The search for him was one of the largest and most expensive manhunts in British history, and West Yorkshire Police faced severe criticism for failing to catch him despite interviewing him nine times. The government-ordered Byford Report, fully public in 2006, confirmed the validity of that criticism and led to changes in investigative procedures adopted by all British police forces. Criminal psychologist David Holmes characterised Sutcliffe as an 'extremely callous, sexually sadistic serial killer.' After his conviction, Sutcliffe was transferred to Broadmoor Hospital in 1984 after being diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. In 2010, the High Court confirmed he would serve a whole life order and never be released. He died in hospital from COVID-19 in 2020.

Did You Know?

• Sutcliffe was interviewed nine times by police during the five-year investigation before his arrest.
• He worked as a gravedigger in the 1960s and reportedly volunteered to wash corpses.
• His wife Sonia was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.