Villains Beginning With 'P'
Peter William Sutcliffe
AKA The Yorkshire Ripper
(June 2, 1946 -)
Peter Sutcliffe now Peter William Coonan is one of the most recognized British serial killers of all time. This one time loner and grave digger turned husband and lorry driver from Yorkshire was one hard cookie to track down. The police spent years and a ton of money to bring him to justice, including the first use of the forerunner of HOLMES 1, the Police computer system.
Dubbed "The Yorkshire Ripper" due to the severity of the attacks, Sutcliffe was convicted in 1981 of the murders of thirteen women in the north of England and attacks on seven more from 1975 to 1980. Many of these victims were struck over the head with a hammer and then stabbed, he even tried to remove the head of one victim to hide her identity.
He was nearly caught on more than one occasion. His car was reported by a witness but was misidentified, and he was also identified by one of his victims who survived his attack. Despite tons of evidence Sutcliffe continued to slip the net.
Eventually he was tagged by cops when they realized he had fitted false plates to his car, and the fact he had a hooker in the car didn't help, and was arrested. Later evidence was found at this location and with a strip search revealing the strange use of a V-neck sweater (legs through the arms, so the 'V' could be used as a hole for his crotch to assault his victims), a search warrant was granted and his house was searched too.
On the afternoon of 4 January 1981 he declared he was the Ripper and, over the next day, described his attacks. He was charged on 6 January and went to trial in May. The basis of his defence was his claim that he was the tool of God's will. Sutcliffe first claimed to hear voices while working as a gravedigger that ultimately would 'order' him to begin killing prostitutes. He claimed that the voices originated from a headstone of a deceased Polish woman and furthermore that the 'voices' were that of God.
Sutcliffe now resides in Broadmoor Hospital, where he could be eligible for parole in the year 2011.
SUMMARY
ARCH RIVAL : |
Women including hookers. |
STRENGTHS : |
Sutcliffe eluded the law for years, triggering one of the largest investigations in British history. His investigation in fact helped launch the forerunner of HOLMES 1, a way for the police to sort large amounts of data. A loner able to keep himself and his murder sprees quite. An experienced lorry driver. |
WEAKNESSES : |
Not the most discreet of serial killers, caught with his pants down with a hooker in his car! Didn't launder his money very well, especially his fivers! Wears strange underwear made form old sweatshirts?! Suffers from diabetes. |
WEAPONS : |
A ball-pein hammer, knife, broken pane of glass and a hacksaw |
QUOTE : |
EXTERNAL LINKS
Peter Sutcliffe - Wikipedia
Peter Sutcliffe - Crime Library
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