Son of Peter Sutcliffe victim says sister's suicide was harder than mum's death

26 September 2023 , 09:32

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Son of Peter Sutcliffe victim says sister's suicide was harder than mum's death

Richard McCann, the son of Wilma who was murdered by Peter Sutcliffe, joined Good Morning Britain to discuss his mother's death and his sister's subsequent heartbreaking suicide.

Sonia Newlands, who used her mother's maiden name, was just seven when her mother was killed, her younger brother Richard was five while sisters Donna and Angela were three and four respectively.

Host Richard Madeley asked the victim's son how "strongly related" his sister's suicide was to their mother's murder. He replied: "We'll never know because she had her own problems with alcohol but, arguably it's what happened to us. She was the oldest, the mother-figure and for her to take that on, it was just too much for her."

Richard's oldest sister Sonia took her own life in 2007 (Sonia Newlands and Richard McCann)

"Did you use to talk about it much when you were growing up?" the presenter asked to which Richard replied: "Me and Sonia did because we were lucky to know mum so that was our bond – the others didn't really remember mum. So losing Sonia was more painful than losing my mum because she was my soulmate, we were the ones who went through that together."

Sonia was found dead in her Leeds home in the week before Christmas 2007, where it is believed she hanged herself. The daughter of the murder victim had been battling alcohol addiction in a rehabilitation centre before her death on December 17.

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ITV's new drama, The Long Shadow, retells the horrors Sutcliffe inflicted, with particular focus on his victims and their families.

Elsewhere in the interview, Richard explained why he refuses to refer to Sutcliffe by his 'Yorkshire Ripper' moniker. He said: "It's a triggering word, if you think about what that word is trying to describe so for the family members it reminds them of the horror of what he did to the woman.

"But, also the bigger picture, media, police should not be using these monikers because it almost creates this picture of [murderers] that isn't reality. It creates this monster when actually he was a softly, spoken, mild, Bradford lorry driver so when they were presented with him, they were imagining something else. It's wrong to be using these monikers and it inspires other killers to follow in their footsteps."

Charlotte McIntyre