30 October 2023 , 19:50
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Tranquil and filled with light, this hardly seems like a fitting place for a man who carried out one of Britain’s darkest crime waves. But it is the area where Peter Sutcliffe’s ashes may have been scattered.
The Yorkshire Ripper, who terrorised women in the 1970s and 1980s, was convicted of 13 murders. He died in 2020 aged 74 after getting Covid. His niece Emily Sutcliffe says some of her evil uncle’s remains were scattered by the seaside in the beautiful village of Arnside, Cumbria.
The Ripper visited the area as a boy, staying at his uncle’s caravan. Emily, 28, said: “I was taken there once or twice when I was a child. It is lovely. That area means a lot to the whole family. We had family living in the area at the time and would visit them.” Speaking for the first time about her twisted uncle, Emily said the killer had a dreadful impact on her life.
The young mum added: “When he died it felt a bit like freedom, a relief. When I looked in the mirror I saw a monster because I was convinced I looked like him. When I was younger I was told I looked like my dad who has similar features to my uncle. It was so bad I wanted plastic surgery to change everything about my appearance. If I’d had the money I would have.”
Some of his ashes have been scattered in Arnside, Cumbria (Alamy Stock Photo)The Yorkshire Ripper’s ex-wife Sonia Sutcliffe was made his executor and it is thought the ashes were divided up and sent to family and friends. It is believed the killer told relatives of his secret plan for his remains. A portion of them are thought to have been released at Arnside. His father’s ashes were scattered there in 2004. It is believed the Ripper’s ashes could have been released on the adjacent beach at White Creek.
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Arnside is near the border with Lancashire. Some family live half an hour away in Morecambe, Lancs. Emily claims the Ripper’s ashes were released out to sea. The serial killer was allowed to visit Arnside in 2005, sparking outrage in the peaceful village. He was driven to the bay under the supervision of Broadmoor Hospital staff to pay his respects to his dad.
The area’s then MP Tim Collins said: “It is despicable.” Lorry driver Sutcliffe, from Bingley, West Yorks, was jailed in 1981 for the murders and seven attempted murders. He was given no chance of release. Emily said she was eight when her dad Carl, the killer’s brother, told her about her notorious uncle.
She said: “I remember going into school and telling my friends because I thought my uncle was famous. I didn’t understand what he’d done then. Unfortunately it was the perfect age for bullying and it has scarred me.” She said a close friend at primary school told how her parents knew one of the victims. Emily added: “I felt like saying ‘I’m sorry, but it wasn’t me’.
“I was told by my family ‘you’re quiet, you’re artistic just like Uncle Peter’. I was scared I was inherently bad and thought I must have evil coursing through my veins. It’s had a crazy impact on my self-esteem. I developed an eating disorder and was massively underweight from the stress of it.”
Emily thinks the Ripper’s offences may have influenced her decision to study criminology and psychology. She said: “In the months before he died I was seriously considering visiting him.” She thinks her uncle’s alcoholic dad may have caused the murderous streak by smashing a pint glass over the Ripper’s head when he was a boy. Emily said it was similar to the Ripper’s hammer attacks. She added: “His crimes affected so many people – even me so many generations later.”