Yorkshire Ripper whinges of being in 'absolute hell' over depraved murder spree

29 August 2023 , 13:03

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The Yorkshire Ripper wrote a self-pitying letter about his "absolute hell" (Image: SWNS)

The Yorkshire Ripper wrote a self-pitying letter about his "absolute hell" over his evil crimes while locked up at Broadmoor.

Twisted Peter Sutcliffe went to his grave having never apologised for his crimes, which terrified and rocked the nation in the 70s and 80s. Many women were left too scared to go out as his deadly rampage continued.

Now a letter, written from inside Broadmoor hospital, gives an insight into his mind almost a decade after he was caught for his crimes. The letter, written in 1990, reads: "I am not the type of person who writes to voyeurs or folk who think I wanted to do what I did! Because I didn’t!

“My life was an absolute hell on Earth because of it."

Sutcliffe killed his first victim in 1975 and left a nation in fear as he carried out his deadly crime wave over the next five years. He was finally caught in 1981 and was sentenced to 20 concurrent life sentences.

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After his trial he was found guilty of 13 murders and admitted seven attempted murders. He was jailed before being transferred to Broadmoor in March 1984. In a letter he claimed it had been a "damned relief when it was all over".

Sutcliffe went to his grave having never apologised for his crimes (SWNS)

This new letter is dated April 4, 1990, and the return address is given as 'P. Sutcliffe, Crowthorne Hospital'. Broadmoor is in Crowthorne, a Berkshire village.

It goes on to read: 'A torment beyond belief and it was a darned relief when it was all over, I can assure you of that. 'Well, no more to be said. I can’t even think about it and I don’t. Thank god I now know the truth, and I am not living in a fantasy world, that’s all I can say.'

It is signed, 'yours sincerely, Peter'.

Ben Graves, 32, says he got the letter from an antiques dealer's lot last month and included a second, typed letter. This reads: 'Sorry mate, I can’t oblige because a pathetic creep… has made it impossible for me to put any trust in anyone I don’t know.

'I have his lying letters and family photographs still to prove what a two-faced lying troglodyte he is.'

Ben, a control room operator from Cumbria, said: “The dealer had this letter tucked away in a drawer and he sold it to me. Nothing like it has ever been put online before - it struck me that he seems to regret what he’s done with the crimes.”

Sutcliffe died in prison in 2020, aged 74, after he was struck down by the coronavirus. ITV announced a seven-part series about the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper starring Toby Jones earlier this month.

Lucy Thornton