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true crime podcast that may contain discussion about

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call 911-800-igating-a-2 United—

1:27

Hello, everyone, and welcome to

1:34

episode 309 of

1:37

the Criminology

1:42

Podcast. I'm Mike Ferguson. And

1:44

this is Mike Morford. Mr. Morford, how

1:46

you doing, Matty? I'm doing good.

1:48

We're recording this on the day that my

1:50

kids are going to the school for the last time this year,

1:52

so pretty excited today in the

1:55

Morford household. I'm really excited to be

1:57

here with you. Yeah, we're kind of in the same

1:59

mode here. not so much with my kids,

2:01

but with my wife. Today is

2:03

her last day of school.

2:05

So she's looking forward

2:08

as I think most people do to being

2:12

done with the school year. I remember when I

2:14

was young, man, those last couple

2:16

of days and especially that very last

2:18

day, it was like, bring

2:21

it on. Summer is about ready to be

2:23

here. I can't wait. Yeah. Something

2:25

tells me the teachers want to get out of there just as bad as

2:27

the kids by the end of the year. No, I

2:29

think for most of them, there, there is no doubt about

2:32

it. So let's go ahead

2:34

and give our Patreon shout outs.

2:36

We had Beatrice Nevis and

2:39

Lori. So some great new support. We

2:41

really appreciate it. Thank you so

2:43

much for that support. It means a lot to us and

2:46

for everyone else that helps support the show. Thank

2:48

you. And if anyone out there wants

2:51

to help support the show, you can

2:53

do so by going to patreon.com/criminology. So

2:56

it's kind of hard to believe more, but another

2:58

CrimeCon is upon us. This is the

3:00

last episode that will air before we

3:02

arrived in Nashville to hang out on

3:05

podcast row. And we've heard from

3:07

a lot of people who have reached out to say

3:09

that they plan to be there. So it should be

3:11

a lot of fun. Yeah. And just

3:13

a reminder to everyone that is going to CrimeCon,

3:16

we'll be having our annual criminology TCAT

3:18

meetup on Saturday night, June 1st at

3:21

9 PM. That's going to happen at the

3:23

Fuse Bar right there on the premises. And

3:25

the Gaylord of Opryland. So come by,

3:27

hang out for a bit. We'd love to see you. Okay.

3:30

So we have all of that out of the way, which

3:33

means it's time to jump into this week's

3:35

case and we're going across

3:37

the pond to the UK in

3:40

order to tackle a big

3:42

and infamous case, the crimes

3:44

of Peter Sutcliffe, AKA, the

3:46

Yorkshire Ripper. He was convicted

3:48

of murdering 13 women and

3:51

attempting to murder seven others. Between

3:53

1975 and 1980. And

3:57

you and I have profiled many.

4:00

different serial killers over the

4:02

years, some of whom have targeted

4:06

sex workers and only sex workers.

4:08

But that's not the case with

4:10

Peter Sutcliffe. His victims came

4:12

from a wide array of backgrounds.

4:15

You know, when many people hear

4:17

about an infamous UK killer targeting

4:20

women, especially sex workers, their

4:22

minds often jump to the infamous Jack

4:24

the Ripper. The Ripper was

4:26

responsible for a series of murders

4:28

in Whitechapel in 1888. Understandably,

4:31

people there at the time were

4:34

fearful. And when police

4:36

received a taunting letter signed Jack

4:38

the Ripper from someone claiming to

4:40

be the killer, the press ran

4:42

with it. And here we are

4:44

136 years later with that series

4:46

of murders still unsolved. When another

4:49

series of murders of women sprang

4:51

up in Yorkshire County in

4:53

Northern England, almost a century later,

4:56

the Ripper moniker would once again

4:58

be in the spotlight. But

5:01

one key difference with this Ripper case

5:04

is that it would eventually be solved and

5:06

the Ripper unmasked. The first

5:08

attack by the man who would come to

5:10

be known as the Yorkshire Ripper happened in

5:13

Keithley on the night of July 5th, 1975. 36-year-old

5:17

Anna Rogulskic was heading down North Queen

5:19

Street to see her boyfriend whom

5:21

she was angry with. During her walk to

5:24

his home, she passed a man standing near the

5:26

boarded up doorway of a home. He

5:28

called out to her, do you fancy it? Essentially

5:30

propositioning Anna for sex. Angrily,

5:33

she said, not on your life. And

5:36

she picked up the pace walking to her boyfriend's. When

5:38

she got there, she pounded on his door, but

5:40

he didn't answer. Angry, she took

5:42

off her shoe and smashed his window before heading

5:45

back home. On the way back to

5:47

her house, Anna once again saw

5:49

the same bearded man who had

5:51

propositioned her. It was at

5:53

this point she recognized him. She

5:55

didn't know him, but she had seen him

5:57

before. Weeks before, She

6:00

had encountered him near her home, on

6:02

Highfield Lane. He asked if

6:04

she wanted to have tea before she

6:06

refused him and headed home. She

6:08

hadn't seen him since. Now he

6:11

was standing in front of him. He

6:13

asked her once again, do you

6:15

fancy it? And she again told him

6:17

no. She walked off, and

6:19

only made it a few feet before

6:21

being attacked from behind. The

6:24

bearded man hit Anna in the head with

6:26

a ball-peen hammer, with

6:29

multiple powerful blows. When she

6:31

fell to the ground, he pulled up her

6:33

shirt and, using a knife, slashed at

6:35

her stomach before leaving her for dead. At

6:38

2.20 a.m., a local resident on his

6:40

way home found Anna near death, an

6:43

unconscious and full of blood. He

6:45

summoned police and an ambulance. Fortunately,

6:47

Anna survived, but required

6:49

a 12-hour brain surgery, and

6:52

she suffered from long-lasting effects. Understandably,

6:55

Anna wasn't in good shape following her attack, and

6:58

she could recall very little for investigators about the

7:00

man that attacked her. On

7:02

Friday, August 15, just

7:04

over a month after the attack on Anna,

7:07

and 12 miles south

7:09

of Keithley, 46-year-old Olive

7:11

Smelt was walking in Halifax

7:13

after a night out with friends. It

7:16

was just before midnight, 11.45, to

7:18

be exact, when she was approached

7:20

by a bearded man who said

7:23

something to her about the weather.

7:25

Without warning, the man pulled the ball-peen

7:28

hammer and struck Olive in the back

7:30

of the head twice, and she fell to the

7:32

ground. The man started to disrobe

7:34

her and slashed at her

7:37

backside with a blade of some

7:39

sort inflicting two wounds above her

7:41

buttocks. It was then that

7:43

the headlights of an approaching car shined

7:45

on the scene, and the

7:47

attacker fled. Olive survived her

7:50

attack, and described for police

7:52

that her assailant had thick dark hair,

7:54

a beard, and

7:57

a very distinct Yorkshire accent.

8:00

The intention of a Yorkshire accent was

8:02

an important clue because Yorkshire

8:05

apparently had its own accent and

8:07

it was 50 miles northeast of

8:10

Halifax. Unfortunately,

8:12

police didn't check that lead out

8:14

closely or reach out to police

8:16

in Yorkshire to see if they had any

8:19

similar cases. This lack of

8:21

follow through would prove to be a

8:23

key mistake in the investigation.

8:26

Just over one week later on August 27th,

8:28

14 year old Tracy

8:30

Brown in Sillsden 40 miles north

8:32

of Halifax was attacked. That

8:34

night, Tracy and her twin sister Mandy had

8:36

been allowed to stay out a half hour

8:39

later than normal. As they started

8:41

to leave their friend's house, Tracy got

8:43

distracted and kept talking, but Mandy

8:45

headed home. Realizing she had lost

8:47

track of time, Tracy started walking

8:50

home, hoping to catch up with her

8:52

sister, but it was of no use. She

8:54

was too far behind and she was already late

8:56

for curfew. Her feet were hurting her.

8:59

So since she was already going to be in trouble for

9:01

staying out too late, she stopped and sat

9:03

down to take off her shoes. While she

9:05

was doing this, a man stared at her

9:08

for a moment before he passed her walking

9:10

ahead of her. Soon after this,

9:12

Tracy started walking, eventually

9:14

catching up with the man who she had never seen

9:16

before. He made small talk with Tracy for

9:18

a while until they saw her home in the distance.

9:21

The lights were on, probably her parents waiting

9:23

up for her to get home. Before she could

9:25

say goodbye to the man, he ambushed her

9:27

from behind, hitting her in the head with a hammer.

9:30

The attack was brutal with five blows

9:32

to her head. The headlights from an

9:34

oncoming car scared the man away. He

9:36

threw her over a barbed wire fence before he

9:38

ran off. Tracy survived and

9:41

like Anna required extensive brain

9:43

surgery. She later told the Mirror

9:45

UK, we had walked together for

9:47

almost a mile for about 30 minutes and

9:50

they never once felt intimidated or in danger.

9:53

Police investigated the area where Tracy

9:55

had been attacked and found a

9:57

few clues. One of those clues

9:59

was a. hippie style bracelet made

10:01

from wooden beads. Another

10:04

item found was a handkerchief. Police

10:06

thought that the attacker suffered from

10:09

hay fever. Tracy helped police

10:11

create a sketch of the attacker

10:14

using an old school photo

10:16

fit or identikit tool. He

10:18

was described as having a mustache and beard,

10:21

staring eyes and a thin face.

10:24

The description went out to local papers

10:26

but no one came forward to ID the

10:28

assailant. One witness did say

10:30

that they had seen a similar looking

10:33

man that night in the area standing

10:35

next to a white Ford car, but

10:37

in the end, the lead didn't go

10:39

anywhere. And you think about

10:42

that description morph in

10:44

the 1970s. I feel like a

10:47

lot more men wore beards back

10:49

then. I could be mistaken about that,

10:51

but it's not much to

10:53

go on. Right? A

10:55

mustache, beard, thin face.

10:57

Okay, you're going to have a lot of

10:59

people in an area who probably

11:03

fit that description. Yeah,

11:05

overall, it is a pretty

11:07

general description to your point

11:09

that would probably match a lot of people,

11:12

but it's not much to really go on.

11:14

Like you said, for the police, and

11:17

I think at this point, as we're

11:19

talking about it, we can see

11:21

the similarities here between these different

11:23

attacks, but the police didn't

11:25

seem to immediately put them together because although

11:29

they were in the Yorkshire County

11:32

area, they weren't all in the same exact

11:35

town. So just the dots

11:37

weren't being connected at this point that this

11:40

was going on. And I

11:42

think it's easy to kind of

11:44

bash the police, bash the investigation,

11:46

right? You can do that

11:49

in almost every case. When you

11:51

look back at what they did

11:53

or didn't do, we

11:55

mentioned that one of the victims

11:57

said that her attacker had A

12:01

very distinct Yorkshire accent

12:04

and that police didn't really

12:06

reach out to that area

12:09

to see if they had similar

12:11

attacks or anything like that

12:13

well obviously that would have been a

12:15

good thing to do. Now would it

12:17

have led to the capture

12:19

of this person there's no way to

12:21

know that but it's pretty easy to

12:23

pick out the flaws in

12:26

an investigation after the fact.

12:29

One thing that I really want to talk

12:31

about is the three attacks

12:34

they were very similar they

12:37

happened in a

12:39

period of just over about a

12:42

month's time they were all

12:44

very vicious attacks i mean when

12:47

you think about the particulars

12:49

that we described. Being

12:52

hit in the head with a

12:54

ball peen hammer that would

12:56

be just on its own

12:59

so horrific but then

13:01

this attacker takes it a

13:03

step further cut these women

13:06

slashes them and

13:08

essentially leave them for dead but

13:10

all three survive. Unfortunately

13:13

that wouldn't be the case for

13:16

you many victims to follow

13:19

so my question is. This

13:22

is a burgeoning serial

13:25

killer who is trying

13:27

to figure out how

13:29

to do things i

13:32

do have that question in

13:34

a lot of serial killer case. The

13:36

fact that initial victims

13:39

live is that accidental

13:41

is it because the person doesn't

13:43

know exactly what they're doing they're

13:46

trying to figure out. You

13:48

know how to go

13:50

about doing what they want to

13:52

do i know it's macabre to think about

13:55

but i do think it's an interesting question.

13:58

You almost wonder if this is some kind of. learning

14:00

curve that this fledgling

14:03

predator doesn't know how to navigate

14:05

and he's not very

14:07

proficient at killing these women

14:09

assuming that would be what he wants to

14:11

do because to bash

14:13

somebody's head in and stab them

14:16

What other alternatives could there be it seems

14:19

like murdering them is the thing

14:21

he's trying to accomplish yet? Three times

14:24

in a row that doesn't happen After

14:26

Tracy Brown escaped with her life the

14:28

attack stopped for a month Maybe the

14:30

killer needed to rethink his approach since he had been

14:32

scared off three times in a row But

14:35

on October 30th 1975 he struck once again He

14:39

found 28 year old Wilma Mary

14:41

McCann who would become the Ripper's first

14:43

known murder victim She was last

14:45

seen alive walking past the Prince Philip playing

14:47

fields in Leeds at around 7 30 p.m.

14:51

Not far from her home She had been struck

14:53

in the back of the head twice with a hammer before

14:56

being stabbed in the throat chest

14:58

and abdomen a Milk man

15:00

making his rounds discovered Wilma's body and

15:02

reported it to police Wilma

15:04

was a mother of four and in

15:06

an effort to get attention for her case and Humanize

15:09

her in the eyes of the public a

15:12

group photo of her kids was taken showing

15:14

them holding their toys No

15:16

strong leads came in and the children

15:18

were sent to live in a group home Before

15:21

eventually going to live with their estranged father

15:23

who was said to be abusive Police

15:25

theorize that Wilma was a sex worker, but

15:27

it was never proven after this

15:29

murder The Ripper seems to have laid low

15:31

until the new year 1976

15:34

so I think we need to pause

15:36

here and address the fact that Wilma

15:38

was possibly a sex worker as Were

15:41

some of the others we'll talk about in

15:43

the rest of the episode at that time

15:45

during? 1976

15:49

the UK much like the

15:51

US was in the midst of an

15:53

awful recession There was a

15:56

looming oil crisis and to try

15:58

and save resources and energy the

16:00

UK resorted to a three-day work

16:02

week for many people. There was

16:05

also a huge minor strike and

16:07

many layoffs. All of this combined

16:09

to put a great burden on many

16:11

families in the UK. As

16:13

a result, people struggled to pay their

16:15

bills or even put food on the

16:17

table for their children. Faced with

16:19

the possibility of their children starving,

16:22

many women in desperation turned

16:24

to sex work in order to bring in

16:27

whatever they could. We talk

16:29

often about sex work being a

16:31

dangerous line of work. It always

16:33

has been and still is, but

16:36

with this financial crisis it

16:38

caused many more women to be on

16:40

the streets and in harm's way. As

16:43

1975 turned in 1976, police

16:46

in various locations were trying to solve the

16:48

crimes they were tasked with and

16:51

during this period the killer continued to

16:53

stalk for his next victim. 42-year-old

16:55

Emily Monica Jackson, who lived

16:58

in Turwell, a suburb of Leeds, had

17:00

like some of the women we mentioned, turned

17:02

sex work to make ends meet. She

17:05

felt secure however because she was accompanied

17:07

by her husband Stanley, who was an

17:09

out of work roofer with a van. While

17:11

Stanley would go to a local pub, Emily

17:13

would bring her clients back to the van for

17:15

sex. Knowing that Stanley was in

17:17

a nearby pub and that she was in

17:19

her own van made Emily feel safe,

17:22

but despite her mind being at ease, on

17:25

January 20th 1976 she

17:27

would become the killer's next victim. When

17:29

Stanley ended his night in the pub and

17:32

came to the van at about 10.30, he

17:35

was surprised to find it empty with

17:37

no sign of Emily. He waited

17:39

for a bit but thought Emily may be

17:41

out looking for a client, so he left

17:44

the van there for her and caught a

17:46

taxi home. The next morning

17:48

a motorist in the area of

17:50

Manor Street and Round Hay Road

17:53

discovered Emily's lifeless body and summoned

17:55

help. When police arrived, they

17:57

were greeted by a gruesome scene. Emily's

18:00

clothes were pulled away from her and

18:02

her breasts were exposed. She had

18:05

suffered multiple blows to the head with a hammer

18:07

and she had 52 stab

18:09

wounds inflicted on her neck,

18:11

chest and stomach by what was

18:14

thought to be a Phillips

18:16

head screwdriver. Police found

18:18

one very compelling clue, a

18:20

boot print on Emily's thigh. Her

18:22

killer had stomped on Emily so

18:24

hard that an impression of

18:27

a boot print determined to be

18:29

a Dunlop Warwick size 7 or

18:31

8, was stamped into her

18:33

thigh. They also found a

18:35

similar print nearby. Not

18:37

yet putting together that there was

18:39

a serial predator targeting women in

18:42

the Yorkshire area, police focused on

18:44

Emily's husband Stanley and assumed

18:46

that her murder was a crime of

18:48

passion. They reportedly found

18:50

a similar boot belonging to Stanley

18:53

during a search of his home. But pretty

18:55

quickly the police moved off of

18:58

Stanley as a suspect in his wife's

19:00

death. So again a

19:02

very gruesome vicious

19:04

attack, the thought that 52

19:08

stab wounds were inflicted

19:11

on this woman's body with

19:13

a Phillips head screwdriver, that

19:16

really stuck in my mind. One

19:18

thing that jumped out to me was

19:20

that the police seemed to think

19:23

that Stanley was responsible for his

19:25

wife's murder despite going with

19:28

her and waiting at the pub and

19:30

being there to give her some peace of mind. They

19:32

still thought he might have had something to do with

19:34

it, which that's logical. Police

19:38

work is to start with people closest to the victim

19:40

and work their way out there because most

19:42

victims of a murder are

19:45

killed by someone they know, not by a

19:47

total stranger. So I

19:49

think the police were right to look at him early

19:52

on but they quickly moved on from

19:54

him. 20 year old Marcella

19:56

Clackston was walking home from a party alone

19:58

in Leeds. May 9, 1976,

20:02

when a man driving a white Ford Corzier

20:04

offered her a ride. Marcella

20:06

thought the man seemed friendly and charming, so she

20:09

accepted the offer. He pulled over so

20:11

that Marcella could stop and urinate on the side of

20:13

the road. During this stop, the

20:15

man attacked her suddenly, hitting her in the back

20:17

of the head eight to nine times. Reports

20:20

differ with some saying that the man used a

20:22

hammer. Others say he used a spanner,

20:24

which is like a wrench. No matter

20:27

what the weapon was, it severely injured

20:29

Marcella. According to Marcella,

20:31

the man stood over her and masturbated as

20:33

she faded in and out of consciousness. When

20:36

he was done, he reportedly put a five pound

20:38

note in her hand and warned her

20:40

not to call the police before he drove off. Marcella

20:44

somehow was able to get to her feet, and

20:46

despite blood streaming down her face, managed

20:49

to stumble to a nearby phone booth to call

20:52

for help. To her horror as

20:54

she was talking to the dispatcher, her

20:57

assailant drove by her, looking

20:59

at her, and she feared he would

21:01

come over and finish her off. But

21:03

instead, the man drove off. The

21:05

attack caused Marcella, who was four

21:07

months pregnant at the time, to

21:09

suffer a miscarriage. But she

21:11

survived, though not without more

21:14

than fifty stitches to her head. She

21:16

would go on to have multiple brain surgeries.

21:19

She continued to experience depression and

21:21

memory issues due to her injuries.

21:25

Despite her injuries, Marcella was able to

21:27

tell police about her attacker. He

21:29

was driving a white Ford Corsair with

21:32

a red interior. She also described

21:34

her attacker as a man in

21:36

his twenties with a Yorkshire accent.

21:39

He had dark hair and a beard. A

21:41

sketch was made of the assailant,

21:43

but never circulated. Years later,

21:45

when the killer was finally caught. The

21:48

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21:50

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24:30

And with these last two attacks,

24:32

to me it's very

24:34

obvious that there

24:36

was a sexual component to

24:39

the attacks. With Emily,

24:42

she was found with her

24:44

breasts exposed. And now

24:46

you have Marcella, who

24:49

said that the man

24:51

masturbated over her as

24:53

she went in and out of consciousness.

24:56

We didn't know with some of

24:59

those early attacks, whether

25:01

or not there was a sexual

25:03

component to them. And maybe

25:05

that's just because the details weren't

25:07

there, or maybe

25:10

it's because there was no

25:12

sexual component to them. Not

25:15

really sure, but I think it's

25:17

obvious now that part of

25:19

the motivation on the

25:21

part of this predator is sexual

25:23

in nature. And one interesting

25:25

thing that I realized

25:28

about Marcella's attack, and

25:30

it makes me wonder about the thinking

25:32

of this predator, is after

25:34

he's brutally bludgeoned

25:37

her, leaving her for dead,

25:39

he takes the time to put

25:41

money in her hand, a five

25:43

pound note, and tells her not

25:45

to call the police. Who

25:48

does that? You would think that if

25:50

he's beat her that bad, his intention

25:52

is not to have her alive

25:55

to be a witness, but here he gives

25:57

her money afterwards and then goes on

25:59

and on. his way and it's just

26:01

a very odd interaction for me.

26:04

Well, let's examine that for a minute. You

26:07

know, my first thought, because

26:10

it does seem very unusual for

26:13

a killer or perpetrator to

26:16

leave money in the hand of a victim

26:19

is that this person is thinking something

26:22

along the lines of, you

26:24

know, I paid for this. I

26:27

had the right to do this. And

26:30

I'm not sure my words are coming out

26:33

correctly, but I'm trying to get

26:35

into the head of this person. Did

26:37

they believe or

26:40

were they justifying this

26:42

act in their mind, the

26:44

fact that they had paid money?

26:47

I know it sounds strange, but maybe

26:49

there's something to it. Yeah. I think you

26:51

might be right because it just

26:54

defies logic that somebody one

26:57

second can beat someone in

26:59

the head so bad that they need

27:02

50 stitches, but then turn around

27:04

and feel they need to

27:06

pay money. So it's

27:08

hard to square that away. It seems

27:10

that police brushed off Marcella's attack, perhaps

27:13

because they assume she was a sex worker and

27:15

that she had been roughed up by her pimp or a client.

27:18

She also happened to be black and her race

27:20

may have contributed to the police not taking her

27:23

case more serious. As Marcella

27:25

recovered, she continued to check in with

27:27

police to see if they had any new leads and

27:29

she was brushed off. Marcella was sure

27:31

in her mind that the man who attacked her would

27:34

attack someone else and needed to be caught.

27:36

To add insult to injury, Marcella

27:39

tried to submit a claim to receive

27:41

benefit payments from the Criminal

27:43

Injuries Compensation Board, but was refused

27:45

in 1977 because the board

27:48

falsely believed Marcella had brought

27:50

the attack on herself due to their

27:52

belief she was a sex worker. Eventually,

27:54

in 1981, after it was

27:56

proven that Marcella was a victim of the man who

27:58

would become known as the Orca. her ripper. She

28:01

was awarded a sum of 17,500 pounds, but in collecting it, she had to

28:03

forfeit her

28:07

social security benefits. She struggled

28:09

for years with bad headaches, depression,

28:11

and blockouts. And

28:13

there's no doubt more if that the

28:15

Yorkshire ripper was a nasty,

28:18

sadistic killer. But

28:21

to this point in the story, it is

28:24

kind of amazing that so

28:27

many women have survived these

28:29

brutal attacks. What

28:31

we don't often get to talk

28:34

about is what

28:37

happens or what victims have to live

28:39

with for the rest of

28:41

their lives as the result

28:43

of an attack. And here we have quite

28:45

a bit of information regarding

28:47

what some of these women went

28:50

through. You talk about Marcella,

28:53

it completely changed her life. I don't think

28:55

there's any doubt about that. And

28:57

I think with each one of these attacks, as

29:00

it got out to the news and word

29:02

got out on the street, I think

29:05

women of all types, whatever

29:07

their profession or their backgrounds

29:09

were, were probably afraid, whether they were sex

29:12

workers, housewives, whatever they

29:14

were, to go out at

29:16

night, they probably were looking over

29:18

their shoulder and were probably worried about walking

29:20

around at night. And when we see these

29:22

kinds of cases where there's a whole series

29:24

of attacks going on, you

29:27

can't blame them for being

29:29

nervous and looking over their shoulder, maybe trying

29:31

to take some extra precautions. But

29:33

I've always thought that that

29:36

is part of what

29:38

fuels some of these predators

29:40

as well. You have

29:42

the individual attacks and

29:45

those are terrible. But then,

29:48

in the bigger picture,

29:51

it's almost as if they're

29:53

terrorizing the larger

29:55

population. And I just wonder

29:57

how much of that plays in too. it

30:00

with certain people and

30:02

do they do they get a thrill

30:04

or some type

30:06

of satisfaction from

30:09

knowing that they're

30:11

scaring this huge part

30:14

of the population. And I'm sure

30:16

there were many women who decided, okay,

30:18

I won't go out after dark. There

30:20

were probably sex workers who said, I'm only

30:23

going to go with certain clients

30:25

or I'm going to stay in certain areas

30:27

where there's other sex workers around. Who

30:29

can help me feel safe. But

30:32

despite those precautions, there

30:34

was no way to make it 100% safe. And

30:36

that's why there were additional victims.

30:39

After the attack on Marcella, several

30:42

months past with no attacks, the

30:44

various attacks that had happened in the

30:47

Yorkshire area were finally being

30:49

linked and reported in the news,

30:52

but as time passed with no more

30:54

attacks, people began to let

30:56

their guard down. And on February

30:58

5th, 1977, the killer struck again. 28

31:03

year old Irene Richardson was walking

31:05

in round Hey park on her way

31:07

to Tiffany's a disco and pub and

31:10

leads. She was seen heading there around

31:12

11, 15 PM. Her

31:14

body was found in the park the

31:16

next morning by a jogger. Irene

31:19

had been killed by multiple blows to

31:21

her head from a hammer and her

31:23

body was stabbed in the neck, throat

31:25

and stomach, and then mutilated. It

31:28

seems that it was after

31:30

Irene's attack that the press

31:32

began to use the Yorkshire

31:34

Ripper moniker. Irene was attacked

31:36

in almost the very spot that Marcel

31:38

Claxton had been attacked in nine months

31:40

earlier. Homeless and penniless. Irene

31:43

had turned to sex work just in

31:45

order to survive. Irene's crime scene

31:47

provided police with one of their best clues

31:50

in the form of tire tracks. The

31:52

tracks were determined to have been made

31:54

by two different India auto way brand

31:57

tires, a new mint and

31:59

an SO1. 10 all cross

32:01

ply. The vehicle the killer used had

32:03

a rear track width of between 4 feet 1.5 inches

32:07

and 4 feet 2.5 inches. Although

32:09

it was a tantalizing clue, finding the

32:12

car that left the tracks would be like finding

32:14

a needle in a haystack. The number

32:16

of vehicles that could have left those tracks was 26

32:19

including Ford Corziers which was

32:22

a car that had been reported multiple times by

32:24

this point. A whopping 100,000 vehicles

32:26

in West Yorkshire would have

32:28

to be checked if police hoped to find the killer

32:31

and that was assuming he didn't change out his

32:33

tires. And I think you

32:35

see this so often in many

32:38

cases what you would

32:40

think is a really good clue

32:43

and here I think this is

32:45

one you find out that

32:47

it really doesn't narrow things

32:49

down very much at all.

32:52

You know combing through a hundred

32:54

thousand vehicles in

32:57

the 1970s you know

33:00

that that's not an easy proposition.

33:03

Yeah especially because things probably

33:05

weren't computerized and everything had to be done

33:08

manually I would think. Two months later

33:10

32 year old sex worker

33:13

Patricia Atkinson Mitra known as

33:15

Tina was killed in her

33:17

flat in Bradford. She

33:19

had been bludgeoned with four hammer strikes to

33:21

the head and stabbed in the

33:24

stomach six times. Investigators found a

33:26

boot print on her bed sheet. That

33:29

print matched the one found on

33:31

Emily Jackson's thigh. Despite the

33:33

similarities in MO the matching

33:35

print and the fact both

33:37

women were sex workers. Investigators

33:40

were at odds with each other as

33:43

to whether Tina Mitra was

33:45

a ripper victim. This was

33:47

because she was found in her own home whereas

33:50

all the other victims were attacked

33:52

outside. Eventually police

33:54

agreed that she was

33:56

indeed a ripper victim. Two

33:59

months after Tina In a mittress murder,

34:01

16-year-old Jane Michelle McDonald was walking

34:03

home from her friend's house. She

34:06

had gone out with friends to hop our

34:08

house and lead and ended up

34:10

missing the final bus that night. So,

34:12

she went home with them and tried to get a ride. Almost

34:15

an hour later, she ended up deciding

34:17

to walk home alone. At around

34:19

2 a.m. on a playground on Reginald

34:21

Street, she was attacked. Children

34:24

found her body the next morning at around 9.45 a.m. on June 26.

34:29

She had been bludgeoned at least three times with

34:31

a hammer and stabbed multiple times in the chest

34:33

and back. It appeared that a bottle

34:35

had also been broken over her body. Pieces

34:37

of a broken bottle were found in her chest.

34:40

While police had investigated the Ripper murders,

34:43

to this point, they hadn't really gone

34:45

into depth in their investigation of

34:47

the victims. Their thinking was

34:49

that most of the victims were possibly sex workers,

34:52

but Jane McDonald, at 16, was

34:55

viewed with more sympathy as an innocent,

34:57

and her case was given more attention. This

35:00

demonstrated that it wasn't only police that treated

35:02

victims differently if they were believed to be

35:04

sex workers. It was also the press. And

35:07

unfortunately, Morriff, I mean, this is something that

35:09

we've seen in so

35:11

many different cases. You know,

35:13

if you just look at it from the police

35:16

point of view, throughout the

35:18

years, it seems pretty

35:20

evident that in many

35:23

cases where sex

35:25

workers are victims, they're

35:28

viewed differently, have been

35:30

viewed differently in many

35:32

instances. And you know, to me,

35:34

that's wrong. Whether you agree with

35:36

that type of work or not, it's

35:38

still a person. I

35:41

think it's a two-fold situation of why

35:43

that happens. One, they

35:45

may be viewed as not

35:48

as important as, say,

35:50

a housewife or a mom or

35:52

someone that vanishes from

35:54

an upper-class neighborhood, but

35:57

also because they think in the

35:59

backs of minds of the police,

36:01

it's a harder crime to solve because

36:04

there are so many possible

36:08

suspects because sex workers

36:10

come into contact with so many different people.

36:13

So I think it's a two-part problem

36:15

that the police, you know, they may

36:17

not view them in some cases

36:19

as important, but also because it's just

36:21

that much harder to solve when

36:24

it is a sex worker. On

36:26

July 10, just one month

36:28

after Jane McDonald's murder, 43-year-old Maureen

36:30

Long was walking home alone from

36:33

a nightclub in Bradford when a

36:35

man pulled up and offered her

36:37

a ride like Marcella Claxton. Maureen

36:40

had to urinate on the drive,

36:42

so he pulled over for her

36:45

after she got out. The man hid her in

36:47

the back of the head, causing her

36:49

to lose consciousness. She was

36:52

found still alive the next morning, but

36:54

badly injured and suffering

36:56

from hypothermia. A nine-week

36:59

hospital stay was required. Once

37:01

again, the man was described

37:03

as driving a white Corsair. The

37:06

ripper, perhaps wary that he had

37:08

allowed another victim to live, didn't

37:11

strike again for six weeks. On

37:14

the night of October 1, 1977, 20-year-old Jean

37:16

Bernadette Jordan, a married mother

37:20

of two living in Manchester, left

37:22

her home saying she was going out for some fresh

37:24

air. She was never seen alive again.

37:27

It was rumored that she was a sex worker and

37:29

trying to keep it under wraps, but it

37:32

hasn't been verified. Her mutilated body

37:34

was found eight days later on October 9th.

37:37

She had been struck in the head at least 10 times

37:39

with a hammer. Her body had apparently

37:41

been moved to the spot where it was found

37:43

sometime after Jean was killed. A

37:45

five pound note was found in a hidden pocket

37:47

in her purse, and police believe that

37:49

Jean's killer had given it to her. Authorities

37:52

were able to trace the bill, which was

37:54

brand new, back to Midland Bank, but

37:56

they still had to narrow down which branch it came

37:58

from. Please. felt that this

38:00

five pound note was a very important

38:03

clue that would greatly reduce the amount

38:05

of suspects and they were willing to

38:07

work hard to find out who it belonged to. On

38:10

December 14th, 25 year

38:12

old sex worker, Marilyn Moore was

38:15

picked up by a customer in the

38:17

Scott Hall area of Leeds. They

38:19

pulled over to a secluded spot and

38:22

Marilyn began to climb into the backseat

38:25

without warning the man attacked her, beating

38:27

her in the head. As she escaped

38:30

the car, he swung a hammer very

38:32

hard at her head, but missed. And

38:34

she ran off screaming into the night

38:37

before getting help. Marilyn

38:39

suffered multiple scalp lacerations

38:42

and a depressed fracture of the skull, but

38:44

she was able to describe her attacker

38:47

as a man with a neatly trimmed

38:49

beard. She remembered that he said

38:51

his name was Dave and he

38:53

drove a Corsair, but she was unsure

38:55

of the color tire tracks found

38:58

at the scene, matched tracks

39:00

found at Irene Richardson's crime

39:03

scene, linking them together.

39:06

And to me more, it would be

39:08

very hard at this point,

39:11

not to link these

39:14

attacks together. I mean, there

39:16

have been a number of

39:19

women who were attacked, but

39:21

escaped and lived pretty

39:23

much all of them said that this

39:25

guy had a beard. The

39:28

description of a Corsair

39:30

car has come up

39:33

multiple times. Obviously

39:35

you have these women

39:37

being hit with a hammer and

39:40

many of them being stabbed

39:42

or slashed that alone

39:45

seems to link these

39:48

attacks. But then when you have

39:50

the boot prints, you have the

39:52

tire tracks and you are

39:54

able to start to match some of

39:56

that stuff up, well, it

39:59

just strength. than that argument?

40:01

Yeah, I think the attacks alone seem

40:04

to make it pretty obvious that

40:07

the attacker is the same person. I mean, how many

40:10

different people are running around beating women

40:12

in the head with hammers? So I

40:14

think on the surface, it's

40:17

clear to me that he

40:19

would be responsible, but then when you start adding

40:21

those other things like tire tracks, the same core,

40:24

the beard, the same descriptions, then

40:26

it really starts to demonstrate just

40:28

how much stuff they're collecting

40:30

throughout this crime spree. The other

40:33

thing that crossed my

40:35

mind was that unlike

40:38

some of the cases that we've

40:40

profiled, quite a few women

40:42

were able to get away

40:44

from this attacker. Now, they

40:46

didn't get away unscathed. They

40:49

were hurt. They suffered long-lasting

40:51

effects, but they

40:54

survived and were able to get away.

40:57

On January 21st, 1978, just

41:00

over a month after the attack on Marilyn Moore,

41:03

the Ripper struck again when

41:05

he killed 21-year-old Yvonne Ann Pearson

41:07

in Bradford. She left her

41:09

kids with a babysitter that night and headed out. She

41:12

never came home. Two months after

41:14

she vanished, her body was found

41:16

discarded under an old sofa. A

41:18

ball-peen hammer had been used to hit her in the

41:21

head multiple times. Her chest was stomped

41:23

on and horse hair from the sofa

41:25

was shoved in her mouth. Police initially

41:27

didn't consider Yvonne's murder to be a Ripper

41:29

killing due to slightly different

41:31

injuries and the fact her killer had hidden

41:34

her body, but eventually they did conclude

41:36

that she was a victim in the Ripper

41:38

series. The Ripper attacks

41:40

began to occur with more

41:43

frequency. On January 31st,

41:45

just 10 days after Yvonne

41:48

Pearson was killed, 18-year-old Elena

41:51

Ritka, a sex worker who

41:53

went by Helen, was picked up by

41:55

a client in the Red Light District

41:57

of Huddersfield. Her body was found a few years

41:59

later. days later on February 3rd,

42:02

near a railway arch in Huddersfield.

42:05

She had been struck in the head

42:07

multiple times with a hammer, partially disrobed

42:10

and stabbed in her chest. Police

42:12

were desperate by this point. They

42:15

had a serial predator stalking women

42:17

in many towns around Yorkshire and

42:19

there was no telling where he

42:22

might strike next. They needed

42:24

him to slip up and give

42:26

them a clue that might help them

42:29

to catch him. But that meant

42:31

that another woman would have to

42:33

be attacked. And I

42:35

think this is something you see in many cases.

42:38

Police don't have enough evidence

42:41

to work with. And as

42:43

much as you don't want another

42:46

attack to occur, it's

42:49

most likely what's going to

42:51

lead to additional evidence. Now,

42:54

it's not like the police are just sitting

42:56

around waiting for an

42:58

attack, but unfortunately, that

43:01

is sometimes what it takes. That's

43:03

our conundrum for investigators, to

43:06

know that the more crimes this

43:08

guy commits, the better chance there is to

43:10

catch him. But again, that

43:12

means more victims and more

43:14

panic from the public. And

43:17

with that panic, you know that

43:20

the pressure had

43:22

to have been mounted on the

43:24

part of authorities to catch this

43:26

guy. Just as police were

43:28

plotting their next move, on March

43:30

8th, a letter was postmarked in Sunderland

43:33

and sent to Detective George Oldfield.

43:36

It read, Dear Sir, I

43:38

am sorry I cannot give my name for obvious

43:40

reasons. I am the ripper. I

43:42

have been dubbed the Maniac by the press, but not

43:44

by you. You call me clever, and

43:47

I am. You and your mates having

43:49

a clue that photo in the paper gave me

43:51

fits, and that bit about killing

43:53

myself, no chance. I've got things to

43:55

do. My purpose to rid the streets

43:57

of them sluts. My one regret is

43:59

that I am the maniac. that young Lassie McDonald did

44:02

not know cause change routine

44:04

that night. Up to number eight

44:06

now, and you say seven, but

44:08

remember Preston seventy-five,

44:11

get about you know. You were right, I

44:13

travel a bit. You probably look for

44:16

me in Sunderland. Don't bother. I

44:18

am not daft. Just posted letter there

44:20

on one of my trips. Not a

44:22

bad place compared with Chapel Town and

44:25

Manningham and other places. One

44:27

whores to keep off the streets cause I feel

44:29

it coming on again. Sorry about

44:31

young Lassie. Yours respectfully, Jack

44:34

the Ripper. Might write

44:36

again later. I am not sure last one

44:38

really deserved it. Whores getting

44:40

younger each time. Old slut next

44:42

time I hope. Huddersfield never again.

44:45

Too small. Close call. Last

44:48

one. As police puzzled over

44:50

the letter and whether it was from

44:52

the Yorkshire Ripper. The second

44:54

one came in postmarked March thirteenth.

44:57

Also in Sunderland. That letter

44:59

read, dear sir, I have

45:02

already written to Chief Constable George

45:04

Oldfield, a man I respect. Concerning

45:07

the recent Ripper murders, I told him

45:09

and I am telling you

45:11

to warn them whores I'll strike again.

45:14

And soon, when heat cools off,

45:16

about the McDonald Lassie, I

45:19

didn't know that she was decent. And

45:21

I am sorry I changed my routine

45:23

that night. Up to murder eight

45:25

now. You say seven but

45:27

remember Preston 75. Easy

45:30

picking them up. Don't even have to

45:32

try. You think they're

45:34

learned, but they don't. Most

45:37

are young Lassie's. Next

45:39

time try older one I hope. Police

45:41

haven't a clue yet. And I don't leave any.

45:44

I am very clever and don't look for

45:46

me up there in Sunderland. Because

45:49

I'm not stupid. Police

45:51

pass through the place. Not a

45:53

bad place compared with Chapel Town and

45:55

Manningham. Can't walk the streets

45:57

for them whores. Don't forget.

46:00

Warn them I feel it coming on again

46:02

if I get chance. Sorry about

46:05

lassie I didn't know yours respectfully

46:07

Jack the Ripper might write

46:09

again after another week gone

46:11

Maybe Liverpool or even Manchester

46:14

again too hot here in

46:16

Yorkshire But I have

46:18

given advance warning so it's yours

46:20

and their fault So

46:23

I think it's important to to break down

46:25

these letters Assuming that

46:27

they came from the

46:29

real Yorkshire Ripper. There

46:32

are some things that you

46:34

can Dyson number

46:36

one for me. It was kind

46:38

of the grammar. It wasn't great not

46:42

all the sentences were

46:44

complete so you know,

46:46

can you make something out of that

46:48

as far as intelligence

46:51

or education level I'm

46:54

sure it's something that would be Evaluated

46:57

he seems to in both

46:59

letters express regret

47:03

about Jane McDonald calling

47:05

her, you know a young lassie

47:08

basically, I got the

47:10

impression that he didn't realize

47:13

she was as young as she was or That

47:17

he found out later that she

47:19

wasn't a sex worker And so he felt

47:21

bad about that and then I think

47:23

the other thing is, you know He's throwing

47:25

out a lot of town names Don't

47:28

look for me here. Not a

47:30

bad place compared with these other two,

47:32

you know, is he

47:34

trying to throw? The police

47:37

off or is he just trying to mess with them?

47:39

I think the police have to really walk

47:41

a fine line with these letters because they

47:44

may be An

47:46

important clue from the real

47:48

killer that's going to help lead to his downfall

47:51

But at the same time they could be a hoax

47:54

or is just looking for attention and The

47:57

police could be spinning their wheels putting

47:59

too much much time and effort into trying to find

48:02

clues in these letters. Yeah. And

48:04

we've seen that in a lot of cases. I

48:06

never understand it. You know, if

48:08

there's this serial predator out there

48:11

attacking women, doing very

48:13

horrible things, why

48:15

would someone who's

48:18

sitting at home, let's say reading about

48:20

it in the paper or seeing it

48:22

on TV want to

48:24

jump into the fray and

48:27

start writing letters claiming

48:29

to be this ripper. I'll

48:31

never understand that police took

48:33

these letters seriously and believe that they were

48:36

indeed from the real ripper. And

48:38

if the letters were from the ripper, it

48:40

meant that he was writing and not killing it

48:42

bought the detectives time. But then

48:44

another murder happened. 40 year

48:47

old sex worker Vera Evelyn Millward

48:49

left her house in home Manchester at around 10

48:52

PM on May 16th, 1978. To

48:55

meet a client who was a regular of hers. She

48:58

went to the spot where she normally met this client,

49:00

but on this night he didn't show up instead.

49:03

The Yorkshire ripper did very

49:05

jumped in his car and he drove her

49:07

to a secluded spot near the Manchester rural

49:09

infirmary. Apparently during their

49:11

tryst Vera since something

49:13

was wrong and tried to get

49:16

out of his car, Vera had

49:18

been dealing with multiple illnesses. She

49:20

had multiple operations recently and

49:23

suffered from chronic pain. And

49:25

she only had one lung. So

49:27

sadly, beer was no match

49:29

for the hammer wielding killer.

49:32

She was struck with several blows to the

49:34

head and then dragged to a fence where

49:36

she was stabbed. The next morning,

49:39

landscapers working in the area discovered

49:41

Vera's body. Police canvas

49:43

the area and found one

49:46

witness who had heard a screen during

49:48

the time Vera was killed, but

49:51

thought that it was coming from one of

49:53

the patients at the hospital. Vera

49:55

Millward's murder was one of the most brutal

49:57

in the series. Reportedly, brain.

50:00

matter and blood was found all over and around

50:02

her body. The killer, for

50:04

whatever reason, had been very aggressive.

50:07

Police feared that the aggressive nature meant that more

50:09

victims might be coming, and

50:11

quickly. But that didn't happen. Instead,

50:13

things quieted down. And then

50:15

there was a long period with no attacks. At

50:18

least no attacks contributed to the Ripper. But

50:20

there would be another letter sent to George

50:23

Oldfield, dated March 23, 1979, postmarked from

50:27

Sunderland. The letter read, Dear

50:29

Officer, sorry I haven't written. About

50:32

a year to be exact. But I haven't been

50:34

up north for quite a while. I wasn't

50:37

kidding last time. I wrote saying the horror would

50:39

be older this time. And maybe

50:41

I'd strike in Manchester for a change.

50:44

You should have took heed. That bit

50:46

about her being in hospital. Funny

50:48

the lady mentioned something about being in hospital

50:50

before I stopped her, whoring ways. The

50:53

lady won't worry about hospitals now, will she?

50:56

I bet you'd be wondering how come I haven't

50:58

been to work for ages. Well, I

51:00

would have been if it hadn't been for your cursed

51:02

coppers. I had the lady just where

51:04

I wanted her and was about to strike. When

51:07

one of you cursing police cars stopped right

51:09

outside the lane. He must have

51:11

been a dumb copper, because he didn't say anything. He

51:14

didn't know how close he was to catching me. To

51:16

tell you the truth, I thought I was collared. The

51:19

lady said don't worry about the coppers. Little

51:21

did she know that bloody copper saved her neck. That

51:24

was last month. So I don't know

51:26

when I will get back on the job. But I know

51:28

it won't be chapel town. Too bloody hot

51:30

there. Maybe Briarford's Manningham.

51:33

Might write again if up north. Jack

51:36

the Ripper. P.S. did you get a

51:38

letter I sent to Daily Mirror in Manchester?

51:41

And there's one thing, Morriff, that really

51:43

jumped out at me about this letter.

51:46

And that's that he kept referring

51:48

to what he was doing as

51:50

his job. You know, one point

51:53

saying I will get back on the

51:55

job. Almost as

51:57

if killing is his

51:59

vocabulary. And for me, I

52:02

hear some Jack the Ripper tones

52:04

in some of the writing too, which

52:07

makes me wonder is this writer

52:09

trying to sound or

52:12

imitate some of the Jack the Ripper letters,

52:15

or is this just a coincidence? But one

52:17

way or another, the Jack the Ripper, the

52:19

real one from the 1800s, comes to my

52:21

mind when I read these letters. A

52:24

week and a half after this most

52:26

recent letter was received, the Ripper finally

52:28

struck again. On April

52:31

4, 1979, 19-year-old Josephine

52:33

Ann Whittaker was walking home

52:35

from her job as a clerk

52:37

in Halifax. The Ripper must

52:39

have been roaming the area that night because

52:42

he saw her and hit her in the head

52:44

from behind with a ball peen hammer. Her

52:47

skull was completely shattered. She

52:49

was stabbed 21 times in the

52:51

chest and abdomen and another six times

52:53

in the right leg. A

52:56

screwdriver was inserted into her

52:58

vagina. Police found witnesses,

53:00

including a man who was walking his

53:02

dog. He tried his best

53:04

to describe a man he saw walking

53:07

with Josephine. Another witness

53:09

heard some unusual sounds while they

53:11

were cutting through a shortcut in

53:13

the area, but wasn't sure

53:15

of the source. Pressure to

53:18

apprehend the Ripper was immense for police. Detectives

53:21

were under fire from the superiors to solve the

53:23

case. The media and

53:25

family members of the victims hounded them for

53:27

answers, answers which they couldn't give. On

53:30

June 17, 1979, an audio cassette tape

53:33

was sent to Assistant Chief Constable George

53:36

Oldfield, the same person that the letters

53:38

had been sent to. On the tape,

53:41

a voice calling himself Jack began to

53:43

taunt the Constable. I'm

53:45

Jack. I see

53:47

you are still having no luck cutting me. I

53:50

have great respect for you, George. But,

53:53

Lord, you are the

53:55

one who is touching me now. I was

53:58

four years ago when I started to see you. I let you

54:01

know, boy, I let you know, boy. You

54:04

tell me what's good and what's wrong.

54:07

Police believed that the letter writer was the ripper and

54:10

that he now had sent a tape. Police

54:13

could hear that the man on the tape had a

54:15

wear side accent leading to the

54:17

nickname Wear Side Jack. This

54:19

was at odds with previous witness statements

54:21

indicating that the ripper had a Yorkshire

54:23

accent. Police believed that the letters

54:25

and audio tape was the key to solving the case.

54:28

They were wrong. Two and a

54:30

half months after the last ripper attack,

54:32

he would strike again. Not

54:34

long after midnight on Sunday, September 2nd,

54:37

1979, 20-year-old Barbara Janine Leach, also

54:42

known as Babs, was walking

54:45

near Bradford University, where she

54:47

was a third-year psychology student.

54:49

She had been out with some friends before they

54:52

all went their separate ways. Barbara

54:54

never turned up back at her room, and

54:57

her roommates became concerned. When

54:59

she still hadn't shown up by Sunday

55:01

night, the roommates called police and

55:04

reported her missing. On Monday,

55:06

September 3rd, just before 4pm,

55:09

a police constable searching the

55:11

area found Barbara's body. It

55:14

had been hidden behind a rock wall, just

55:17

200 yards from where her friends had

55:19

last seen Barbara. The killer

55:21

covered her with a piece of carpet

55:23

and some stones. Her shirt and bra

55:25

had been pulled up and her pants

55:28

pulled down. She had been beaten

55:30

with a hammer and stabbed with

55:32

a screwdriver. This latest attack

55:34

put even more pressure on the police

55:36

to solve the case. But

55:39

as police scrambled to ID the predator,

55:41

killing Yorkshire's women, the

55:43

ripper murders seemed to stop, but

55:46

this was only temporary. There

55:48

would be more victims, which

55:50

we'll talk about in Part 2

55:53

of our Yorkshire Ripper coverage. So

55:56

no doubt more if we have a lot more

55:58

to come. in the

56:00

second part of our coverage

56:03

on the Yorkshire Ripper. I

56:05

think as we wrap up this first

56:08

part of it, there are

56:10

a number of things that jump

56:12

out at me. Number one,

56:14

as we've said, is just

56:16

how horrific some

56:19

of these attacks and murders

56:22

were. You know, the fact

56:24

that there were a number

56:27

of women who survived these

56:29

brutal attacks is kind of

56:31

amazing to me. I

56:34

think those survivors were able to

56:36

give police a lot of helpful

56:38

information, but as we've talked about,

56:40

the police didn't always run

56:43

with that information. Sometimes they doubted

56:45

its accuracy, and sometimes that

56:47

was due to maybe them thinking

56:50

that the victim may

56:52

have been a sex worker, and therefore

56:54

her account of what happened might not

56:57

be accurate or important. Yeah, I

56:59

think that's a good question in this case. How

57:02

much importance did

57:04

the police put on

57:06

some of these murders if

57:09

they thought that the victims

57:11

were sex workers or attacks

57:13

where the victims survived? It's

57:16

really tough for me not

57:18

to put these attacks

57:20

and murders together. The

57:23

implements used are

57:25

so very specific. Ball

57:28

peen hammer, many of

57:31

them involved stabbings, which

57:33

is not unusual, but what

57:35

is unusual is that sometimes,

57:39

or a lot of times, it

57:41

was done with a screwdriver, a

57:44

Phillips head screwdriver. I

57:46

just don't think you see that very

57:48

often as a tool

57:50

of murder. Yeah, another interesting thing

57:52

was that the only commonality

57:55

amongst all the victims were that they

57:57

were lone females. Walking

58:00

at night they were different ages different

58:03

backgrounds different occupations summer

58:06

students so just no real

58:08

rhyme or reason about those victims other

58:10

than they were lone females in the

58:12

night. What it gives

58:14

me is a real sense of a

58:17

predator you know out

58:19

stalking looking for

58:22

his next victim and it's

58:25

always a very scary thought. That

58:27

there's a person out there let's

58:30

say driving around. Scanning

58:33

looking at women as they you

58:35

know walk down the street and

58:38

then there's a selection process

58:40

in their mind to

58:42

me that's just a very scary thought.

58:45

And i think just a little bit of

58:47

a preview of what we'll talk about in the

58:49

next episode some of the same things

58:51

that we're seeing will continue

58:54

and we'll see some new things and also

58:57

some criticisms that were fair of the police

58:59

and what was done in regards to the

59:02

investigation. And then obviously

59:04

how they ultimately identified

59:07

in and caught this predator.

59:10

But that's it for our part one

59:13

on the Yorkshire Ripper if you love the

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59:39

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59:42

that's it for another episode of criminology

59:44

but morph and i will be back

59:46

with all of you next saturday night

59:48

with another episode of

59:50

criminology so for my. And

59:53

more we'll talk to you next week take

59:55

care of you. so

1:00:13

so of