Yorkshire Ripper’s niece says his ashes were scattered at a seaside beauty spot
The Yorkshire Ripper’s niece says his ashes were scattered in a beautiful seaside spot, as she reveals the terrible impact her uncle had on her life.
Peter Sutcliffe died in hospital aged 74 in November 2020 after contracting Covid following a heart attack and reportedly refused treatment.
The serial killer had been serving a life sentence for murdering 13 women in Yorkshire and the North West between 1975 and 1980.
He reportedly expected to be buried near his hometown of Bingley in West Yorkshire and was cremated to prevent the destruction of his grave.
Sutcliffe’s niece, Emily, said some of his ashes were scattered in the rural Cumbrian town of Arnside, a place he used to visit as a child.
Emily said Mirror: ‘I was taken there once or twice when I was a child. He’s adorable.
The serial killer had been serving a life sentence for murdering 13 women in Yorkshire and the North West.
Sutcliffe, last photographed in public in 2015, suffered from years of poor health and had been admitted to hospital twice in the week before his death.
‘That area means a lot to the whole family. We had family living in the area at the time and we would visit them.’
It comes after a friend of the serial killer said his ashes were scattered on Lanzarote to grant him one of his last wishes in August last year.
The woman – who had regularly visited the ripper in jail – claimed to have traveled to the Canary Islands with his remains in an urn and threw them into the Atlantic Ocean.
Meanwhile, Emily opened up about the impact her uncle had on her life.
She said: ‘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 that I looked like him.
“When I was younger I was told that I looked like my father, that he has similar features to my uncle. It was so bad that I wanted plastic surgery to change everything about my appearance. If I had had the money, I would have done it.
After his death more than two years ago, Sutcliffe’s ashes are said to have been buried near his hometown of Bingley, while some are believed to have been sent to twisted “superfans.”
Arnside beach, about half an hour from where some of Sutcliffe’s family are said to live.
Peter Sutcliffe pictured with his wife Sonia Woodward who supported her husband of 15 years.
A composition of 12 of the 13 victims killed by Sutcliffe. The victims are: (top row, left to right) Wilma McCann, Emily Jackson, Irene Richardson, Patricia Atkinson; (middle row, left to right) Jayne McDonald, Jean Jordan, Yvonne Pearson, Helen Rytka; (bottom row, left to right) Vera Millward, Josephine Whitaker, Barbara Leach, Jacqueline Hill
Police examine the common land where Josephine Whitaker was found dead on May 14, 1979 amid the Ripper killing spree.
Some of it is also said to have washed into the sea at Arnside, about half an hour from where some of his family members live.
Sutcliffe was allowed to visit the village in 2005 under the supervision of Broadmoor Hospital staff to pay his respects to his father.
Emily continued: “I remember going to school and telling my friends why I thought my uncle was famous. I didn’t understand what he had done then.
“Unfortunately, it was the perfect age for bullying and it has scarred me.” She said a close friend in elementary school told her how her parents knew one of the victims. Emily added: “I felt like saying ‘sorry, but it wasn’t me’.
‘My family told me ‘you’re quiet, you’re artistic like Uncle Peter’.
“I was afraid that I was inherently evil and I thought that I must have evil running through my veins. It has had a crazy impact on my self esteem. I developed an eating disorder and was severely underweight due to stress.
He now studies criminology and psychology and believes that his crimes may have influenced his decisions to take the subjects.
Sutcliffe, under a blanket, arrives at Dewsbury Magistrates Court charged with the murder of 13 women and the attempted murder of seven others in 1981
North Durham University Hospital, County Durham, where Peter Sutcliffe died after being admitted for complications from covid-19 and heart problems
Sutcliffe was jailed for 20 years in 1981, and the sentence was converted to a life order in 2010.
Police interviewed him no fewer than nine times during their five-year investigation.
She often used the services of sex workers in Leeds and Bradford, focusing on them.
Sutcliffe was finally stopped by police in Sheffield in 1981 for driving with false number plates.
At that time he confessed to the murders and claimed that the voice of God commanded him to commit them.