Murder & homicide · 1980 · 1970s-80s

The Yorkshire Ripper

Between 1975 and 1980 Peter Sutcliffe murdered thirteen women and attacked at least seven more across Yorkshire and the north west, evading one of the largest manhunts in British history. He was arrested in Sheffield in 1981 and convicted at the Old Bailey. The investigation's failures transformed how serial murder is policed in the UK.

This summary is written in our own words from published historical sources. Map locations are approximate. Every case in the archive is at least ten years old.