Britain’s ‘Yorkshire Ripper’ Serial Killer Dies of COVID-19

Two youths, one holding a noose, right, stand outside Dewsbury Magistrates Court, where Peter William Sutcliffe was remanded in custody for eight days, charged with the murder of 20-year-old student Jacqueline Hill, on Jan. 5, 1981. Pyne, file/AP Photo

LONDON—British serial killer Peter Sutcliffe, known as the Yorkshire Ripper for a five-year killing spree during which he stabbed and bludgeoned at least 13 women to death, has died after catching COVID-19.

Sutcliffe’s murders—which left women mutilated across northern England—triggered widespread fear in northern cities and the police were criticised for taking so long to track him down.