The Darker Side > Human Monsters

Wearside Jack, The Geordie Ripper, Arrested And Charged

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Devious Viper:
Growing up in England in the 1970's, I well remember the hunt for the Ripper, the panic and fear, and the huge national sigh of relief when he was finally apprehended. I was reminded of the case last weekend when the news came of  the arrest and charge of  'Wearside Jack'...

This is a transcript from "AM". The program is broadcast around Australia at 08:00 on ABC Local Radio.
22.10.05  - Reporter: Kerri Ritchie.

"It was a case that baffled Britain for more than a quarter of a century, but now detectives have charged a man with being the Yorkshire Ripper Hoaxer. The hoaxer sent letters and an audiotape to police in which he falsely claimed to be the infamous killer. The voice on the tape, with its distinctive accent, threw the investigation off course, and the real Yorkshire Ripper went on to kill three more women.

Kerri Ritchie reports from London.

KERRI RITCHIE: It was one of the UK's largest murder inquiries – the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper, who prowled the backstreets of northern England in the late 70's and early 80's and killed 13 women.

At the time, there was huge pressure on police to crack the case. In 1979, the man in charge of the investigation, George Oldfield, received three letters from a man claiming to be the Yorkshire Ripper. Then an audiotape arrived in the mail. George Oldfield was convinced the
taunting voice belonged to the killer.

TAPE: "I see you are still having no luck catching me. I have the greatest respect for you, George, but Lord, you are no nearer catching me now than four years ago when I started."

KERRI RITCHIE: The man on the tape spoke with a distinctive accent, from the Wearside area in northern England. When the recording was made public, police received hundreds of calls from people claiming they could identify the mystery voice.

Police concentrated their efforts on Wearside and diverted attention away
from the real killer, Peter Sutcliffe. Police had already been speaking with Sutcliffe, a truck driver, who fitted the description of the Yorkshire Ripper given by victims. But he didn't have a Wearside accent and so was eliminated from their inquiries. Sutcliffe went on to kill three more women.

penis Holland was a detective on the case.

penis HOLLAND: We accepted them as genuine and were unfortunately misled by some of the contents. So that diverted the inquiry and a considerable amount of personnel and time down the wrong line.

KERRI RITCHIE: After officially shutting the file on the hoaxer two years ago, police now believe John Humble from Sunderland in Northern England was the voice on the tape, and they've charged him with perverting the course of justice.

Police won't reveal what led them to the 49-year-old, but there's speculation England's new Homicide and Major inquiry team was involved.

It's been set up to review "cold" cases using new DNA techniques.

Olive Smelt was attacked by Peter Sutcliffe in 1975 as she walked home after a night out.

OLIVE SMELT: He came up, somebody came up to me and said “Oh, weather’s down isn’t it?” and then I thought he just walked on, but he didn’t. He must’ve just hit me. So that’s what I remember about that night, you see?

KERRI RITCHIE: She says she told police the man on the tape was not the Yorkshire Ripper, but they would not listen.

OLIVE SMELT: I said all the time he was Yorkshire. I kept saying this when they got onto Geordie. Well, it wasn’t him that attacked me then, if it were Jordy.

KERRI RITCHIE: The Yorkshire Ripper is serving a life sentence for murdering 13 women.

Olive Smelt says if it wasn't for the hoax tape, Peter Sutcliffe would have been caught a lot sooner and lives would have been saved.

This is Kerri Ritchie in London reporting for AM."

[Viper addendum:]
Wearside Jack HAS been linked to a murder, that of Joan Harrison. The two letters posted in March 1978, one to George Oldfield, and the other to the Manchester offices of the Daily Mirror, both claimed that the police had the number of Yorkshire Ripper victims wrong. The letters stated "Up to number 8 now - you say 7 but remember Preston '75", a reference to the Joan Harrison murder. It has   been suggested that Wearside Jack was trying to get a murder comitted by him attributed to the Yorkshire Ripper, thus leaving himself in the clear... Sneaky.

DETAILS OF THE JOAN HARRISON MURDER

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