THE YORKSHIRE Ripper, Peter Sutcliffe, has died at the age of 74.
One of the most notorious serial killers in modern history, Sutcliffe was arrested in 1981 after a five-year murder spree in which he stabbed and battered at least 13 women to death, including teenage girls.
He was found guilty of 13 charges of murder and seven charges of attempted murder, and was sentenced to life in prison, where he has remained for 29 years.
Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper, has died in hospitalIt is understood Sutcliffe had contracted Covid-19 and refused treatment for the virus after he was transferred to the University Hospital of North Durham.
He was suffering from a number of underlying health conditions, including diabetes and obesity, RTÉ reports.
A Prison Service spokesperson confirmed his death in the early hours of this morning, saying: "HMP Frankland prisoner Peter Coonan (born Sutcliffe) died in hospital on November 13. The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has been informed."
Sutcliffe, who also went by his mother's maiden name Coonan, had famously told the courts he was 'on a mission from God' by killing sex workers in the north of England, and he spent some time in a secure hospital after being diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 1984.
A report made decades after his initial incarceration found that Sutcliffe could have been involved in far more murders than he was charged with.
He had links to Ireland, with his great-grandfather having immigrated from County Tipperary in the 1860's.
