21/03/2006

Ripper hoaxer jailed for eight years

The man who admitted being behind the 'Wearside Jack' Yorkshire Ripper hoax has been jailed for eight years.

John Humble, 50, an unemployed labourer from Sunderland, pleaded guilty to four counts of perverting the course of justice at Leeds Crown Court.

The charges related to an audio tape sent to West Yorkshire Police and three letters - two sent to police and one to the 'Daily Mirror' - in the late 1970s at the height of the search for the Yorkshire Ripper.

Humble's accent on the tape had led police to concentrate their search for the killer in the Sunderland area, leaving the real Ripper, Peter Sutcliffe - who was from Bradford - free to kill another three women.

At sentencing, Judge Norman Jones told Humble that the Ripper's final victims would have stood a better chance of not being attacked if police resources had been directed in West Yorkshire.

He also said that when Sutcliffe was caught, he told police that the tape and letters had given him "confidence".

However, the judge said that it could not be said that Humble's actions had caused or led directly to the deaths of the three women who were murdered or that the real Ripper would have been caught any earlier if it were not for the letters and tape.

Humble was eventually caught after his DNA was matched to saliva found on an envelope containing one of the letters.

Sutcliffe, now 59, was eventually arrested in 1981 and jailed for life for the murder of 13 women. He was later transferred to Broadmoor secure hospital.

(KMcA/GB)




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26 October 2005
Ripper hoax accused remanded
A man accused of being the Yorkshire Ripper hoaxer known as ‘Wearside Jack’ has been remanded in custody until the New Year. Leeds Crown Court refused John Humble, 49, from Flodden Road on the Ford Estate in Sunderland, bail on Wednesday.
20 March 2006
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A man has admitted being the Yorkshire Ripper hoaxer known as 'Wearside Jack' in court today. John Humble, 50, a former labourer from Sunderland, had previously pleaded not guilty to four courts of perverting the course of justice, but changed his plea.
23 February 2006
Man admits to 'Wearside Jack' hoax
A man has admitted to being the Yorkshire Ripper hoaxer known as Wearside Jack at Leeds Crown Court today. However, John Humble, 50, a former labourer from Sunderland, has denied intending to pervert the course of justice.
09 March 2011
Yorkshire Ripper Loses Life Tariff Bid
The Yorkshire Ripper has lost his case to go to the highest court to challenge an order that he should never be released. In 1981 Sutcliffe received 20 life sentences for murdering 13 women and attempting to murder seven others in Yorkshire and Greater Manchester.
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Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe has lost his appeal to challenge a High Court order to be released. The 2009 order states that he must serve a "whole life" tariff. In 1981 Sutcliffe received 20 life sentences for murdering 13 women and attempting to murder seven others in Yorkshire and Greater Manchester.