Difference between revisions of "Peter Sutcliffe - Interviews during the Yorkshire Ripper Inquiry"
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On the 23rd November 1978 Peter Sutcliffe was seen again by [http://crimehub.co.uk/index.php?title=Detective_Constable_Peter_Smith_-_Yorkshire_Ripper_Inquiry Detective Constable Smith] who obtained details of his Building Society account in connection with the £5 inquiry. Smith also visited the new owners of the red Corsair and obtained a description of the tyres, which were new, having apparently been fitted after the vehicle had changed hands. | On the 23rd November 1978 Peter Sutcliffe was seen again by [http://crimehub.co.uk/index.php?title=Detective_Constable_Peter_Smith_-_Yorkshire_Ripper_Inquiry Detective Constable Smith] who obtained details of his Building Society account in connection with the £5 inquiry. Smith also visited the new owners of the red Corsair and obtained a description of the tyres, which were new, having apparently been fitted after the vehicle had changed hands. | ||
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== 29th July 1979 - interview after more "red light" area sightings == | == 29th July 1979 - interview after more "red light" area sightings == | ||
Revision as of 15:51, 28 October 2018
Peter Sutcliffe was interviewed several times during the Inquiry:
Contents
- 1 2nd November 1977 - interviewed as part of the Bank of England £5 note investigation
- 2 8th November 1977 - re-interviewed as part of the Bank of England £5 note investigation
- 3 13th August 1978 - Red Corsair having been seen in multiple "red light" areas
- 4 23rd November 1978 - re-interviewed as part of the Bank of England £5 note investigation
- 5 29th July 1979 - interview after more "red light" area sightings
2nd November 1977 - interviewed as part of the Bank of England £5 note investigation
On the 2nd November 1977 Detective Constable Howard of the Greater Manchester Police together with a Detective Constable of the West Yorkshire Police interviewed Peter William Sutcliffe at his home. Sutcliffe’s employers had collected money from the Shipley branch of the Midland Bank to pay their employees. Sutcliffe, who was one of nearly 8,000 people listed for interview during the inquiry, denied ever having visited Manchester except during the course of his employment and said that his last visit had been some twelve months previously when he had delivered goods to an unknown address.
8th November 1977 - re-interviewed as part of the Bank of England £5 note investigation
T. & W.H. Clark was not one of the firms which could be eliminated in the £5 note inquiry and on 8th November 1977 Sutcliffe was re-interviewed by Detective Constable Leslie Smith of West Yorkshire and Detective Constable Rayne of the Greater Manchester Police. He again satisfied the inquiry officers, who obtained further alibi evidence from his mother in connection with the house-warming party mentioned previously.
13th August 1978 - Red Corsair having been seen in multiple "red light" areas
On 13th August 1978, Peter William Sutcliffe was interviewed as a result of his red Ford Corsair car having been seen in the Chapeltown area of Leeds and the Manningham area of Bradford. Detective Constable Peter Smith of the West Yorkshire Police, who knew that Sutcliffe had been seen during the £5 note inquiry, visited him at his home in Garden Lane, Heaton, Bradford. Detective Constable Smith knew that Sutcliffe worked as a lorry driver from a Bradford base and assumed that the sightings of his car in Bradford could be explained by journeys to and from work. Sutcliffe denied having visited Leeds or other West Yorkshire towns during evenings in the relevant period. He also emphatically denied using the services of prostitutes.
23rd November 1978 - re-interviewed as part of the Bank of England £5 note investigation
On the 23rd November 1978 Peter Sutcliffe was seen again by Detective Constable Smith who obtained details of his Building Society account in connection with the £5 inquiry. Smith also visited the new owners of the red Corsair and obtained a description of the tyres, which were new, having apparently been fitted after the vehicle had changed hands.
29th July 1979 - interview after more "red light" area sightings
On the 29th July 1979 Sutcliffe was again interviewed after his black Sunbeam Rapier had been printed out, first as a “Double Area Sighting” and later as a “Triple Area Sighting”, having been seen in the "red light" areas of Leeds, Bradford and Manchester.
Detective Constables Laptew and Greenwood visited him at his home. It is unfortunate that they were not aware that Sutcliffe had already been interviewed in connection with the £5 note inquiry and also because of the "Double Sighting" of his earlier vehicle.
Sutcliffe gave explanations for having been in Leeds and Bradford but denied that he had been to Manchester in his own vehicle. Because of the police decision to keep the "red light" area observations secret, investigating officers were advised not to challenge those whom they interviewed in respect of any individual sighting but were required to approach the subject obliquely.
Sutcliffe again denied making use of prostitutes’ services and was again loosely alibied by his wife. The detectives obtained samples of his handwriting and searched his car and garage, finding nothing to connect him with the murders. They were, however, not satisfied with Peter Sutcliffe and reported their disquiet to the Major Incident Room. Unfortunately the report was not linked with previous papers and Sutcliffe was eliminated because his handwriting did not match that of the Sunderland letter writer.
