10/02/03 - New claims of Yorkshire
Ripper crimes
BBC Inside Out
A taxi-driver who may have been the Yorkshire Ripper's
first victim talks exclusively to Inside Out. He believes
Peter Sutcliffe wrecked his life. John Tomey suffered
serious head injuries 36 years ago after being attacked
on the moors near Bingley by a man with a ball pein hammer.
This is the same kind of weapon used by Peter Sutcliffe
during his attacks on women a decade later. This horrific
assault happened nearly ten years earlier than the murders
and violent attacks on women of which Sutcliffe was convicted.
Attack
John, who is now 62 years old, tells how he picked up
a passenger fitting Peter Sutcliffe's description in March
1967. His passenger attacked him with a hammer on a lonely
moorland road outside Oxenhope. He says, "It felt
as if my brain was exploding from the inside. He ruined
my life. I'm sure it was him."
John’s managed to lock his attacker outside of his
car and escape. But not before his attacker smashed up
his car with the hammer. John later picked out Sutcliffe
from a collection of police mugshots, but no action has
ever been taken against the Ripper in connection with
the case.
Unsolved
John is not the only male attack victim who has been linked
to Peter Sutcliffe. Bingley bookmaker, Fred Craven was
found dead at his office in the town centre in April,
1966. He had been battered over the head with a blunt
weapon.
The killer, who is thought to have had local knowledge,
murdered his victim and escaped with £200. Fred
and his daughter lived only 100 yards from Peter Sutcliffe.
They were neighbours. Peter Sutcliffe knew Fred was a
bookie and where he worked.
A young suspect was seen nearby wearing a distinctive
cap. It has now been established that the teenage Peter
Sutcliffe had a similar cap. It was the style made fashionable
by 1960s folk singer Donovan. Fred Craven’s murder
remains unsolved.
Lies
Michael Bilton is the author of Wicked Beyond Belief,
a new book about the Ripper cases. He says, "I believe
Sutcliffe has lied and lied again about his involvement
in other cases." Michael says evidence about Sutcliffe's
involvement in earlier violent crime against male victims
destroys his defence at his trial that he followed a voice
from God telling him only to attack women.
Michael says, "I believe Sutcliffe shouldn't be in
Broadmoor, where he has a comparatively comfortable time,
but in a maximum security prison where he should stay
for the rest of his life." Whether or not Peter Sutcliffe
is ever transferred to a prison, John Tomey’s terrifying
memories of the attack will never die. |
