10 Serial Killer Crimes That Took Years To Solve
6. Peter Sutcliffe
Also known as the 'Yorkshire Ripper', Sutcliffe was apprehended in 1981 after a 5 year police investigation. He began attacking women in 1969, focusing on prostitutes which he would later claim he was instructed to do by God.
His first murder was in 1975, stabbing Wilma McCann 15 times. This resulted in an investigation involving 1500 police officers but came back with no concrete leads. Over the next 4 years he would continue to murder women in and around the Yorkshire area. He was prolific enough to be included on a list of 300 suspects but never seriously considered. The police even interviewed him nine times but didn't take any further action.
In 1980 he was arrested for drunk driving and killed two more women whilst awaiting trial. A year later he was apprehended with a prostitute in his car but was discovered to have false plates. He was then interviewed in connection to the ripper case, this lead to his arrest and incarceration. He was given a minimum of 30 year sentence.
On 16th July 2011 his sentence was changed to a whole life sentence meaning he will never be released. After the trial he admitted to two further attacks but the police have not released the names of the victims.