Peter Sutcliffe, 73, became known as the Yorkshire Ripper after killing 13 young women (Picture: PA)

The Yorkshire Ripper could die in matter of weeks and is haunted by the faces of his victims, it has been claimed.

Peter Sutcliffe, 73, is said to be almost blind and suffering a number of ailments, including difficulty breathing, high blood pressure and diabetes.

The serial killer has been given a range of drugs to cope, and is reportedly visited by a doctor every week.

Sources from HMP Frankland, where he is being held, have claimed he spends the majority of time in his cell alone.


At night, he is said to struggle to sleep and has complained about having nightmares about being haunted by the faces of his victims.

Sutcliffe is serving 20 life sentences for the murder of 13 young women and the attempted murders of seven more

His victims included (L-R) Top: Wilma McCann, Emily Jackson, Irene Richardson, Patricia Atkinson. Middle: Jayne MacDonald, Jean Royle, Yvonne Peason, Helen Rytka. Bottom: Vera Millward, Josephine Whitaker, Barbara Leach and Jacqueline Hill (Picture: PA)

A source told the Star on Sunday: ‘Sutcliffe’s life expectancy is relatively short. He could be dead in a matter of weeks.



‘He is in the final stages of life and his own death is now something he is preoccupied with.

‘He has reached that stage where every time he gets ill he never fully recovers and so is on a steady decline.’

The Ministry of Justice have refused to comment on Sutcliffe’s health, saying they do not comment on individual cases.

Sutcliffe is serving 20 life sentences for the murder of 13 young women and the attempted murders of seven more.

Prison sources have claimed he is just weeks away from death

Sutcliffe was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and sent to Broadmoor Hospital in 1984 (Picture: Rex)

He was convicted of committing the murders between 1976 and 1981, preferring to use knives, hammers and screwdrivers to carry out his horrific crimes.

During the investigation into the killings, Sutcliffe was interview by police nine times but released every time.

Sutcliffe was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and sent to Broadmoor Hospital in 1984.

But after a health tribunal ruled he no longer needed treatment for the mental disorder last year, he was moved to HMP Frankland in Durham.

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