The Yorkshire Ripper may have carried out at least 30 more murders and took his secrets to the grave, an ex-cop claimed last night.
Former intelligence officer Chris Clark is convinced a shocking tally of unsolved cases are the monstrous handiwork of serial killer Peter Sutcliffe, who died of Covid on Friday.
He wants the National Crime Agency to re-investigate the horrific killings.
And he has urged Prime Minister Boris Johnson to order a “ground-breaking” probe into all of the murderer’s activities.
Clark said: “I’ve been able to link the Ripper by method, motive and opportunity to cold cases that have remained dormant for decades.
“The key to tying these threads together was a timeline of Sutcliffe’s life with his wife, Sonia, and his job as an HGV driver travelling across the length and breadth of the UK.
“The evidence is out there and the victims deserve better.”
He added: “I want Boris Johnson to take the lead and order a new and comprehensive inquiry into Sutcliffe.
“The investigation needs to be ground-breaking and led with fresh eyes. I believe the National Crime Agency would be best to carry it out.
“They have the power to go across international and regional borders and can be tasked to investigate any crime.”
Sutcliffe, who died aged 74 after refusing treatment at hospital for Covid, was convicted of 13 murders and seven attempted murders in 1981.
His terrible crimes against women made him one of Britain’s most prolific serial killers.
But Clark, who worked for Norfolk Police, is convinced Sutcliffe is responsible for a long list of other cases – including several involving his favoured weapons, hammers and knives.
As well as the 30 murders, Clark believes Sutcliffe carried out 17 attacks in which victims survived.
It was revealed three years ago that police interviewed Sutcliffe in jail about 17 unsolved attacks but they did not quiz him about any murders.
It is understood they wanted to focus on survivors because they believed there was a higher chance of prosecutions.
The cases linked to Sutcliffe included those of:
● Gloria Wood, who was hit with a claw hammer on a school playing field in Bradford in 1974.
● Tracy Browne, bludgeoned with a hammer in Silsden, Yorkshire, in 1975.
● Maureen “Mo” Lea, who was battered in Leeds in 1980.
The cold case review began two years after Clark, now an investigative journalist, published his book – Yorkshire Ripper: The Secret Murders.
At the time, he linked Sutcliffe to 23 murders, including that of Playboy bunny girl Eve Stratford, 22, killed in her east London home in March 1975.
She died four months before the first attack Sutcliffe was convicted of – the attempted murder of Anna Rogulskyj, 36, in Keighley, Yorkshire.
Wilma McCann, 28, was the first woman known to have been murdered by Sutcliffe in October that year.
But Clark said the Ripper started much earlier.
He believes Fred Craven, 66, killed in Bingley, Yorkshire, was Sutcliffe’s first kill in 1966.
Other victims include Jackie Ansell-Lamb, 18, and Barbara Mayo, 24, who were found dead in 1970. Both women had been hitch-hiking.
Gloria Booth, 29, bludgeoned, garotted and mutilated in Ruislip, London, in 1971, is also linked to Sutcliffe.
So is Lynne Weedon, 16, who was murdered as she walked home in west London, in September 1975.
The crimes Sutcliffe confessed to revealed the unusual way in which he killed – stalking his victims, using ligatures, knives or hammers and dragging bodies into hidden areas.
Neil Jackson, whose mum Emily was killed by Sutcliffe in Leeds in 1976, also believes there are more victims.
He said: “Back then there was no DNA, no CCTV, no computers. I’m convinced there are more out there.”
Taxpayers may have to fund the Ripper’s funeral.
Prisons have to offer a contribution towards costs for inmates who die in custody – unless relatives can pay.
Discussions are said to be ongoing with Sutcliffe’s family.
