The son of the Yorkshire Ripper's first victim has said Peter Sutcliffe's death should mark the end of his infamy and redirect attention to the innocent lives he took. Richard McCann was five when his mother, Wilma McCann, was killed near her home in Leeds in 1975.
Mr McCann told BBC Breakfast he hoped the killer's death would bring some conclusion to the continuous news stories about Sutcliffe. He said he wanted his mother to be remembered as a family woman, not defined by her killer. He also called on West Yorkshire Police to apologise for how some victims were described, noting that officers referred to 16-year-old Jayne MacDonald as the first 'innocent' victim in 1977.
Retired detective Roger Parnell, who worked on the Ripper inquiry, rejected accusations that officers did not care about victims who were prostitutes, stating they were determined to catch the perpetrator. Mo Lea, who survived Sutcliffe's attack as a 21-year-old art student, said she had written to him about the assault but received no response. Marcella Claxton, attacked in 1976, said she was glad Sutcliffe had died and hoped for closure.
