Hoax-ing

Man admits being Ripper hoaxer

Staff and agencies
Thursday February 23, 2006


A 50-year-old man today admitted being the Yorkshire Ripper hoaxer known as "Wearside Jack" but denied intending to pervert the course of justice.

John Humble, of Sunderland, pleaded not guilty to four charges of perverting the course of justice over three hoax letters and one tape made between 1978 and 1979.

At a pre-trial hearing at Leeds crown court today, his defence counsel, David Taylor, said: "A defence statement has now been drafted whereby the defence concedes that he wrote the letters and in fact made the tape.

"The issue now is not one of whether it actually was him ... it is solely the question of intent." Mr Taylor stressed that Mr Humble's not guilty pleas still stood.

Mr Humble, a former labourer and window cleaner, was not in court for the hearing, during which Judge James Stewart QC lifted reporting restrictions on the case.

The hoaxes led detectives to divert their inquiry from Yorkshire to Sunderland. During that time, the real killer, Peter Sutcliffe, from Bingley, West Yorkshire, murdered three further women before he was arrested in 1981.
Two of the letters were sent directly to Assistant Chief Constable George Oldfield, who led the investigation in the late 70s. A further letter was sent to a national newspaper office in Manchester.

The audio tape - which purported to be from the murderer and taunted the police for their failure to catch him - caused a sensation when detectives played it to the public in 1979.

Following the receipt of the letters and tape, a huge police effort was concentrated on the Sunderland area after senior officers decided the Wearside voice was that of the murderer.

However, the letters and tape were exposed as a hoax when Sutcliffe was arrested and confessed to being the killer.

Sutcliffe, now 59, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, was jailed for life for the murder of 13 women. He is currently being held at Broadmoor Special Hospital.

At today's hearing, Judge Stewart adjourned the case until March 20, when Mr Humble is due to go on trial.