by David Peace
Back up on stage Noble says: ‘That was you, was it?’
The Yorkshire Ripper: ‘Yes.’
Noble: ‘Go on.’
The Yorkshire Ripper: ‘Tessa Smith.’
On the other side of the glass, the other side of the mirror -
Where I’m thinking -
Tessa Smith, Batley, November 1979.
On stage Noble shaking his head: ‘Afraid I don’t know that one, Pete?’
Alderman: ‘Attacked Batley, November 1979?’
The Yorkshire Ripper: ‘Yes.’
Noble: ‘Anyone else?’
The Yorkshire Ripper: ‘Prudence Banks.’
On the other side of the glass, the other side of the mirror -
Where I’m thinking -
Prudence Banks, murdered Harrogate, August 1980.
Noble: ‘Harrogate? This August?’
The Yorkshire Ripper: ‘Yes.’
Noble: ‘Strangled, wasn’t she?’
The Yorkshire Ripper: ‘Yes.’
Noble: ‘Anyone else?’
The Yorkshire Ripper: ‘That’s all.’
Noble: ‘That’s all? That’s a bloody lot of women, Peter?’
The Yorkshire Ripper: ‘Yes.’
Noble: ‘This is going to take a fair while, Peter.’
And the Yorkshire Ripper -
The Yorkshire Ripper, he nods directly into the mirror -
The mirror, the glass -
The other side of the glass, the other side of the mirror -
On the other side of the mirror where Ellis is going out the door -
Going out the door, shouting -
Shouting at everyone and anyone:
‘Davit, Smith, and Banks – get us them files.’
And back behind the mirror -
The mirror, the glass -
The other side of the glass, the other side of the mirror -
On the other side -
On the stage -
On the stage where Noble says: ‘All right, Peter. I just want to clear these up, these ones you’re saying aren’t you?’
The Yorkshire Ripper: ‘OK.’
Noble: ‘Clare Strachan? This was in Preston in November 1975?’
The Yorkshire Ripper: ‘I know.’
Noble: ‘But it wasn’t you?’
The Yorkshire Ripper: ‘No, it was him.’
Noble: ‘Who?’
The Yorkshire Ripper: ‘Other one.’
Noble: ‘Who we talking about Peter?’
The Yorkshire Ripper: ‘That headbanger, the one that wrote the letters, that sent that tape.’
Noble: ‘So that wasn’t you?’
The Yorkshire Ripper: ‘No.’
Noble: ‘You don’t know who it was, do you?’
Silence -
Silence until -
Until the Yorkshire Ripper with a glance into the glass -
A glance into the glass -
The glass -
The glass, the mirror -
The other side of the glass, the other side of the mirror -
On the other side of the mirror where I am standing with my hands and face up to the glass -
Up at the glass, the mirror -
Until -
Until the Yorkshire Ripper says: ‘No.’
Noble: ‘And Linda Clark?’
The Yorkshire Ripper: ‘No.’
Noble: ‘It wasn’t you?’
The Yorkshire Ripper: ‘No.’
Noble: ‘You sure you know who we’re talking about? When it happened?’
The Yorkshire Ripper: ‘Yes.’
Noble: ‘June 77. Bradford?’
The Yorkshire Ripper: ‘I know.’
Noble: ‘Was it you?’
The Yorkshire Ripper: ‘No.’
Noble: ‘You think that it was this other bloke, this head-banger?’
The Yorkshire Ripper shrugs and says: ‘I don’t know.’
Noble: ‘Janice Ryan?’
The Yorkshire Ripper: ‘No.’
Noble: ‘Also June 77. Also Bradford.’
The Yorkshire Ripper: ‘I know.’
Noble: ‘Was it you?’
The Yorkshire Ripper: ‘No.’
‘You sure?’
Silence -
Silence until -
Until the Yorkshire Ripper with a glance into the glass -
A glance into the glass -
The glass -
The glass, the mirror -
The other side of the glass, the other side of the mirror -
On the other side of the mirror where I’m still standing with my hands and face up to the glass -
Up at the glass, the mirror -
Until -
Until the Yorkshire Ripper says: ‘Yes.’
Noble: ‘Yes?’
The Yorkshire Ripper: ‘Yes, I’m sure.’
‘Sure it wasn’t you?’
‘Yes.’
Noble: ‘Let’s move on then?’
The Yorkshire Ripper: ‘OK.’
Noble: ‘To the ones you did?’
The Yorkshire Ripper nods.
Sixteen hours later, in the dark room -
The dark room on our side of the glass -
Our side of the mirror -
Drowning, we’re drowning here -
Drowning in here in his bloody sea -
The bloody tide in -
His bloody tide high -
The bloody things he’s said -
The bloody things he’s done -
Noble: ‘Joyce Jobson?’
‘I saw her in the Oak. She annoyed me, probably in some minor way. I took her to be a prostitute and I hit her on the head and scratched her buttocks with a piece of hacksaw blade or maybe it was a knife. I’m sorry, I can’t remember. But it was my intention to kill her but I was disturbed by a car coming down the road.’
Noble: ‘Anita Bird?’
‘I asked her if she fancied it. She said not on your life and went to try to get into her house. When she came back out, I tapped her up again and she elbowed me. I followed her and hit her with a hammer. I intended to kill her but I was disturbed again.’
Noble: ‘Theresa Campbell?’
‘She was drunk and laughing at me and said, come on get it over with. I said, don’t worry I will and I hit her with the hammer. She made a lot of noise and kept on making a lot of noise so I hit her again. I took a knife out of my pocket and stabbed her about four times.’
Alderman: ‘It was more than that.’
‘It might have been.’
Alderman: ‘It was fifteen to be exact.’
‘I know.’
Alderman: ‘Why’d you stab some of them in the heart?’
‘The ones that wouldn’t die, I stabbed them in the heart. You can kill them quicker that way.’
Noble: ‘Joan Richards?’
‘She was wearing very strong and cheap perfume and I pushed a piece of wood against her vagina to show how disgusting she was.’
Noble: ‘What did you stab her with?’
‘A screwdriver.’
Noble: ‘How many times?’
‘Quite a few.’
Alderman: ‘Fifty-two times.’
‘That many?’
Alderman: ‘That many.’
Noble: ‘Ka Su Peng?’
‘She went behind some trees to urinate and then said we should start the ball rolling on the grass. I hit her once on the head with the hammer, but I just couldn’t bring myself to hit her again. For some reason I just let her walk away and I went back to the car and drove home.’
Noble: ‘Marie Watts?’
‘I used the hammer and a Stanley knife on her. As she was crouching down urinating on the grass I hit her on the head at least two or three times. I lifted up her clothes and slashed her abdomen and throat.’
Noble: ‘Rachel Johnson?’
‘She took a long time to die, that’s all I can remember.’
Alderman: ‘You remember how many times you stabbed he
r, Peter?’
‘No.’
‘Twenty-three times.’
Noble: ‘Elizabeth McQueen?’
‘I went back to cut off her head, make that one more mysterious.’
Noble: ‘Kathy Kelly?’
‘She was dirty and just talked about sex and so I hit her but she still wouldn’t shut up so I stuffed some filling from a sofa in her mouth. But then a dog started barking and I had to leave her.’
Noble: ‘Tracey Livingston?’
‘She was another one I heard using foul language. It was obvious why I picked her up. No decent woman would have been using language like that at the top of her voice in the street. When I had killed her, I picked her up under the arms and hoisted her up on to the bed.’
Noble: ‘Candy Simon?’
‘She undid my trousers and seemed prepared to start sexual intercourse straight away in the front of the car. It was very awkward for me to find a way to get her out of the car. For about five minutes I was trying to decide which method to use to kill her. She was beginning to arouse me sexually. I got out of the car with the excuse that I needed to urinate and managed to persuade her to get out of the car so that we could have sex in the back. As she was getting in I realised that this was my chance but the hammer caught on the edge of the car door frame and only gave her a light tap. She said, there’s no need for that, you don’t even have to pay. I expected her to immediately shout for help. She was obviously scared but just said, what was it? I said, just a small sample of one of these and I hit her on the head hard. She just crumpled making a loud moaning noise and then I realised what I had done was in full view of two taxi drivers who had appeared and were talking nearby. So I dragged her by the hair to the end of the woodyard. She stopped moaning but was not dead. Her eyes were open and she held up her hands to ward off blows. I jumped on top of her and covered her mouth with my hand. It seemed like an eternity and she was still struggling. I told her that if she kept quiet she would be all right. As she had got me aroused a moment previous, I had no alternative but to go ahead with the act of sex as the only means of keeping her quiet. It didn’t take long. She kept staring at me. She didn’t put much into it. Then the taxi drivers left and I went back for the hammer but she got to her feet and ran for the road. This was when I hit her heavy blows to the back of the head. I dragged her to the front of the car and threw her belongings over the wall. But she was still obviously alive so I took a knife from the car and stabbed her several times through the heart and lungs. I think it was the kitchen knife. It’s in the cutlery drawer at home.’
Noble: ‘Doreen Pickles?’
‘I had the urge to kill any woman. The urge inside me to kill girls was practically uncontrollable and it still dominates my actions. Following Pickles the urge inside me remained dormant, but then the feeling came welling up. I had the urge to kill any woman. It sounds a bit evil now. There I was walking along with a big hammer and a big Philips screwdriver in my pocket ready for the inevitable but I have been taken over completely by this urge to kill and I cannot fight it.’
Noble: ‘Noorjahan Davit?’
‘She was walking slowly like a prostitute and wearing tight jeans and I hit her on the head with a hammer. I dragged her down the road and her shoes were making a scraping noise. I apologised to her and took her shoes off and put them over the wall with her handbag. Then I stabbed her.’
Noble: ‘Joanne Thornton?’
‘It had been a long time since the last one. I realised she was not a prostitute. I had to try and convince her she was safe with me and I said, you can’t trust anyone these days. I used the Philips screwdriver, the big one.’
Alderman: ‘You put it up her, didn’t you? In her vagina?’
‘I think I waggled it about two or three times, yes.’
Alderman: ‘This one, this one here with the sharpened point?’
‘Yes. I used it on Joanne Thornton and on Dawn Williams.’
Noble: ‘Tell us about Dawn Williams?’
‘I took her to the back of the house before I stabbed her, that’s all. Before doing it, with any of them I had to go through a terrible stage each time. I was in absolute turmoil. I was doing everything I could to fight it off, and I kept asking why it should be me, until I eventually reached the stage where it was as if I was primed to do it.’
Alderman: ‘Twenty-eight times?’
‘I honestly can’t remember.’
‘I’m telling you, you stabbed her twenty-eight times.’
‘I believe you.’
Noble: ‘Tessa Smith?’
‘I attacked her because she was the first person I saw. I think something clicked because she had on a straight skirt with a slit in it.’
Noble: ‘Prudence Banks?’
‘I changed my methods here because the press and the media had attached a stigma to me. I had been known for some time as the Yorkshire Ripper and I didn’t like it. It isn’t me. It didn’t ring true. I had been on my way to Leeds to kill a prostitute when I saw Prudence Banks. It was just unfortunate for her that she happened to be walking by. I don’t like the method of strangulation. It takes them even longer to die.’
Noble: ‘Laureen Bell?’
‘The last one I did. I sat in the car eating some Kentucky Fried Chicken, then I saw Miss Bell. I decided she was a likely victim. I drove just past her and parked up and waited for her to pass. I got out of the car and followed about three yards behind her. As she drew level with an opening I took the hammer out of my pocket and struck her on the head. By this time I was in a world of my own, out of touch with reality. I dragged her on to some waste ground. A car appeared and I threw myself to the ground, but the car passed by. I can’t imagine why I was not seen. She was moving about, so I hit her again. Then I dragged her further on to the waste ground as a girl was passing by. I pulled most of her clothes off. I had the screwdriver with the yellow handle and I stabbed her in the lungs. Her eyes were open and she seemed to be looking at me with an accusing stare. This shook me up a bit so I stabbed her in the eye. I just put it to her lid and with the handle in my palm I just jerked it in.’
Sixteen hours of this in the dark room -
The dark room on our side of the glass -
Our side of the mirror -
Drowning, we’re drowning here -
Drowning in here in his bloody sea -
The bloody tide in -
His bloody tide high -
The things he’s said, the things he’s done -
Sixteen hours in the dark room -
Sixteen hours and six years -
In dark rooms -
In silence -
Silence and tears.
Up the stairs -
Sleeping coppers on every desk -
On every desk, face down -
Faces down in ash and cans -
Snoring, farting, belching -
The cans, the dog ends, the wretched smell -
We’re all back in the upstairs office -
Sergeant Ellis in full flight, swing whatever -
Me all ears -
Only me -
‘Took one bloody look at him, didn’t I. And I said to lads, he’s an odd one this one, I did.’
Me: ‘Time? What time?’
‘Minute they bloody brought him in; nine o’clock.’
Me: ‘So what’d you do?’
‘Called Ripper Room, didn’t I? Bloke nicked with false plates and prossie in a red-light area - I’m straight on him. Dialled Millgarth before his arse even touched a seat.’
Me: ‘Who’d you get at Millgarth?’
‘Bob Craven,’ he says -
‘Where is Bob?’ I ask.
‘Fuck knows,’ says Ellis. ‘Anyway, I says to Bob, you want to clock this one and Bob’s like, keep him sweet and Jim Prentice’ll be down for a butchers.’
Me: ‘Kept him sweet did you?’
‘As bloody sugar – talking ten to dozen, he was: telling us how he’s always up Sunderland, over Pr
eston way, how he takes a size eight Welly, all the different passion wagons he’s had - Corsairs and Rovers and Escorts and you-bloody-name-it he’s had it.’
Me: ‘Mention Ripper did you?’
‘Just what Bob said to tell him, routine when a bloke gets pulled with a slag.’
Me: ‘What did he say?’
‘Fine. No sweat. Said he’d been seen half a dozen times already.’
Me: ‘What’d you say to that?’
‘I’m rubbing my bleeding hands, aren’t I? But I say, is that right? You’ve got nowt to bloody worry about then, have you? And he says, only bloody missus. But I tell him she’s already phoned and she thinks it’s just about some dodgy plates and you’ll be right.’
Me: ‘What time she phone?’
‘About ten minutes after he got here.’
Me: ‘Then what?’
‘Jim Prentice gets here after lunch, been up Bradford way for some funeral or something. Takes one look at our man and he’s like: know him, seen by John Murphy about that fiver, clocked in Bradford, Leeds, and Manchester, and last time they did all local engineering firms. So Jim goes in and has a bit of a chat and he’s in there twenty, thirty minutes, and he comes back out and he says, Mike I’m not happy. And I’m like, fuck we’ve screwed up and I say, why – what’s up? But Jim’s like, not happy about Peter David Williams and he goes gets Millgarth on blower.’
Me: ‘What time’s this?’
‘Be about three o’clock.’
Me: ‘And what did Dick Alderman say?’
‘Test him.’
Me: ‘And what did Williams say when you went down to test him?’
‘Wasn’t me, it was Jim Prentice, – but apparently he goes, what if it’s same one you’re wanting? And Jim says, calm as can be like, you Ripper are you? And feller he just says, no. Then you’re all right then, aren’t you laughs Jim.’
Me: ‘So he’s in the frame by now?’
‘Oh aye. And then when test comes back and it’s B – well then it was pints all round, wasn’t it?’
Me: ‘What time was that?’
‘Test results? Actually I can’t remember which was first: Chainey finding hammer and knife back in Sheffield or blood type. Any road, must have been gone twelve.’
Me: ‘Midnight?’
‘Yeah, cos then Dick Alderman turns up, Pete Noble – and I mean no-one’s going home, we’re all just hanging around.’
Me: ‘All night?’
Ellis nodding: ‘Once in a lifetime thing, this. I mean, all night they’re having top-level meetings, planning it all out.’