The independent inquiry revealed Peter Sutcliffe was coughing, vomiting, and had difficulty maintaining appropriate blood oxygen levels before he died. According to Sky News, his postmortem — carried out by Dr. Clive Bloxham — described “heavy, solid and airless lungs, characteristic of patients who have died from COVID.” Per The Sun, Bloxham said Sutcliffe had “a nodular liver suggested early cirrhosis.” Durham’s Senior Assistant Coroner Crispin Oliver added at an inquest hearing on the postmortem report, “[A]ge, diabetes and heart disease are well-known risk factors of COVID-19” and were all contributing factors in Sutcliffe’s death.
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In addition to underlying health conditions like kidney and liver problems, Peter Sutcliffe was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia during this trial. According to Harper’s Bazaar, many of his victims were sex workers. Sutcliffe said he was on a mission from God when he killed, and the murder was God’s will. Referring to the killer, criminal psychologist David Holmes said (via The Mirror): “He was an extremely callous, sexually sadistic serial killer, he was someone who was very much indifferent to the suffering of others.” Some of Sutcliffe’s victims are pictured above.
