Wearside Jack
Wearside Jack is the nickname given to John Samuel Humble (8 January 1956 – 30 July 2019), a British man who pretended to be the Yorkshire Ripper in a hoax audio recording and several letters during the period 1978–1979.[1]
John Samuel Humble
8 January 1956
30 July 2019 (aged 63)
British
Humble sent a taped message spoken in a Wearside accent and three letters, taunting the authorities for failing to catch him. The message, recorded on an audio cassette, caused the investigation to be moved away from the West Yorkshire area, home of the real killer, Peter Sutcliffe, and thereby helped prolong his attacks on women and hindered his potential arrest for eighteen months.[2]
More than 25 years after the event, a fragment from one of Humble's envelopes was traced to him through DNA, and in 2006, Humble was sentenced to eight years in prison for perverting the course of justice.
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The hoax[edit]
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The three letters[edit]
Between March 1978 and the end of June 1979, Humble sent three letters claiming to be the Yorkshire Ripper.[3] Postmarked from Sunderland, two were addressed to Assistant Chief Constable George Oldfield of the West Yorkshire Police who was heading the Ripper inquiry, and one to the Daily Mirror.[4]
First letter: 8 March 1978
Written to Detective George Oldfield
John Humble[edit]
Earlier life[edit]
The son of Sam and Violet Humble, Humble attended Hylton Road Junior School and Havelock Senior School on Fordfield Road in the Ford Estate in Sunderland.[21][22] He had "above average" school results,[3] and gained a few qualifications, before leaving school at 16. His limited periods of employment included a bricklaying apprenticeship (which he gave up after three years), six months in a hospital laundry and a short period as a security guard.[7]
In 1990, Humble married a woman, having been in a relationship with her for six weeks. In the early years of the marriage, he was said to be a good step-father for her two children, but he became abusive to his wife and was eventually convicted of common assault, leading to the couple's separation around 1999.[21][23] Humble returned to the Ford estate to live with his brother in 2002.[22]
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Wearside Jack
Labourer
Released (now deceased)
Four counts of perverting the course of justice (March 2006)
Eight years in custody