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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Entertainment
Ryan Paton

ITV Yorkshire Ripper: The Secret Murders - Who is Peter Sutcliffe's wife?

A new documentary on the crimes of serial killer Peter Sutcliffe will air tonight.

Yorkshire Ripper: The Secret Murders is a two-part programme that explores whether Sutcliffe was responsible for more deaths and attacks.

The opening episode takes a look back at the murders of Judith Roberts in 1972 and Carol Wilkinson five years later, and the two innocent men wrongly convicted for the crimes.

READ MORE: Channel 4 Moors Murders: What happened to Myra Hindley and Ian Brady?

Sutcliffe was found guilty of murdering 13 women and attempting to kill another seven between 1975 and 1980.

The serial killer met his first and only wife, Sonia Szurma, in a Bradford pub in 1966 when he was working as a gravedigger.

The couple married eight years later on August 10, 1974, which was the date of Ms Szurma's 24th birthday.

Ms Szurma remained married to Sutcliffe after he was arrested and unmasked as the serial killer in 1981.

The two purchased a house in Bradford in 1977 and Ms Szurma continued to live in their marital home.

The couple separated around 1989 and divorced in July 1994 - and Mz Szurma remarried in 1997.

According to Mirror Online, she now lives with her husband, hairdresser Michael Woodward, in a converted mill - and she continued to visit Sutcliffe at Broadmoor every month until her remarriage.

Peter Sutcliffe died with Covid on November 13, 2020 - and his brother told the Mirror in 2020 he expects it will be Sonia who arranges the funeral.

Carl Sutcliffe said his older brother remained totally obsessed and “in love” with Ms Szurma after he was locked up and she was expected to inherit her former husband's possessions.

Yorkshire Ripper: The Secret Murders airs tonight at 9pm on ITV and ITV Hub

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