Wicked Beyond Belief: The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper [Hardcover]

Revelatory investigation into the police handling of the Yorkshire Ripper Case which spanned over 14 years. For the first time, the files have been opened, the detectives are talking and the victims are reliving the nightmare.

For almost 20 years the dark secrets of the biggest criminal manhunt in British history have remained a closed book. Detectives have refused all requests to tell the inside story of an investigation that logged 2 million manhours of police work, the victims who survived have maintained a wall of silence and the detailed forensic evidence, witness statements and autopsies have remained locked away.

Until now that is. After an extensive investigation, lasting many years, Michael Bilton reveals shocking revelations of the police mishandling of the case (eg how they interviewed Peter Sutcliffe 12 times, each time allowing him to go free and murder again), the brutal truths of the victims ordeals and finally… the thoughts and deeds of the Ripper himself – a unique insight into Sutcliffe’s mind, in this explosive and compelling book.

For over twenty years, the dark secrets of the biggest criminal manhunt in British history have remained a closed book. Detectives refused all requests to tell the inside story of the Yorkshire Ripper investigation that logged over two million manhours of police work. The victims who survived maintained a wall of silence. And the detailed forensic evidence, witness statements and autopsy reports remained locked away.

Until now. Award-winning writer Michael Bilton has persuaded the key people to talk. After years of exhaustive research he can finally reveal the extraordinary truth behind the murder inquiry that left Peter Sutcliffe free to kill again and again.

With exclusive access to the detectives involved, to pathologists archives and confidential police reports, the story of the hunt reads as tensely as any thriller. Its measured analysis of the calamitous investigation is also a shocking and important indictment of the most notorious murder manhunt of the twentieth century.

Michael Bilton is a Sunday Times investigative journalist and an award winning documentary film maker. He won an Emmy for his documentary on the My Lai massacre and got rave reviews for his book ‘Four Hours in My Lai’ which was published 7 years ago and which has sold over 350,000 copies so far.