Anne Sumner, sister of the Yorkshire Ripper
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RIPPER'S GRIEF AS SISTER DIES
EXCLUSIVE Family deny killer last visit then wait a week to tell him
By Pete Samson And Paul Byrne
YORKSHIRE Ripper Peter Sutcliffe has been devastated by the death of
his younger sister after his family refused to let him visit her to say
goodbye.
Anne Sumner, 56, died after an eight-month battle against cancer but
relatives, disgusted by Sutcliffe's crimes, did not tell him for a
week.
He finally got the news through staff at Broadmoor top-security
hospital.
Anne's death is the latest blow to Sutcliffe, who is serving life for
killing 13 women.
His father died last year, his family has finally disowned him and
comfort eating left him on the verge of a diabetic coma.
Sutcliffe claims he was closer to Anne, who lived in Morecambe, Lancs,
than his other brothers and sisters.
But when he pleaded for a day out of the Berkshire hospital to see her,
his family said they did not want him anywhere near her.
A Broadmoor source said yesterday: "It's hard to believe he's got it in
him, but he's been very upset and says he was very fond of her.
"It hasn't been a good time for him lately. His relationship with his
family is under real strain, he has lost his dad and sister and his own
health is in a very bad way too."
There was uproar in January when the killer was allowed out of
Broadmoor to visit Arnside in Cumbria, where his father's ashes were
scattered.
Diabetic Sutcliffe has been in Broadmoor's hospital after bingeing on
sweets and biscuits. He blamed comfort eating when his weight ballooned
to 17 stone after he heard the news of his sister's terminal illness.
He also went on hunger strike after his family finally disowned him,
leaving his health in an even worse state.
He even tried to get sympathy from female penpals by telling them about
his sister's cancer.
Sutcliffe is back on his normal ward, but is still suffering with his
weight and diabetes.
The hospital source said: "He's been eating a bit more sensibly since
he found out Anne died, but he is still not a well man.
"He said that the fact he couldn't see her was forcing him to
comfort-eat and that now she's dead he has stopped worrying about her.
"He doesn't like to do what he's told, so it is difficult to stop him
eating things he shouldn't.
"He's improving slightly.
"I think a lot of the other patients are disappointed. He's not a
popular man."
Anne, a cook, died in St John's Hospice in Lancaster, on July 7.
Yesterday, her husband Trevor Sumner declined to comment at the
terraced home they shared near the seafront in Morecambe.
Sutcliffe was jailed in 1981 for the 13 hammer and knife murders across
Yorkshire and Northern England.