CORONATION Street star Bruce Jones was a Yorkshire Ripper suspect after discovering the mutilated body of one of his victims.
The actor, who played Les Battersby in the soap, was investigated by cops hunting the serial killer in the 1970s.
Bruce had stumbled across the butchered remains of 20-year-old Jean Jordan in 1977.
The mum-of-two sex worker was bludgeoned to death with a hammer and dumped in wasteland in Manchester.
Bruce called police to alert them to the remains but was treated as a suspect, which led to the breakdown of his marriage and sent him spiralling.
The star previously told The Mirror: “He’d uncovered her, he was there that day, he’d hacked away at her.
“I lost my first marriage, my children.
“I lost everything because of that. It actually destroyed me to learn that people can do that to a human being. I had nightmares like you wouldn’t believe.”
Sutcliffe, who died in hospital today aged 74, had approached Jean as he prowled for victims in the red light district.
After haggling over a price, the pair made their way to wasteland in Chorlton where the Ripper struck.
He used a hammer to repeatedly batter Jean in the head before dragging her lifeless body into bushes and fleeing the scene.
But Sutcliffe had mistakenly left a brand new £5 at the scene that could lead cops to him and bring his reign of terror to an end.
Fearing he would be caught, Sutcliffe returned eight days later and flew into a rage when he was unable to find the cash.
The monster instead stripped Jean and slashed at her naked body with a knife and decided to cut her head off in a bid to make a “mystery” and hide his trademark hammer blows.
After failing his his grisly plan, Sutcliffe instead wrapped her intestines round her waist and once again fled.
It was later that morning Bruce and an allotment holder found Jean.
He recalled his “pure panic” as cops asked him about his whereabouts, adding: “You start thinking, ‘Where was I? What have I done wrong?’ Your mind starts racing.
“I had nightmares for 12 months. I still do.”
Eventually police caught up with Sutcliffe and he was arrested – bringing an end to the largest ever British manhunt.
The monster finally put behind bars in 1981 to the relief of women in the North East who feared going out at night during the five-year killing spree.
Bruce is due to appear on screens in an upcoming Netflix documentary on the Yorkshire Ripper.
Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.hellofaread.com/soap-opera/has-mick-carter-left-eastenders/
