The Yorkshire Ripper bludgeoned me with a hammer & screwdriver but I SURVIVED – why I kept the truth hidden for 12 years

MO Lea's bosom quickened successful panic arsenic the dependable of footsteps down her moved person and grew louder.

Suddenly, the antheral with a 'softly spoken and affable voice' who she'd bumped into conscionable moments earlier was beside her, hammering blows to her head.

He had besides pierced her cervix with a screwdriver, an wounded that precise astir outgo Mo her life.

The monster was successful information the 'Yorkshire Ripper' Peter Sutcliffe, who was aboriginal convicted of sidesplitting 13 women and attempting to execution 7 others including enactment workers, betwixt 1975 and 1980.

But it wasn't until 12 years connected that Mo yet recovered the courageousness to admit that she was 1 of the survivors of the attack, initially fearing that she would beryllium associated with the enactment workers helium targeted.

Instead, she spent much than a decennary surviving successful silence, utilizing her artwork arsenic therapy for her onslaught and distancing herself arsenic a 'victim.'

Mo, 64, who was 21 astatine the time, and speaking arsenic portion of Fabulous’ caller YouTube series Life Stories, wherever mean radical stock their bonzer experiences, recalls:

“A fewer months aft my onslaught I saw Sutcliffe's look connected TV it was the aforesaid antheral who had attacked maine - In that infinitesimal I conscionable fell to the floor, I was connected my knees.

“My archetypal thought was I can't admit that I had been attacked by a serial slayer who targets prostitutes."

Retired creation lecturer Mo moved from her hometown Liverpool to Leeds successful 1979 to survey creation and rapidly felt astatine home.

“As a pupil I was a small spot punky,” she says.

“I dressed androgynously, ever with an accent of creativity and flair. At 1 constituent I had bright, acerb yellowish hair.

“Naturally I stuck retired a small spot but not erstwhile I was with my creation crowd.”

In October 1980, a fewer days earlier her 21st birthday, Mo headed into the metropolis to conscionable with friends astatine the pub.

At the time, Sutcliffe had already claimed the lives of 12 women crossed Yorkshire and Manchester, and helium was inactive roaming free.

Fear was wide and women had been advised to enactment indoors, astatine nighttime especially.

But with a beardown autarkic streak, Mo headed into the Headingley country of the metropolis alone.

She recalls: “Normally I'd spell retired with my fellow astatine the time, but helium was distant successful London truthful I thought I'll spell alone.

“I had conscionable capable wealth for 3 bottles of brew to past maine the evening. 

“I decided to drawback an aboriginal autobus location to debar the unreserved aft kick-out clip astatine the pubs.”

At the extremity of the nighttime Mo headed location and walked with her friends until their paths split.

But erstwhile they offered to locomotion her to the autobus halt she declined.

“I walked astatine rather a accelerated pace," she recalls. "I went done the assemblage field and noticed it was truly quiescent - that was uncanny due to the fact that it was usually a engaged field with a pupil bar.

When Mo reached the extremity of the field she decided to instrumentality a good lit abbreviated chopped to scope the autobus stop, not reasoning for a infinitesimal that she was successful immoderate danger.

That was until she came crossed a lone fig successful the dark.

“I thought it would beryllium wholly harmless but arsenic I was walking on I felt a spot uncomfortable,” she says.

“Then I heard a dependable to my right."

Mo describes the antheral dependable arsenic being 'friendly and softly spoken', truthful overmuch truthful she thought it belonged to idiosyncratic she knew.

But she rapidly realised the antheral was successful information a alien and she knew she had to get away.

“He was waffling, truthful I thought ‘I'm not engaging with this’," she explains.

"I said goodbye and started walking briskly towards the extremity of the roadworthy wherever I could spot the main thoroughfare lights and the postulation passing."

As Mo tried to get away, she heard the dependable of footsteps quickening down her.

“I started to locomotion rapidly but the footsteps were getting quicker and quicker," she recalls. “I started to tally but the footsteps got louder.

“I was truly panicking and the adrenaline kicked in. My knees turned to jelly and I conscionable started perfectly freaking retired with fear."

Puncture wounds

Suddenly, Mo felt a immense stroke to the apical of her caput and fell to the pavement.

Unbeknown to Mo, she had fto retired a scream, attracting the attraction of a mates walking by who reported seeing her attacker carrying a hammer arsenic helium fled.

Mo suffered horrific injuries - her skull was fractured, her feature and jaw broken. She had puncture wounds to her neck, injuries inflicted with a screwdriver, which had narrowly missed her spinal cord.

She was taken to St James’s Hospital and into country but Mo's lone recollection is waking up the adjacent time successful intensive care.

And her facial injuries were truthful severe, adjacent her ain parents didn’t recognise her.

“I couldn't consciousness pain, I was much successful a authorities of daze than anything,” she says.

“It was lone erstwhile the constabulary arrived astatine the extremity of my furniture with a camera to instrumentality pictures of my injuries that I discovered I had been assaulted.”

Mo says she had nary thought that her attacker could beryllium the aforesaid antheral who had targeted aggregate different women successful the country and was yet to beryllium caught.

“I conscionable thought it was a alien due to the fact that astatine the clip the communicative was that the antheral connected the escaped lone attacked prostitutes,” she explains.

“I was conscionable an creation pupil truthful I thought helium wouldn’t beryllium funny successful me.”

Despite her attacker’s modus operandi matching that of the antheral who was aboriginal revealed to beryllium Sutcliffe, constabulary were searching for the incorrect person.

They were pursuing a antheral called John Humble - who went by the sanction 'Wearside Jack' - a hoaxer from Sunderland who had sent the constabulary fake tapes claiming to beryllium the serial killer, distracting them from catching the existent culprit.

The sick hoax meant constabulary failed to nexus Mo’s onslaught to the erstwhile 12 murders.

Mo claims: “They couldn’t person different onslaught connected their hands truthful they simply dismissed my lawsuit arsenic not being linked."

A £1m run was launched to drawback the antheral who aboriginal turned retired to beryllium the Yorkshire Ripper. Yet contempt being quizzed respective times by police, Sutcliffe was fto spell due to the fact that helium didn't person a Wearside accent.

Sutcliffe struck again, this clip claiming his last victim, Jacqueline Hill, a Leeds University English pupil who was murdered connected November 17, 1980 connected her mode location to pupil halls.

Mo says: “Ultimately, Jacqueline Hill's execution could person been prevented if constabulary had continued to look into my case.

“They enactment each their eggs successful 1 handbasket by focusing connected the Geordie accent, and successful doing truthful they gave Sutcliffe an invisibility cloak wherever helium could transportation connected doing his killings.

“That, and however they didn't travel backmost and inquire maine immoderate much questions allowed Sutcliffe to proceed his attacks."

Mo was forced to proceed beingness successful fear, knowing her assailant was inactive roaming free.

Searching for clues

At 1 point, she struggled to permission her level astatine all.

“I was connected precocious alert and I didn't spell retired astatine each unaccompanied," she recalls.

“There were times erstwhile I couldn't permission the flat, I was opening to get earnestly ill. 

“I conscionable had to larn to unrecorded with the information that idiosyncratic had tried to termination me...and they mightiness travel and effort and decorativeness maine off." 

When Mo did person the courageousness to permission her home, she took measures to enactment safe.

“When I went into municipality I went with my keys done each finger, reasoning I was going to bump into the idiosyncratic who tried to termination me," she explains.

“I really searched for him, I would look astatine everybody successful town, radical indispensable person thought I was nuts, staring astatine young men, trying to fig retired if 1 of them was my attacker."

In 1981, Sutcliffe was yet caught erstwhile helium was stopped by cops with prostitute, Olivia Reivers.

During questioning, constabulary realised helium matched the carnal characteristics of the slayer they were aft and aft returning to the country of his arrest, detectives recovered a knife, enactment and hammer.

Following a two-week proceedings successful May 1981, Sutcliffe was handed 20 beingness presumption which were converted to a full beingness bid successful 2010.

He spent astir 40 years down bars and died successful infirmary aged 74 successful November 2020, of Covid.

It wasn't until 1993 that Mo admitted however she excessively had been 1 of his victims.

She says: “I denied that it was the Yorkshire Ripper, due to the fact that it was the champion mode to support my individuality arsenic an artist.

“I didn't privation to beryllium named a unfortunate and I didn't ever privation to beryllium connected with the Yorkshire Ripper communicative astatine all. 

“Who would privation to accidental they'd been a unfortunate of a highly notorious slayer of enactment workers? I didn’t privation to beryllium tarnished by that."

That was until she took portion successful a Yorkshire Television documentary astir the 'forgotten victims' of the serial killer.

“When I was contacted for the documentary I was perfectly shocked," says Mo, who present lives successful Bedford.

"Mainly due to the fact that I'd tried to support it secret, but besides what had taken them truthful agelong to travel and admit that they knew that I was a unfortunate of Sutcliffe?"

Mo felt it was clip to beryllium she was much than a unfortunate and began to speech astir her past and present.

“I wanted to amusement however these things don’t person to specify you, they tin springiness you a lust for beingness instead,” she says.

“It’s a corny consciousness of what doesn’t termination you makes you stronger."

An 'open wound'

While Mo refuses to fto what happened specify her, she continues to consciousness dismayed that she didn't spot Sutcliffe punished for her battle - a feeling she likens to an 'open wound'.

A study successful 1981 by Sir Lawrence Byford recovered Sutcliffe could person been liable for 13 much offences and made a drawstring of recommendations to West Yorkshire Police.

Mo was named arsenic a probable unfortunate successful redacted parts of the study but nary charges were brought against Sutcliffe contempt a re-investigation.

“I was 1 of galore forgotten victims,” says Mo.

“Of people the families of the victims who died did yet get justness arsenic Sutcliffe was convicted for those crimes.

“Whether radical find immoderate benignant of solace successful that, I don't know, but myself and different forgotten victims ne'er recovered justice. 

“And that's similar keeping a coiled open.”

In endurance mode

Mo says her artwork continues to beryllium a cardinal origin successful her betterment and uses it to ward disconnected nightmares.

“My artwork has been perfectly captious arsenic portion of my survival, I've utilized it arsenic therapy,” she says. 

"I drew pictures astir my darkest nightmares and I managed to get them retired of my system."

Mo's almighty task called 'Ripping Up The Ripper', saw her filmed drafting a representation of Sutcliffe earlier tearing it up and stamping connected the pieces.

She besides projected an representation of Lady Justice pouring retired pistillate sex symbols from the scales of justness onto the Houses of Parliament connected the 40th day of Peter Sutcliffe’s conviction.

At the clip - successful May 2021, Mo revealed: "The creation projection raises the question, asking what advancement has been made successful the constabulary and ineligible systems to enactment women who person been victims of convulsive attacks.

"This represents the antagonistic imbalance of justness towards women.”

Today, Mo adds: "I don't deliberation things person changed importantly capable for women who are victims of convulsive crimes to consciousness comfy successful the cognition that they'll beryllium taken seriously."

To presumption Mo's art, sojourn her website astatine molea.art