A set of medals awarded to a detective who arrested John Humble (aka Wearside Jack), the Yorkshire Ripper hoaxer, is to sell in Sheffield.
Humble pretended to be the serial killer during the late 1970s. He sent a number of mocking letters to police, as well as a phone message that threw them off the scent.
John Humble was charged with perverting the course of justice. He was sentenced to eight years in prison
As a result the real Ripper, Peter Sutcliffe, was not caught for another two years.
Detective Sergeant Stuart Smith arrested Humble in 2005. He was caught after police matched DNA from one of the envelopes he’d sent back in the 1970s to a saliva sample collected during an unrelated incident.
John Morgan of Sheffield Auction Gallery told local paper the Star: "Any subject that has the word 'ripper' in it creates both emotion and collectability.
“It's of historic interest and I think that will only increase. It will always be one of those textbook cases that will be referred to in history...”
The medals consist of standard Long Service, Good Conduct and Queen’s Jubilee awards.
They’re valued at £400-600 ($542-813) ahead of the September 22 sale.
Morgan said: "The price will be very interesting because there's no comparative data at all.
“As a group of three medals they have no significant value. Their value is in the story. I don't know what anybody is willing to pay to hold a piece of history against the future.”
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