Top News

A double murderer dubbed the 'Modern Ripper' has died aged 64 after being taken to hospital. Derek Brown was sentenced to a minimum term of 30 years on October 6 2008 after he was found guilty of murdering DVD seller Xiao Mei Guo, 29, and prostitute Bonnie Barrett, 24.

He denied murder but admitted paying both women for sex before their disappearance in 2007. The previously convicted rapist found his victims in the Whitechapel area of London - famously stalked by Jack the Ripper in the 1880s. A search of Brown's Rotherhithe flat found traces of blood belonging to both women, as well as a receipt for a bow saw, heavy duty gloves, rubble sacks and cleaning materials. Brown was serving his sentence in HMP Wakefield but is believed to have become unwell last month (27/09).

He was taken to hospital and died two days later (29/09) at the age of 64 - just days away from his 65th birthday.

His victims remains have never been found.

A source close to Brown said: "He was in critical care since Saturday.

"They found him in his cell on Saturday, and he was in critical care since Saturday 5pm until Monday when he died at 3pm."

Police at the time of the murders believed Brown sought "notoriety" for the killings.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Kandiah said: "If he kept killing prostitutes from the Whitechapel area, then that link (with Jack the Ripper) would be made.

"If this was a spree, it seems likely that we stopped him at number two."

A Prison Service spokesperson said: "Derek Brown died in hospital on 29 September while serving a sentence at HMP Wakefield.

"As with all deaths in custody, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman will investigate."