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A double murderer from Lancashire, infamously known as the 'Modern Ripper', has died aged 64.

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 sex worker Bonnie Barrett, 24. Despite denying the murder charges, he confessed to paying both women for sex before their disappearance in 2007.

Originally from Preston, Brown had a string of previous convictions for burglary across the north of England between 1976 and 1986 On July 20, 1989, he was sentenced to seven years in prison at Preston Crown Court after pleading guilty to rape and attempted buggery.

Following his release, Brown relocated to London where he targeted his victims in the Whitechapel area - an area infamously haunted by Jack the Ripper in the 1880s. However, following the disappearance of Xiao and Bonnie, a search of Brown's Rotherhithe flat in South London revealed traces of blood belonging to both women, along with a receipt for a bow saw, heavy-duty gloves, rubble sacks and cleaning materials.

He was handed a minimum sentence of 30 years. The remains of his victims have never been discovered.

Brown was serving his sentence at HMP Wakefield but reportedly fell ill on September 27. He was taken to hospital and died two days later at the age of 64.

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."

At the time of the murders, police 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."

Last year, Brown's crimes featured in a documentary for Apple TV titled 'Britain's Most Evil Killers'. The BBC reported at the time that the judge at Brown's trial had considered handing him a whole life sentence.

Sentencing Brown, Judge Martin Stephens said: "You have shown not a sliver of remorse. You murdered two women. Both were vulnerable, plying their trade on the streets, in each case falling into your hands precisely because of their availability and their lack of protection.

"What you did to each of those women before you killed them we can only speculate about. How you killed them we cannot know. What we do know is you disposed of their bodies with frightening efficiency so that not a trace of either woman has been found."

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