Post by The HangMan on Apr 7, 2006 7:20:55 GMT -5
In the 1880's, the East End of London became the staging place for a series of sickening murders that caused outrage through the entire nation. Although the killer's identity has been wildly speculated upon, to this day the murderer is known only as Jack the Ripper...
Personal Information
Name "Jack The Ripper"
Aliases "The Whitechapel Murderer"
"The Autumn of Terror"
Location East End of London, UK
Born Unknown
Died Unknown
Status Deceased
Victims
Mary Ann Nicholls (43) Died 31st August 1888
First acknowledged 'Ripper' victim. Savagely attacked across the throat, exposing vertebrae; Repeatedly stabbed at the stomach; Little publicity.
Annie Chapman (47) Died 8th September 1888
Bodily organs removed from victims abdomen. The media 'awakens' to the series of atrocities being committed in the East End.
Elizabeth Stride (45) Died 30th September 1888
The attacker is interrupted in his mutilation of the Swedish prostitute, and fails in the attempt to remove her ear.
Catharine Eddowes (46) Died 30th September 1888
To recompense the failed expedition earlier on, the 'Ripper' resumes his gruesome work on Eddowes. Later examination reveals a kidney is missing. This soon reappears...
Mary Jeanette Kelly (25) Died 9th November 1888
Just as the panic created by the 'Ripper' begins to die, the killer performs the most brutal of all his murders, taking several hours to finish the dismemberment. The victim is later discovered to be pregnant.
Modus Operandi
The 'Ripper' would confine his attacks on impoverished women, forced to rely on prostitution as a means of income. As such, it was easy to procure victims who were always in dire need of funds.
All the attacks occurred during the many dark evenings of 19th century London, and with the exception of his final known attack Mary Kelly, all occurred in the proximity of London's East End streets, performing his activities in the many darkened alleys and alcoves.
The 'Ripper`s' choice of weapon was a straight razor blade, strong enough to use as a stabbing/slashing implement, but flexible enough to use in the many dismemberment activities employed. This can also imply the use of some form of medicinal scalpel, which is examined further in the MOTIVES section.
Motives
In an attempt to assign a motive to these terrible murders, one can only be given by listing some of the suspects that have been implicated into the 'Ripper' legend over the years. These theories range from the plausible to the outlandish. Nevertheless, they allow a scope of possibilities to be viewed, which previously never existed.
Jill/Jane/Julie the Ripper - Mad Midwife
It has been suggested that the perpetrator of these violent crimes may have been a woman practising under the guise of abortion techniques which would go in some part to explain the brutal mutilations undertaken. But the main objection to this theory is that there has never been a recorded case of a woman performing sadistic mutilation murders.
Montague John Druitt
A failed lawyer whose body was found in the River Thames in December 1888. This coincided with the sudden end of the savage murders.
Severin Klosowski
A Polish immigrant who changed his name to George Chapman upon his arrival to London, and deserving a sub-section all for himself (wife poisoner), he was labelled (But later retracted) as being Jack the Ripper when arrested by Frederick Abberline (in charge of the Ripper atrocities at the time). It is exceptionally unusual for a murderer to change so swiftly his method of killing, and is more likely that in desperation to pin the murders on someone, Klosowski fit the bill.
Dr. Roslyn D'Onston Stephenson
An author and magician who preferred to keep his own activities to himself, has been labelled as the murderer by theorising that the murders were committed as part of some secret initiation/ritual process (5 murders ties in with the belief that the pentagram symbol can be used to channel power to individuals). This belief may have faded over time were it not for Stephenson 'disappearing' sometime in 1904.
HRH Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence
Scandal has always been welcome at the expense of royalty, which is exactly what happened to Queen Victoria's grandson and the spate of East End murders. It has been suggested that Prince Albert, directly or indirectly, had knowledge of who was involved in the murders. Others who may have been instigators of the murders themselves include Sir William Gull (the royal physician), Walter Sickert (An artist) and John Netley (A royal coachman in service). The murders were apparently committed to prevent any 'loose ends' involving a Prince's indiscretion, an illegitimate child and future blackmail attempts. If this is so, why then did five women die if only one was required to be eliminated, of which the identity was known? and why were they killed so gruesomely?
James Kenneth Stephen
Directly linked to Prince Albert by way of being his tutor at Cambridge, it has been claimed he was the murderer due to his homosexuality culminating into a pathological hatred of women in general. If this is so, why didn't he kill any female that he saw, instead of merely confining his murders to the East End?
Dr. Thomas Neil Cream
A serial-killer himself (lady poisoner both abroad and in Europe), his link with the 'Ripper' legacy is that he blurted out "I am jack..." just as he was hanged. The fact that he was incarcerated on American soil at the time hasn't diminished the link.
James Maybrick
Perhaps being one of the most important developments to arise from continued Whitechapel investigations was the surfacing of the infamous "Jack the Ripper Diary" in which the self-confessions of the purported murderer are laid out in an almost enigmatic fashion, with pages torn out and passages scribbled out. Unfortunately, instead of the laying to rest one of the most intriguing cases in human history, equal amounts of scorn and ridicule from sceptics matches the proponents of the diary, firmly believing in the authenticity of the document.
Quotes
On the 29th September 1888, the Central News Agency received a letter that started off...
"Dear Boss, I keep on hearing the police have caught me but they won't fix me just yet...I am down on sleepers and I shan't quit ripping them till I do get buckled. Grand work the last job was. I gave the lady [ref. to Annie Chapman] no time to squeal. How can they catch me know? I love my work and want to start again. You will soon hear of me and my funny little games... The next job I do I shall clip the lady's ears off and send to the police officers just for jolly...Keep this letter back till I do a bit more work, then give it out straight. My knofe is nice and sharp. I want to get to work right away if I get a chance. Good luck. Yours truly, Jack the Ripper"
The letter was considered to be genuine, because only a few hours after the infamous double murder on the 30th of September, the police received a postcard referring to the killings. As details of the murders had not been released, all correspondence up to that date were taken seriously.
"I was not codding [joking], dear old Boss, when I gave you the tip. you'll hear about Saucy Jack's work tomorrow. Double event this time. Number one squealed a bit. Couldn't finish straight off. Had not time to get ears for police. Thanks for keeping last letter back till I got to work again. Jack the Ripper."
A few days later he followed this with a gruesome package which was delivered to George Lusk, Chairman of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee. The cardboard box contained a kidney which was previously missing from the body of Catherine Eddowes. A note addressed "From Hell" was enclosed and contained the following message.
"Mr. Lusk. Sir I send you half the Kidne I took from one woman prasarved it for you. tother piece I fried and ate it was very nice. I may send you the bloody knif that took it out if you only wate a whil longer. Signed Catche me when you can Mister Lusk."[sic]
Comments
The murders created major public outcry in its short span, but it wasn't until details of the second murder were released that the media circus started hounding the police and speculating on who the 'Ripper' might be. This also led to an increase of people who were in favour of organised vigilantism, what with being continually frustrated by the Police attempts to apprehend the felon. Of course, this interference would have undoubtedly clashed with the police's own investigations and perhaps would have explained why the 'Ripper' eluded capture. It is important to remember that murdered prostitutes were hardly the news considered to be digestible over the morning breakfast. Indeed, prior to Mary Nicholls being murdered, Emma Smith was violently attacked when four men rammed an object into her womb. She later died of Peritonitis. It was one of the many examples of prostitutes who were killed by gangs demanding protection money.
The speculation that the murderer had an anatomical understanding of the human body were made known when during the inquest of Mrs. Nicholls, it was suggested that the murderer was left-handed, and that the wounds were "deftly and...skillfully performed". This was reinforced at the examination of Annie Chapman when the coroner stated "An unskilled person could not have down this, only someone used to the post-mortem room.". Once the media distorted the facts and suggested that a mad doctor was responsible for the murders, for a while, no physician was safe in the East End.
During the murder of Catherine Eddowes, the attacker saw fit to write a message in chalk on the wall. It was discovered to say:
"The Juwes are not the men to be blamed for nothing."
With what could have provided the most important clues to the whole investigation (with the slogan possibly having direct references to the Jewish community, or perhaps some masonic overtones), had it not been for the intervention of Sir Charles Warren (Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police) decided to erase all trace of the message by rubbing it out, at his insistence of it somehow causing "religious trouble". His actions were made even more extraordinary in the fact that he had acted out of his jurisdiction, as the crime had occurred in the City of London.
Who was Jack the Ripper?
The Police arrested many suspects.....but who was really guilty?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The terror that befell London's Whitechapel district in the Autumn months of 1888 remains unparalleled in the annals of crime. Jack the Ripper, a faceless predator whose infamy and guile would be renowned and feared to this day, has become virtual folklore to the people of the East End. More than a century has passed since Jack the Ripper stalked the fog filled, cobbled streets of London, but still latter day detectives continue to speculate as to the identity of the notorious "Whitechapel Murderer". Only a few clues were ever unearthed by the bewildered Police Force of the 1880's, further whetting the appetites of present day theorists in their quest for the "Mysterious Monster". At the time of the murders, detectives had never before experienced the apparently motiveless brutality of the world's first serial killer. The increasingly frustrated Police Force, pressured by an angry public and QUEEN VICTORIA herself, were to arrest several suspects on flimsy evidence, only to have these lowly scapegoats committed to,lunatic asylums, in a pathetic attempt to rid the streets of the dark assailant. No-one was above suspicion...SIR CHARLES WARREN, Chief of Metropolitan Police, was to be suspected of his involvement in a "cover up" and even Queen Victoria's own grandson PRINCE EDWARD, was at one stage considered to be a "Ripper Suspect". Although time has allowed hindsight, and numerous suspects have been presented, many are too ridiculous to be considered a viable culprit. The prime suspects who are still to this day eligible for the title of "Jack the Ripper" are as follows.......................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Francis Thompson 1894
The book "Jack the Ripper" reveals the British Poet Francis Thompson to be the culprit responsible for the terrible murders in 1888 of at least five women prostitutes in London's East End. Visit the web site to read/buy the book.
Illustrated and of 18,500 words Jack the Ripper explains Thompson's violent childhood his doomed medical school training and his downward drug induced spiral into vagrancy. Describing Thompson's secret affair with a prostitute and its tragic ending bringing him to a frenzied delirium Jack the Ripper records the events of the murders and its sinister parallels to Thompson. Who was the Ripper?. What was his motive?. How did he get away with murder? Patterson's book Jack the Ripper answers all these questions and for the first time gives readers an insight into the diabolical mind of the world's first and most feared serial killer. Jack the Ripper examines Thompson's morbid verse and entwines Thompson's life with the destiny of leading writers including Robert Browning, Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw, and D.H Lawrence.
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JOHN PIZER
John Pizer was a shoemaker, a Jew who just happened to fulfil the public's view of the Murderer's profile, that being of a butcher, slaughterman or craftsman - a man with access to 5 inch blades and in possession of a leather apron. Pizer not only had a stabbing convictions against him, but also displayed a well known dislike for prostitutes. He unfortunately fitted a dubious description which had been circulated; that of a short man with a dark beard and moustache and a foreign accent. Furthermore the press portrayed Pizer as having a "cruel sardonic look". However,Pizer's solid alibi ended with a compensation payment to him from the libel courts and the frustrated Police Force left once again to chase the shadows. After the death of Annie Chapman and a subsequent inquest, the findings in the pathologists report threw further light onto what was already becoming a very dark and grisly inquiry. The Coroner suggested that the murderer probably had an anatomical knowledge of dissection - this information heightened suspicions against members of the esteemed medical profession, an accusation angrily refuted by eminent surgeons to such an extreme that the Police dropped this line of enquiry. However, 3 major suspects have since been disclosed based upon this assumption............
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THOMAS NEIL CREAM, am American doctor
THOMAS CREAM had also ben arrested in connection with the poisoning of prostitutes and habitually writing to the Police giving false names and false accusations of a number of crimes. Cream was hanged by the neck for the murder of the Lambeth prostitutes in 1892. His departing words were......" I am jack the Ri...." as the rope snapped taut and broke his neck. Suspicions of Cream were raised following revelations that an American had been making enquiries as to the availability of certain organs at medical schools in and around the Whitechapel district. Coupled with this, the letter received by the Police prior to the double killings of Liz Stride and Kate Eddowes notably contained many "Americanisms".Unfortunately however, Cream was actually incarcerated at the time of the last Murders.
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MICHAEL OSTROGG, a Russian doctor
Michael Ostrogg has came under scrutiny by the London Police and his whereabouts at the time of the Whitechapel Murders could never be satisfactorily accounted for. Ostrogg was a slippery confidence trickster who went by the numerous aliases, including that of a Dr. Grant, and also as a former surgeon in the Russian Navy. He spent much of his time in Police custody for various fraudulent and thieving offences. Clearly a compulsive rouge, Ostrogg became a high profile suspect when it was stated in the "Police Gazette" around the time of the Murders that "special attention is called to this dangerous man", after failing to report to the Police on charges of suspicion.
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ALEXANDER PEDACHENKO, another Russian Doctor
Another Russian Doctor, ALEXANDER PEDACHENKO was tenuously linked at this time to the murders and it was suggested that "Ostrogg" was one of the many aliases used by Pedachenko. He was considered a Russian lunatic, with distinct criminal tendencies, who had trained as a barbers surgeon and he had since joined the staff of the Maternity Hospital. The Russian Secret Police Gazette, OCHRANA, described Pedachenko as "the greatest and boldest of all Russian criminal lunatics" at at time when Pedachenko was allegedly living with his sister in Walworth. Ochrana cited Pedachenko with the Ripper murders in an attempt to discredit and embarrass the Metropolitan Police. This act of propaganda appeared to have succeeded when Sir Charles Warren resigned from the Police Force. Pedachenko was subsequently smuggled back to Moscow by Ochrana, where he was promptly sent to a lunatic asylum for the murder of a woman in St Petersburg. Pedachenko died in the asylum leaving a series of aliases in his wake, but all with slim connections to the Whitechapel murders. It seems he was merely a suspect of convenience for a short time.
The 3 Doctors theories are questionable especially with regard to the first "Jack The Ripper" letter which states in the footnote "Ha,Ha, they say I am a Doctors now!" Probably the most "romantic" suspects have been "PRINCE EDDIE", the Queen's Grandson, and SIR WILLIAM GULL, the Royal Physician. Suspicions were heightened for both the suspects following the night of the double murders in Whitechapel. SIR CHARLES WARREN had ordered the removal of the writing from the wall before Police photographers could record it, which led to many theorists believing that there was a "cover up" by the authorities to protect someone of great importance. This, coupled with Queen Victoria's heightened interest in the case led to the inevitable accusations. "Jack The Ripper" was fast becoming the most celebrated mystery worldwide, and for Royalty to have been involved made for the most sensational storyline for the newspapers.
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PRINCE ALBERT VICTOR - THE DUKE OF CLARENCE
Prince Albert was believed to have made twilight trips to the East End to undulge in homosexual practices in a brothel in Cleveland Street. He had supposedly learned disembowelling techniques on deer hunting excursions and was alleged to have had "syphilis of the brain" thus making him mad enough to commit the Murders. The late crime theorist Stephen Knight claimed that "Prince Eddie" secretly and illegally married Annie Crook, a Catholic girl. Subsequently, to avoid a Royal scandal, the authorities had Annie locked away in a lunatic asylum. She was supposedly pregnant at the time. The key victim to link Royalty with the murders was Mary Kelly, who was evidently nursemaid to the prince and his wife at around this time. She had proposed to blackmail the government by making her story public knowledge. It was then that the Royal Physician, WILLIAM GULL, allegedly became involved and in an attempt to silence the scandal picked up all possible prostitutes whom Mary Kelly may have informed. He was to pick the women up in the Royal carriage, slaughter them inside the carriage, and then dispose of the body, hence explaining the lack of noise and blood at the scene of the murders. The Royal theories are based largely on conjecture and have only come to light in recent years.
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AARON KOSMINSKI - a Jew
The "JUWES" writing however led to another Jewish suspect. Warren had ordered the removal of the writing so as to avoid an uprising from the already agitated immigrant population especially with the false arrest of Pizer still fresh in the mind.
Despite this, a Polish Jew AARON KOSMINSKI, a hairdresser and resident of Whitechapel since 1882, came to the fore. A man with an extreme hatred of women, especially prostitutes, he was clearly the most insane of all the suspects. Kosminski was described as having strong homicidal tendencies and a history of related crimes. Following the night of the double killings, a letter was received by George Lusk, leader of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee, stating that the writer had fried and eaten half a kidney, removed from the body of Kate Eddowes. Clearly this man was deranged. The uneaten half of the kidney accompanied the letter in a box. The organ was found to be human and belonged to a woman in her forties suffering from Brights disease - as did Catherine Eddowes. However, the style of writing did not in any way resemble the first "Jack The Ripper" letter received by the police, and was concluded to be the crazed writings of a lunatic. Kosminski was therefore high profile. It was never proven that Kosminski was the perpetrator of these ghastly crimes but he was removed from society in 1890, and placed in the Mile End Infirmary for the insane. Following spells in Colney Hatch and Leaversden Asylums, Kosminski degenerated to the point where he was unable to answer simple questions. He died in 1919 of gangrene of the leg and was medically described as "demented and incoherent".
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MONTAGUE JOHN DRUITT
Montague John Druitt was a "gentleman", a successful college debater, keen cricketer and of "good family". It wasn't until 1959 that Druitt, a schoolmaster, was pronounced a probable suspect. Sir Melville Macnaghten's case notes described Druitt as "sexually insane" and it was mooted that even "his own family suspected him of being the Whitechapel Murderer". Druitt's personal circumstances link him with the killings too. He had studied medicine for a time before switching profession to become a barrister and was a very educated man. Any barrister would appreciate the need for a suspect to be well away from the scene of the crime if his case were to be defended with success. Druitt was found playing cricket as far away as Dorset in South West England after the murders of Mary Nichols and Annie Chapman, although his whereabouts in the actual nights of the murders remain unresolved. The primary reason for Druitt becoming a high profile suspect was that he feared he was going insane like his mother before him, In a suicide note Druitt wrote "Since Friday I felt I was going to be like Mother and the best thing for me was to die". The note was discovered on his person on 31st December 1888. He had drowned in the River Thames, his pockets full of stones. Druitt was seen alive on 3rd December, 1888, almost one month after the last Murder and 2 days after his dismissal from his teaching job in Blackheath. Druitt's death remains a mystery, as does his alleged connection with the Ripper Case. It is true , however, that the Police closed the Ripper file following Druitt's suicide. The dreadful killings perpetrated by "Jack The Ripper" were never repeated beyond Druitt's death. Was this coincidence or conjecture?
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Personal Information
Name "Jack The Ripper"
Aliases "The Whitechapel Murderer"
"The Autumn of Terror"
Location East End of London, UK
Born Unknown
Died Unknown
Status Deceased
Victims
Mary Ann Nicholls (43) Died 31st August 1888
First acknowledged 'Ripper' victim. Savagely attacked across the throat, exposing vertebrae; Repeatedly stabbed at the stomach; Little publicity.
Annie Chapman (47) Died 8th September 1888
Bodily organs removed from victims abdomen. The media 'awakens' to the series of atrocities being committed in the East End.
Elizabeth Stride (45) Died 30th September 1888
The attacker is interrupted in his mutilation of the Swedish prostitute, and fails in the attempt to remove her ear.
Catharine Eddowes (46) Died 30th September 1888
To recompense the failed expedition earlier on, the 'Ripper' resumes his gruesome work on Eddowes. Later examination reveals a kidney is missing. This soon reappears...
Mary Jeanette Kelly (25) Died 9th November 1888
Just as the panic created by the 'Ripper' begins to die, the killer performs the most brutal of all his murders, taking several hours to finish the dismemberment. The victim is later discovered to be pregnant.
Modus Operandi
The 'Ripper' would confine his attacks on impoverished women, forced to rely on prostitution as a means of income. As such, it was easy to procure victims who were always in dire need of funds.
All the attacks occurred during the many dark evenings of 19th century London, and with the exception of his final known attack Mary Kelly, all occurred in the proximity of London's East End streets, performing his activities in the many darkened alleys and alcoves.
The 'Ripper`s' choice of weapon was a straight razor blade, strong enough to use as a stabbing/slashing implement, but flexible enough to use in the many dismemberment activities employed. This can also imply the use of some form of medicinal scalpel, which is examined further in the MOTIVES section.
Motives
In an attempt to assign a motive to these terrible murders, one can only be given by listing some of the suspects that have been implicated into the 'Ripper' legend over the years. These theories range from the plausible to the outlandish. Nevertheless, they allow a scope of possibilities to be viewed, which previously never existed.
Jill/Jane/Julie the Ripper - Mad Midwife
It has been suggested that the perpetrator of these violent crimes may have been a woman practising under the guise of abortion techniques which would go in some part to explain the brutal mutilations undertaken. But the main objection to this theory is that there has never been a recorded case of a woman performing sadistic mutilation murders.
Montague John Druitt
A failed lawyer whose body was found in the River Thames in December 1888. This coincided with the sudden end of the savage murders.
Severin Klosowski
A Polish immigrant who changed his name to George Chapman upon his arrival to London, and deserving a sub-section all for himself (wife poisoner), he was labelled (But later retracted) as being Jack the Ripper when arrested by Frederick Abberline (in charge of the Ripper atrocities at the time). It is exceptionally unusual for a murderer to change so swiftly his method of killing, and is more likely that in desperation to pin the murders on someone, Klosowski fit the bill.
Dr. Roslyn D'Onston Stephenson
An author and magician who preferred to keep his own activities to himself, has been labelled as the murderer by theorising that the murders were committed as part of some secret initiation/ritual process (5 murders ties in with the belief that the pentagram symbol can be used to channel power to individuals). This belief may have faded over time were it not for Stephenson 'disappearing' sometime in 1904.
HRH Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence
Scandal has always been welcome at the expense of royalty, which is exactly what happened to Queen Victoria's grandson and the spate of East End murders. It has been suggested that Prince Albert, directly or indirectly, had knowledge of who was involved in the murders. Others who may have been instigators of the murders themselves include Sir William Gull (the royal physician), Walter Sickert (An artist) and John Netley (A royal coachman in service). The murders were apparently committed to prevent any 'loose ends' involving a Prince's indiscretion, an illegitimate child and future blackmail attempts. If this is so, why then did five women die if only one was required to be eliminated, of which the identity was known? and why were they killed so gruesomely?
James Kenneth Stephen
Directly linked to Prince Albert by way of being his tutor at Cambridge, it has been claimed he was the murderer due to his homosexuality culminating into a pathological hatred of women in general. If this is so, why didn't he kill any female that he saw, instead of merely confining his murders to the East End?
Dr. Thomas Neil Cream
A serial-killer himself (lady poisoner both abroad and in Europe), his link with the 'Ripper' legacy is that he blurted out "I am jack..." just as he was hanged. The fact that he was incarcerated on American soil at the time hasn't diminished the link.
James Maybrick
Perhaps being one of the most important developments to arise from continued Whitechapel investigations was the surfacing of the infamous "Jack the Ripper Diary" in which the self-confessions of the purported murderer are laid out in an almost enigmatic fashion, with pages torn out and passages scribbled out. Unfortunately, instead of the laying to rest one of the most intriguing cases in human history, equal amounts of scorn and ridicule from sceptics matches the proponents of the diary, firmly believing in the authenticity of the document.
Quotes
On the 29th September 1888, the Central News Agency received a letter that started off...
"Dear Boss, I keep on hearing the police have caught me but they won't fix me just yet...I am down on sleepers and I shan't quit ripping them till I do get buckled. Grand work the last job was. I gave the lady [ref. to Annie Chapman] no time to squeal. How can they catch me know? I love my work and want to start again. You will soon hear of me and my funny little games... The next job I do I shall clip the lady's ears off and send to the police officers just for jolly...Keep this letter back till I do a bit more work, then give it out straight. My knofe is nice and sharp. I want to get to work right away if I get a chance. Good luck. Yours truly, Jack the Ripper"
The letter was considered to be genuine, because only a few hours after the infamous double murder on the 30th of September, the police received a postcard referring to the killings. As details of the murders had not been released, all correspondence up to that date were taken seriously.
"I was not codding [joking], dear old Boss, when I gave you the tip. you'll hear about Saucy Jack's work tomorrow. Double event this time. Number one squealed a bit. Couldn't finish straight off. Had not time to get ears for police. Thanks for keeping last letter back till I got to work again. Jack the Ripper."
A few days later he followed this with a gruesome package which was delivered to George Lusk, Chairman of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee. The cardboard box contained a kidney which was previously missing from the body of Catherine Eddowes. A note addressed "From Hell" was enclosed and contained the following message.
"Mr. Lusk. Sir I send you half the Kidne I took from one woman prasarved it for you. tother piece I fried and ate it was very nice. I may send you the bloody knif that took it out if you only wate a whil longer. Signed Catche me when you can Mister Lusk."[sic]
Comments
The murders created major public outcry in its short span, but it wasn't until details of the second murder were released that the media circus started hounding the police and speculating on who the 'Ripper' might be. This also led to an increase of people who were in favour of organised vigilantism, what with being continually frustrated by the Police attempts to apprehend the felon. Of course, this interference would have undoubtedly clashed with the police's own investigations and perhaps would have explained why the 'Ripper' eluded capture. It is important to remember that murdered prostitutes were hardly the news considered to be digestible over the morning breakfast. Indeed, prior to Mary Nicholls being murdered, Emma Smith was violently attacked when four men rammed an object into her womb. She later died of Peritonitis. It was one of the many examples of prostitutes who were killed by gangs demanding protection money.
The speculation that the murderer had an anatomical understanding of the human body were made known when during the inquest of Mrs. Nicholls, it was suggested that the murderer was left-handed, and that the wounds were "deftly and...skillfully performed". This was reinforced at the examination of Annie Chapman when the coroner stated "An unskilled person could not have down this, only someone used to the post-mortem room.". Once the media distorted the facts and suggested that a mad doctor was responsible for the murders, for a while, no physician was safe in the East End.
During the murder of Catherine Eddowes, the attacker saw fit to write a message in chalk on the wall. It was discovered to say:
"The Juwes are not the men to be blamed for nothing."
With what could have provided the most important clues to the whole investigation (with the slogan possibly having direct references to the Jewish community, or perhaps some masonic overtones), had it not been for the intervention of Sir Charles Warren (Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police) decided to erase all trace of the message by rubbing it out, at his insistence of it somehow causing "religious trouble". His actions were made even more extraordinary in the fact that he had acted out of his jurisdiction, as the crime had occurred in the City of London.
Who was Jack the Ripper?
The Police arrested many suspects.....but who was really guilty?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The terror that befell London's Whitechapel district in the Autumn months of 1888 remains unparalleled in the annals of crime. Jack the Ripper, a faceless predator whose infamy and guile would be renowned and feared to this day, has become virtual folklore to the people of the East End. More than a century has passed since Jack the Ripper stalked the fog filled, cobbled streets of London, but still latter day detectives continue to speculate as to the identity of the notorious "Whitechapel Murderer". Only a few clues were ever unearthed by the bewildered Police Force of the 1880's, further whetting the appetites of present day theorists in their quest for the "Mysterious Monster". At the time of the murders, detectives had never before experienced the apparently motiveless brutality of the world's first serial killer. The increasingly frustrated Police Force, pressured by an angry public and QUEEN VICTORIA herself, were to arrest several suspects on flimsy evidence, only to have these lowly scapegoats committed to,lunatic asylums, in a pathetic attempt to rid the streets of the dark assailant. No-one was above suspicion...SIR CHARLES WARREN, Chief of Metropolitan Police, was to be suspected of his involvement in a "cover up" and even Queen Victoria's own grandson PRINCE EDWARD, was at one stage considered to be a "Ripper Suspect". Although time has allowed hindsight, and numerous suspects have been presented, many are too ridiculous to be considered a viable culprit. The prime suspects who are still to this day eligible for the title of "Jack the Ripper" are as follows.......................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Francis Thompson 1894
The book "Jack the Ripper" reveals the British Poet Francis Thompson to be the culprit responsible for the terrible murders in 1888 of at least five women prostitutes in London's East End. Visit the web site to read/buy the book.
Illustrated and of 18,500 words Jack the Ripper explains Thompson's violent childhood his doomed medical school training and his downward drug induced spiral into vagrancy. Describing Thompson's secret affair with a prostitute and its tragic ending bringing him to a frenzied delirium Jack the Ripper records the events of the murders and its sinister parallels to Thompson. Who was the Ripper?. What was his motive?. How did he get away with murder? Patterson's book Jack the Ripper answers all these questions and for the first time gives readers an insight into the diabolical mind of the world's first and most feared serial killer. Jack the Ripper examines Thompson's morbid verse and entwines Thompson's life with the destiny of leading writers including Robert Browning, Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw, and D.H Lawrence.
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JOHN PIZER
John Pizer was a shoemaker, a Jew who just happened to fulfil the public's view of the Murderer's profile, that being of a butcher, slaughterman or craftsman - a man with access to 5 inch blades and in possession of a leather apron. Pizer not only had a stabbing convictions against him, but also displayed a well known dislike for prostitutes. He unfortunately fitted a dubious description which had been circulated; that of a short man with a dark beard and moustache and a foreign accent. Furthermore the press portrayed Pizer as having a "cruel sardonic look". However,Pizer's solid alibi ended with a compensation payment to him from the libel courts and the frustrated Police Force left once again to chase the shadows. After the death of Annie Chapman and a subsequent inquest, the findings in the pathologists report threw further light onto what was already becoming a very dark and grisly inquiry. The Coroner suggested that the murderer probably had an anatomical knowledge of dissection - this information heightened suspicions against members of the esteemed medical profession, an accusation angrily refuted by eminent surgeons to such an extreme that the Police dropped this line of enquiry. However, 3 major suspects have since been disclosed based upon this assumption............
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THOMAS NEIL CREAM, am American doctor
THOMAS CREAM had also ben arrested in connection with the poisoning of prostitutes and habitually writing to the Police giving false names and false accusations of a number of crimes. Cream was hanged by the neck for the murder of the Lambeth prostitutes in 1892. His departing words were......" I am jack the Ri...." as the rope snapped taut and broke his neck. Suspicions of Cream were raised following revelations that an American had been making enquiries as to the availability of certain organs at medical schools in and around the Whitechapel district. Coupled with this, the letter received by the Police prior to the double killings of Liz Stride and Kate Eddowes notably contained many "Americanisms".Unfortunately however, Cream was actually incarcerated at the time of the last Murders.
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MICHAEL OSTROGG, a Russian doctor
Michael Ostrogg has came under scrutiny by the London Police and his whereabouts at the time of the Whitechapel Murders could never be satisfactorily accounted for. Ostrogg was a slippery confidence trickster who went by the numerous aliases, including that of a Dr. Grant, and also as a former surgeon in the Russian Navy. He spent much of his time in Police custody for various fraudulent and thieving offences. Clearly a compulsive rouge, Ostrogg became a high profile suspect when it was stated in the "Police Gazette" around the time of the Murders that "special attention is called to this dangerous man", after failing to report to the Police on charges of suspicion.
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ALEXANDER PEDACHENKO, another Russian Doctor
Another Russian Doctor, ALEXANDER PEDACHENKO was tenuously linked at this time to the murders and it was suggested that "Ostrogg" was one of the many aliases used by Pedachenko. He was considered a Russian lunatic, with distinct criminal tendencies, who had trained as a barbers surgeon and he had since joined the staff of the Maternity Hospital. The Russian Secret Police Gazette, OCHRANA, described Pedachenko as "the greatest and boldest of all Russian criminal lunatics" at at time when Pedachenko was allegedly living with his sister in Walworth. Ochrana cited Pedachenko with the Ripper murders in an attempt to discredit and embarrass the Metropolitan Police. This act of propaganda appeared to have succeeded when Sir Charles Warren resigned from the Police Force. Pedachenko was subsequently smuggled back to Moscow by Ochrana, where he was promptly sent to a lunatic asylum for the murder of a woman in St Petersburg. Pedachenko died in the asylum leaving a series of aliases in his wake, but all with slim connections to the Whitechapel murders. It seems he was merely a suspect of convenience for a short time.
The 3 Doctors theories are questionable especially with regard to the first "Jack The Ripper" letter which states in the footnote "Ha,Ha, they say I am a Doctors now!" Probably the most "romantic" suspects have been "PRINCE EDDIE", the Queen's Grandson, and SIR WILLIAM GULL, the Royal Physician. Suspicions were heightened for both the suspects following the night of the double murders in Whitechapel. SIR CHARLES WARREN had ordered the removal of the writing from the wall before Police photographers could record it, which led to many theorists believing that there was a "cover up" by the authorities to protect someone of great importance. This, coupled with Queen Victoria's heightened interest in the case led to the inevitable accusations. "Jack The Ripper" was fast becoming the most celebrated mystery worldwide, and for Royalty to have been involved made for the most sensational storyline for the newspapers.
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PRINCE ALBERT VICTOR - THE DUKE OF CLARENCE
Prince Albert was believed to have made twilight trips to the East End to undulge in homosexual practices in a brothel in Cleveland Street. He had supposedly learned disembowelling techniques on deer hunting excursions and was alleged to have had "syphilis of the brain" thus making him mad enough to commit the Murders. The late crime theorist Stephen Knight claimed that "Prince Eddie" secretly and illegally married Annie Crook, a Catholic girl. Subsequently, to avoid a Royal scandal, the authorities had Annie locked away in a lunatic asylum. She was supposedly pregnant at the time. The key victim to link Royalty with the murders was Mary Kelly, who was evidently nursemaid to the prince and his wife at around this time. She had proposed to blackmail the government by making her story public knowledge. It was then that the Royal Physician, WILLIAM GULL, allegedly became involved and in an attempt to silence the scandal picked up all possible prostitutes whom Mary Kelly may have informed. He was to pick the women up in the Royal carriage, slaughter them inside the carriage, and then dispose of the body, hence explaining the lack of noise and blood at the scene of the murders. The Royal theories are based largely on conjecture and have only come to light in recent years.
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AARON KOSMINSKI - a Jew
The "JUWES" writing however led to another Jewish suspect. Warren had ordered the removal of the writing so as to avoid an uprising from the already agitated immigrant population especially with the false arrest of Pizer still fresh in the mind.
Despite this, a Polish Jew AARON KOSMINSKI, a hairdresser and resident of Whitechapel since 1882, came to the fore. A man with an extreme hatred of women, especially prostitutes, he was clearly the most insane of all the suspects. Kosminski was described as having strong homicidal tendencies and a history of related crimes. Following the night of the double killings, a letter was received by George Lusk, leader of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee, stating that the writer had fried and eaten half a kidney, removed from the body of Kate Eddowes. Clearly this man was deranged. The uneaten half of the kidney accompanied the letter in a box. The organ was found to be human and belonged to a woman in her forties suffering from Brights disease - as did Catherine Eddowes. However, the style of writing did not in any way resemble the first "Jack The Ripper" letter received by the police, and was concluded to be the crazed writings of a lunatic. Kosminski was therefore high profile. It was never proven that Kosminski was the perpetrator of these ghastly crimes but he was removed from society in 1890, and placed in the Mile End Infirmary for the insane. Following spells in Colney Hatch and Leaversden Asylums, Kosminski degenerated to the point where he was unable to answer simple questions. He died in 1919 of gangrene of the leg and was medically described as "demented and incoherent".
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MONTAGUE JOHN DRUITT
Montague John Druitt was a "gentleman", a successful college debater, keen cricketer and of "good family". It wasn't until 1959 that Druitt, a schoolmaster, was pronounced a probable suspect. Sir Melville Macnaghten's case notes described Druitt as "sexually insane" and it was mooted that even "his own family suspected him of being the Whitechapel Murderer". Druitt's personal circumstances link him with the killings too. He had studied medicine for a time before switching profession to become a barrister and was a very educated man. Any barrister would appreciate the need for a suspect to be well away from the scene of the crime if his case were to be defended with success. Druitt was found playing cricket as far away as Dorset in South West England after the murders of Mary Nichols and Annie Chapman, although his whereabouts in the actual nights of the murders remain unresolved. The primary reason for Druitt becoming a high profile suspect was that he feared he was going insane like his mother before him, In a suicide note Druitt wrote "Since Friday I felt I was going to be like Mother and the best thing for me was to die". The note was discovered on his person on 31st December 1888. He had drowned in the River Thames, his pockets full of stones. Druitt was seen alive on 3rd December, 1888, almost one month after the last Murder and 2 days after his dismissal from his teaching job in Blackheath. Druitt's death remains a mystery, as does his alleged connection with the Ripper Case. It is true , however, that the Police closed the Ripper file following Druitt's suicide. The dreadful killings perpetrated by "Jack The Ripper" were never repeated beyond Druitt's death. Was this coincidence or conjecture?
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