Jack the Ripper

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Jack the Ripper

• Famous Serial Killers
• Dr. Kelley Kline
• FSU-PC

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Who was Jack the Ripper?

• Jack the Ripper" is the popular name given to a
  serial killer who murdered several prostitutes in
  the East End of London in 1888.
• The name came from a letter written and published
  in the local paper by an individual claiming to
  be the killer.
• The killings took place within a mile area and
  involved the districts of Whitechapel,
  Spitalfields, Aldgate, and the City of London.
  He was also called the Whitechapel Murderer and
  "Leather Apron."

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Why is Jack-the-Ripper so infamous?

• Although not the first serial killer in history,
  the Rippers crimes are legendary for several
  reasons
• 1. The Ripper was the first serial killer in a
  major city with an educated populace. Hence, his
  crimes were well documented by the police and the
  press.
• 2. The Ripper appeared during a time of political
  turmoil.
• 3. The Ripper terrified a city by leaving his
  grossly mutilated victims in plain sight.
• 4. Finally, the Ripper was never caught adding
  to the mystery.

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Who were Jack-the-Rippers Victims?

• It is generally agreed that the Ripper killed 5
  women, but many believe the true to be closer
  to 9.
• 1. Mary Ann (Polly) Nichols, murdered Friday,
  August 31, 1888.
• 2. Annie Chapman, murdered Saturday, September
  8, 1888.
• 3. Elizabeth Stride, murdered Sunday, September
  30, 1888.
• 4. Catharine Eddowes, also murdered that same
  date.
• 5. Mary Jane Kelly, murdered Friday, November 9,
  1888.
• All 5 victims were prostitutes killed
  between August November 1888. It was thought
  each of the victims was drunk at the time of
  their murders.

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How did the Ripper murder his victims?

• He strangled them until they died or were
  unconscious. Autopsies of the victims support
  this cause of death.
• The Ripper then lowered his victims to the
  ground, their heads to his left.
• The victims throats were cut on the ground as
  evidenced by the blood splatter patterns (pooled
  beside neck head, rather than in front if body
  if victim had been standing).
• Ripper cut the victims throats from left to
  right, suggesting he was right handed could
  flee the scene blood free (blood flow would be
  in direction opposite the killer).

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Rippers Modus Operandi (contd.)

• The Ripper mutilated his victims in numerous
  ways following the throat slashing (cutting out
  their internal organs, cutting their genitalia,
  face, extremities, etc.).
• There was NO forensic evidence of rape or
  masturbation (lack of semen fluid/stains no
  physical evidence of forced vaginal/anal
  penetration). Note they didnt have DNA tests
  in 1888 so there still could have been sexual
  activity that was undetected.
• The Ripper took usually took a piece of the
  victims viscera (gut lining) as a memento of the
  murder.
• It should be noted that the killer had
  extensive knowledge of human anatomy may have
  been a surgeon or butcher.

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Polly Nichols- Victim 1

• Charles Cross found the body of Polly Nichols at
  4 AM on August 31. He saw the body lying on the
  ground near the entrance to a stable yard. On
  closer inspection, Cross saw it was a female
  lying on her back, with her skirts lifted up to
  her waist.
• Another person on the street noticed the body
  as well both men tried to help the woman not
  realizing she was dead. They covered her bottom
  torso went looking for police.
• Constable John Neil was the first on the
  scene. He noticed the victims throat had been
  slashed from ear-to-ear sent for an ambulance.
  The neighborhood was then canvassed for any
  potential eye-witnesses (none were found).

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The Murder of Polly Nichols

• The victims throat was slashed twice with such
  force that the knife cut through the esophagus
  windpipe.
• There was very little blood on the ground,
  suggesting strangulation prior to throat
  slashing.
• Abdominal mutilations were present. There was a
  long long jagged knife wound over the abdomen
  with several cuts running downward.
• No witnesses were found for the murder.

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Annie Chapman-Victim 2

• The victims body was found at 6 AM an John
  Davis, an elderly carman. Her skirts had been
  raised up to her pelvis. He sought help and
  returned with others.
• No witnesses---Despite bustling area at 530 in
  area where body was found, no one in neighborhood
  heart any suspicious activity or disturbances.
  No one was seen with bloody clothing fleeing the
  scene either.

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The Murder of Annie Chapman

• The victim was found with her left arm lying
  across her left breast, with her legs drawn up,
  feet resting on ground, knees turned outward.
• Jagged deep incision on throat cut from left to
  right. Cut nearly severed her head from her neck
• Small intestines were attached, but lying on
  ground on right side of body.
• Part of stomach had been severed and placed
  above left shoulder.
• The uterus, ovaries, upper portion of vagina,
  posterior 2/3rds of bladder had been cleanly
  removed from the body and taken by the killer.

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Mary Kelly-Victim 5

• The victim was found on November 9th in the
  morning, when Thomas Bowyer was sent to collect
  rent money. Inside Marys flat was her dead,
  butchered body.

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The Murder of Mary Kelly

• Marys murder was the most horrifying of all the
  murders.
• The victims throat was slashed with such force
  that the knife cut all the way down to the spinal
  column.
• Body was on incline to left side of bed, naked,
  badly mutilated.
• The breasts were cut off several long jagged
  wounds were on arms.
• Victims face was gashed in multiple directions
  (nose, cheeks, eyebrows, ears were partly
  removed). Lips were cut in several incisions.

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The Murder of Mary Kelly

• The uterus, kidney, 1 breast were found under
  the head. The liver was laid between the feet.
• The intestines were located outside of the body
  on the right side, while the spleen was found
  outside of the body on the left side.
• Skin tissue of abdomen thighs were on table
  near body.
• The Heart had been severed from the body taken
  by the killer!!!

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The Ripper Letters

• It is now generally agreed by experts on this
  case, that none of the letters thought to have
  been written by the Ripper were in fact actually
  written by him.
• A letter dated September 25 received on the
  twenty-seventh by the Central News agency was the
  first to be signed "Jack the Ripper".
• A postcard post marked October 1st followed.
  Since it referred to a "double event" the police
  thought it might be from the killer since it was
  posted the day after the Ripper killed two women.
  

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Letters contd.

• The post card also referred to the letter must
  have come from the same source as the letter had
  not been released to the public yet.
• If the post card had been sent on September 30,
  the day of the "double event", instead of October
  1, the likelihood that it was really written by
  the murderer would be significantly greater.
• The police were convinced the letters were the
  work of a journalist.

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Letters (contd.)

• One other letter was sent by the suspected
  killer. In mid-October, a small package was sent
  to the authorities.
• Inside this parcel was half of a human kidney
  that the killer claimed he had removed from the
  4th victim, Catharine Eddowes. Eddowes suffered
  from a disease that would deform the kidneys, and
  the kidney looked deformed (consistent with her
  diagnosis).
• However, because DNA wasnt available, there is
  no way to know for sure, if it was her kidney.
• In addition, even if it was Eddowess kidney,
  that wouldnt prove Jack the Ripper himself, sent
  the parcel kidney.
• to know for sure if the Ripper really did send
  it. Most of the arguments in favor of it being
  from Jack have been based on inaccurate
  information and the myths rather than the facts
  surrounding the case. However, Eddowes did suffer
  from Bright's disease and the description of the
  kidney does match what a Bright's disease kidney
  would look like.

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Suspects

• Suspect-1 M.J. Druitta barrister turned
  teacher committed suicide in December 1888. It
  was argued by the Chief Constable, Sir Melville
  Macnaghten, that Druitt was the main suspect in
  the murders. He argued that Druitt was a
  41-year-old doctor who committed suicide
  immediatley after Mary Kellys murder and was the
  most likely to kill the women. However, his
  theory was not supported by others and he was
  wrong about some of the details.
• Druitt was actually a 31 year-old man who killed
  himself a month after the Kelly murder. He was
  not a doctor. As of today, most researchers do
  not believe he committed the murders.
• Suspect-2 Severin Klosowski (aka George
  Chapman), a multiple wife poisoner, was thought
  to be the Ripper. However, there was little
  support for this theory from other officers.
  Modern profiling rejects Klosowski as the
  murderer.

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Why do the Ripper cases remain unsolved?

• 1. Its always hard to catch a serial killer. In
  the 1880s with primitive technology no real
  forensic science, even the basics of criminology
  (finger printing, blood typing, DNA) are
  unavailable to the investigators.
• 2. The Ripper attacked at times when the streets
  were largely deserted chose victims who were
  usually drunk defenseless.
• 3. The Ripper attacked swiftly leaving little
  time for him to be caught he didnt get much of
  the victims blood on him, thereby making him
  hard to detect.

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• The Future
• In the past ten years more evidence has been
  recovered, new information garnered through the
  young criminal sciences, and serious research
  conducted on the mystery of Jack the Ripper than
  at any other time since the case was officially
  closed in 1892. After more than a hundred years
  the case is still fascinating, and results are
  still being gotten through research. Nick Warren,
  a student of the crimes and a practicing surgeon,
  studied the second Kelly crime scene photograph
  that was recently recovered, and was able to
  establish that a hatchet was used by the Ripper
  to split one of his victim's legs! The likelihood
  of the case ever being solved is open to debate.
  If the police solved it but for some reason kept
  the Ripper's identity a secret, then I think that
  the odds are good that the answer will be
  rediscovered. Unfortunately, I and I think most
  serious students on the subject, do not think
  that the police did solve the case. Individual
  officers had strong opinions on who Jack the
  Ripper was, but not the Forces as a whole. This
  makes the challenge much more difficult as
  today's researchers must find new evidence rather
  than unearth that which has been lost. The
  evidence lost is considerable. Virtually all of
  the City of London Police files were lost in the
  Blitz during the last world war. What remains of
  the Metropolitan Police files are available to
  the public but the files are sparse. Some have
  claimed that the files were purposefully
  destroyed to keep the Murderer's identity a
  secret. The truth is more pedestrian and
  unromantic. Almost from the beginning items were
  removed for souvenirs. Often in those olden days
  when they ran out of room, the clerks would go to
  the end of the shelve and simply dump out the old
  files by the armful. When Abberline was
  interviewed in 1903, the journalist noted that
  the retired Scotland yard Inspector was
  surrounded by official files. Once, upon the
  death of a retired officer, a trunk full of files
  concerning his old cases was found in his
  possession. Modern day "Ripperologists" were not
  above souvenir hunting themselves. A number of
  documents were taken in the late 1970s/early
  1980s and as a result the remaining material was
  put on microfilm. It seems perfectly possible
  that Jack the Ripper's identity may one day be
  discovered it may be one of the serious suspects
  mentioned in this report, or one that the police
  dismissed too cavalierly all those years ago, or
  it may be someone completely unknown at this
  time. The future may or may not reveal the
  Ripper's name.