Aaron Kosminski: Serial Killers

Human nature and conduct remains relatively constant through time and place, which is why serial killers can be seen throughout the centuries. During the 1400s, Gilles de Rais raped, often tortured, and killed hundreds of children. Victorian England saw the infamous Jack the Ripper, killer of at least five prostitutes. He instilled fear in the city of London as he stabbed and mutilated women and teased the press by sending threatening letters until his crimes suddenly stopped. Ted Bundy was a more modern killer, known for using his charm and good looks

Jack the Ripper was one of the most famous and renowned killers in history. Even though he was not the first serial killer, he was the first killer to strike on a metropolis setting. Jack the Ripper was in his prime at a time when the media had a strong control over society and society as a whole was becoming much more literate. Jack started his killing campaign at a time of political controversy between the liberals and social reformers along with the Irish Home rule partisans. The reports of Jack the Ripper were collected and reported by the police, but then the different newspapers with their political influences slightly distorted the stories to give them their own effect. It has been more the one hundred years since the last murder

Thesis Statement: A research paper of the mysterious and famous 19th century serial killer Jack the Ripper and how it is that the legend came to be.

A serial killer is traditional defined as the separate killings of three or more people by an individual over a certain period of time, usually with breaks between the murders. (Angela Pilson, p. 2, 2011) This definition has been accepted by both the police and academics and therefore provides a useful frame of reference (Kevin Haggerty, p.1, 2009). The paper will seek to provide the readers with an explanation of how serial killers came to be and how they are portrayed in the media.

Serial killers can be profiled in many ways, but they do not always fit perfectly into one category. Most of the definitions and techniques used to profile these criminals are based on reoccurring patterns and characteristics in their killings. While society may view most of these people as troubled, there are classifications of some serial killers as being well adapted into society. Serial Killers can be characterized as organized or disorganized murders, as well as classified into four different types created by Ronald and Stephen Holmes; serial killers are typed as visionary, mission-oriented, hedonistic, or power-oriented. Albert Fish is a well-known serial killer who is a good representation of how serial killers do not always fall or stay in one box.

If Jack the Ripper only had five victims, then he wasn’t a particularly prolific murderer compared to others that have come since then. The fact that his so called reign of terror lasted only twelve or so weeks means that he wasn’t at large for a particularly long time. There is little doubt that his is the worlds

According to Exodus 20:13 “you shall not murder,” however the world consists of countless people who disobey this command. Murderers are especially horrific if they are serial killers because it is awful enough to kill one person, but to murder repeatedly is sickening. It is extremely depressing to know that some murderers never get caught. One of the most infamous serial killers whose identity was never uncovered is Jack the ripper. Numerous people have different theories relating to who Jack the ripper was, but none have been proven. One main theory is that America’s first serial killer, H. H. Holmes was London’s Jack the ripper. To find evidence to prove the theory of whether or not H. H. Holmes was Jack the ripper; crucial evidence to look at are the similarities between the killers.

The Whitechapel Murders and those of Jack the Ripper are not generally one and the same. Over a period of three years towards the end of the nineteenth century a number of prostitutes were murdered under different circumstances – the murder of prostitutes was not an especially unique occurrence during those times but several of the murders drew particular attention on account of the savagery with which the victim's bodies were mutilated. Within the Whitechapel Murders was a cluster of murders that demonstrated sufficient similarities as to suggest that they were committed by the same person. One of the first instances of serial murder was thus identified and sensationalised in the media as the work of ‘Jack the Ripper', nicknamed on the

There were a number of reasons for why the infamous serial killer known as Jack the Ripper managed to escape with the killings which he did to prostitutes in Whitechapel. There was no single reason for why the Ripper managed to escape from the police however there was a number of reasons such as the nature of the Whitechapel, the Rippers methods, the role of the press, other stories which conflicted to theories of who the Ripper was, mistakes of the police force and the limitations of them.

The 2001 nonfiction, Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper-Case Closed, is a novel written by author Patricia Cornwell. This novel follows Cornwell on her journey of solving the 1888 London crimes by the mysterious and unknown serial murderer claiming the name of Jack the Ripper. This killer, as told in the novel, did not only murder women who were prostitutes, but it is also said that he murdered non-prostituted women and children. While much research and investigation by law enforcement had still not identified the enforcer of these crimes, Cornwell explains how she uses her own specialized team of top forensic scientists and FBI profilers to identify the serial killer as the famous artist Walter Richard Sickert. Cornwell first began to suspect Sickert after looking in a book containing his art. After noticing the works of Sickert’s painting of Ada Lundberg, who is supposed to be singing, Cornwell instead saw the singer “screaming while menacing men looked on.” The author’s analysis concluded there was “morbidity, violence, and a hatred of women” in Sickert’s paintings. Unlike the many Ripper novels that came before Cornwell’s, this novel is written less to explain the crimes committed by the Ripper while giving the facts and suspected identities. In truth, it is more as an indictment for who the author believes the real murder is and why. While Cornwell uses some physical evidence to pin Walter to the crimes of the Ripper, such as his DNA matching the DNA found on the

‘Jack the Ripper’, a serial killer of the 1880’s, is a classic, early example of Offender profiling,

Despite many Western countries having strong law systems and firm roots in Christianity, it might seem peculiar to think they also are obsessed with murder. From Nancy Drew to the TV shows Murder, She Wrote and How to Get Away With Murder, murder and crime investigation have become bestsellers in Western societies. There is just something intriguing about a good “whodunnit” crime, a good mystery that cannot be solved or explained, regardless of how many people and years have been spent speculating on it. In England, one of the most popular unexplained homicide cases is none other than the infamous 1888 murders of Jack the Ripper. While the killer was never found and convicted of the murders, several conspiracy theories have emerged over the years concerning Jack the Ripper’s identity and the motive behind the gruesome slayings.

To this day, Jack the Ripper is still infamously recognised as the brutal murderer of at least 5 victims. With such great attention by the media, he was able to cause a dramatic fright to the civilians and have his name voiced throughout Victorian England. Even today, many scholars are seduced by the prospect of uncovering identity of the man behind one of the most infamous whodunits in history.

Murders were not unusual in the “east end” of London. Some historians thinks, there were dozen murders and a few say only five.

Jack the Ripper was said to be the first serial killer in the modern sense. In the article “The Hunt for Jack the Ripper,” William D. Rubinstein’s main idea is to explain and examined some of the murder victims, and possible suspects for Jack the Ripper. Rubinstein goes into great detail to try and define who the ripper actually was, but this is still an unsolved mystery in history. Rubinstein’s main ideas are the different possibilities for Jack the Ripper; however there was one person in particular that people believed was the Ripper for over twenty years. Another main part of this article was discussing victims of Jack the