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Jack The Ripper Research Paper

Decent Essays

Who was Jack the Ripper?

Most people have heard the name Jack the Ripper sometime in their life. After all, Jack the

Ripper is the most written about serial killer ever, making him the most popular. Not only has

he been the subject of books, movies, television reenactments, and even an opera, but his name is

commonly used by tabloid journalists as convenient shorthand to describe a depraved serial killer

(Epstein 139). I also believe most people know the name, but not so much the story and the

theories behind the name. I have collected facts and my own theories in researching this most

read about serial killer. In 1888, gruesome murders appeared from August 7 to November 9 in

London’s east end, the Whitechapel District. …show more content…

He is known to have killed five prostitutes in an unusual way. The first

murder, of Mary Ann Nichols, took place on August 31. Two Cartman found her lying on the

ground and then alerted a policeman (Douglas 28-29). Mary Ann Nichols had been inspected and

had cuts running across her abdomen and large vessels of the neck severed. On the 8th of September,

another victim has been found by John Davis, lying near a doorway in a back yard. Annie

Chapman had been horrifically mangled and had a handkerchief around her neck. On September

30th, Jack the Ripper murdered two more victims, Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes. Both

murders were discovered less than hour apart from each other. The last believed homicide took

place on November 9th where Mary Jane Kelly was found brutally mutilated on a bed.

After all the murders, Jack the Ripper is still unidentified and thought to have never killed again after that point. In medical examination, the subject killed victims swiftly, he was able to

maintain control of victims during the attack. He removed body organs from some of the victims

and the last victim was killed indoors and was the most dismembered (Douglas 115). …show more content…

Also, Because of the way he murdered, he was believed to have a

knowledge of human anatomy. “The theories that attempt to tie famous names to the case in

more recent books proceed to be no more than speculation based on what may have been

possible” (Epstein 142).

Investigators have been trying to solve this case for more than 120 years. In 2014, Russell

Edwards claimed he proved the identity of Jack the Ripper by DNA results from a shawl

belonging to one of the victims. Reports have yet to be verified, but Edwards asserts they point

to a polish immigrant named Aaron Kosminski (Biography.com Editors). No one is really sure if

Jack the Ripper acted alone or not, which remains a big question today. The case will probably

take much longer until solved, or it probably will never be.

In conclusion, Jack the Ripper terrorized the Whitechapel District by murdering

prostitutes in a frightening manner. He is known as one of the most infamous serial killers, still

to this day Jack the Ripper has never been unmasked. In my opinion, Jack the Ripper seemed

very mysterious and interesting. He also seemed to know what he was doing because of the

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