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.
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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).
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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
The worst thing about Jack the Ripper is the way that he murdered his victims. It was not just a quick stab or a bullet, but sheer violence. He ripped them to pieces. Most of his victims weren’t recognizable after he was done with them. That is how he got his name, Jack the Ripper.
Jack the Ripper terrorized the streets of London of unknown reasons. With his ability to disappear he was impossible to track, therefore making him one of the most interesting and clever criminals known to man. In 1888, five prostitutes were brutally murdered within a tiny area of the East End of London. The killings rapidly occurred over an 11- week period but they have both haunted and fascinated people for over a hundred years. (Jakubowski 16)
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.
Despite the fact that no-one was ever brought to justice or charged with the murders, there have been more than a hundred named suspects who may or may not have been Jack the Ripper. Aaron Kosminski, Thomas Cutbush and Montague Druitt are some of the interesting suspects, whereas Prince Albert Edward Victor, the Freemasons, and Lewis Carroll are some of the ridiculous
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
The police were unable to catch Jack the Ripper for many reasons however one important factor was the mistakes of the police force. At the time of the Ripper case many people seemed to not come forward with information if they had any due to police mistakes such as lack of reward. The police committed various mistakes such as dressing as prostitutes due to the fact that the Ripper had studied his victims, which gave the police no luck in catching the killer. The police however did many foolish mistakes as one would call by believing false stories from the public and press which contributed to letting Jack the Ripper escape. The police did many other mistakes in addition to a lack of rewards and listen to the public as well as dress as prostitutes, they also Didn’t assign much police officers in the area of
I chose to do a book report about Jack the Ripper because he is the best-known name for a
The second victim was an 8-year old Karen Ann Hill and her body was found underneath a bridge. Her body showed signs of sexual abuse and she was also suffocated by grass being stuffed in her mouth and nose. Shawcross came under suspicion when there were witness reports about seeing Hill and Shawcross sitting together, eating ice cream on the same bridge she was found under, dead.
Other people that were believed to be Jack the Rippers like Seweryn Klosowski, Prince Albert Victor Christian Edward, the Duke of Clarence and many others. These people were all believed to be Jack the Ripper, but we either killed or not tried because of lack of evidence, or they did not have the same rage that Jack the rippers was believed to have. In today’s day in age Jack the ripper could have been caught. But because the lack of materials and police training in the 1800s jack the rippers got
Jack the Ripper killed his five women canonical. Since we only have five confirmed kills, he isn’t as big a murderer like others on this list. Why the jack the Ripper case differs from regular murders? Unlike other killers who got their names from newspapers or neighborhood, he named himself with a letter. While most criminals are forgotten in a couple years, Jack is as popular as he was back then.
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.
According to Troy Taylor “Smith was attacked and raped on April 3, 1888.” “Smith was attacked and raped on Osbourne Street in Whitechapel on April 3, 1888. During the assault, her attackers beat and raped her, then violently inserted a blunt object into her vagina, causing an injury which would take her life the following day. After the assault, the men emptied her purse and fled – leaving her to die on the street.” (Taylor). This tells us the victim’s name and when she got killed and how it happened. According to Paul Woods “Friday the 9th is when Mary died’ who was another victim of Jack the Ripper. “On Friday 9 November, prostitute Mary Jane Kelly was murdered in the single room where she lived at 13 Miller's Court, behind 26 Dorset Street, Spitalfields.[85] One of the earlier victims, Chapman, had lived in Dorset Street, and another, Eddowes, was reported to have slept rough there.[86] Kelly's severely mutilated body was discovered shortly after 10:45 am lying on the bed.”(Woods). This
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