Ripperology 101

HOW DID JACK THE RIPPER OPERATE?

2010-08-07T17:39:00.000-07:00

     The speed and accuracy of the Ripper's work indicates that he knew exactly what he was doing. Once he'd engaged a prostitute and got her to a secluded area, he strangled her until she was unconcious or dead. Then, he lowered her to the ground, turning her head to the left. The victms showed no signs of bruising at the back of the head, so it would seem that he did lower them to the ground rather than just throwing them down. Once the victim was lying on the ground, from her right side he would cut her throat, moving left to right. If the victim had been standing, her blood would probably have pooled to the front. However, it pooled beside and under the neck, indicating that the victim was indeed lying down.
     Once the victim was dead, he would continue the rest of his work. He would push her legs up and begin cutting open the abdomen and throwing the intestines and other entrails over one of her shoulders to get them out of his way. He would remove one organ--in one case, a kidney or more generally a piece of the viscera. He would mutilate the face, in addition to the dissection. There were never any signs of intercourse or masturbation reported at any of the murder sites.
     The fact that he worked so quickly in the darkness, while keeping an eye out for passersby indicated to investigators that he may have had some sort of anatomical knowledge or, at the very least, experience in using a knife; he was able to remove organs perfectly without damaging surrounding organs. For this reason, it has long been suggested that JtR may have been a doctor or a surgeon, though this may not have neccesarily have been the case.
     Whatever the case, JtR certainly did know what he was doing--not the least of all was how not to get caught.

HOW MANY VICTIMS DID JACK THE RIPPER CLAIM?

2010-05-22T20:46:00.000-07:00

       One question that has been debated by Ripperologists for years is the exact number of victims killed by the Ripper. Phillip Sudgen wrote in his The Complete History of Jack the Ripper, "at least four, probably six, just possibly eight." The fact is that there is not definative answer to this question; there is too much disagreement among Ripperologists.

     There are, however, five victims that are generally agreed upon; these are known as "the Canonical Five". The Canonical Five consist of: Mary Ann Nichols (August 31, 1888), Annie Chapman (September 8, 1888), Elizabeth Stride (September 30, 1888), Catherine Eddowes (September 30, 1888) and Mary Jane Kelly (November 9, 1888).

     Debate among experts still occurs, today, about the actual number of Ripper victims. The website, Casebook: Jack the Ripper, displays up to nineteen possible victims. The reason for this confusion is that no one is really certain of exactly when Jack the Ripper (or JtR) actually began his killing spree. Some believe that it may have begun with the murder of a prostitute named "Fairy Fay" On December 26, 1887. In his book The Complete History of Jack the Ripper, Phillip Sudgen shoots this down with the claim that Fairy Fay did not exist and that this story derived out of confusion over a later murder.

     Some students of Ripperology contend that a prostitute named Martha Tabram, murdered on August 7, 1888 was, in fact, the first victim. Some eliminate Elizabeth Stride as a victim, because her wounds were not as extensive as the other victims. Others believe that Stride was a victim and that the Ripper was interupted and could not fully carry out his work, so he also murdered Catherine Eddowes, that same night. There are even some who count Stride and Eddowes as one murder.

     Of the aforementioned, Tabram and Kelly were the only victims killed indoors. The appearance and ages of the victims are varied, so this leave nothing to go on--there is no apparent pattern, except that all the victims were prostitutes.

     In the end, the Canonical Five is the most widely accepted victim count, though Tabram ought to be included and should, certainly, not be ruled out as a victim. This would render Phillip Sudgen's statement "probably six" statement accurate.

     The greatest difficult in pinpointing the actual number of victims is that the identity of the Ripper remains unknown. Some Ripper suspects migrated to or from America or elsewhere for either a short time or permanently. Some suspects were foreigners were visiting in England and eventually returned to their country of origin. Knowledge of the Ripper's identity would make it easier to track down his activities and learn of other possible victims. The fact is that we may never have an answer to these questions.

WHO WAS JACK THE RIPPER?

2009-09-24T20:29:00.000-07:00

     The name, Jack the Ripper, commands an aura of mystery, even over a century after he was at large. One of the most notorious of serial killers in all of history, Jack the Ripper murdered, disemboweled and dissected prostitutes in London's East End Slums, known as Whitechapel in late 1888; he was never caught.
     So, who was this serial killer, known as Jack the Ripper? Volumes have been written about this famous murderer; the authors of many of these books claim to have solved this mystery, that is now over a century old, and that they have reached the "final solution" and that the case is "closed". However, each so-called solution always leaves one or more inexplicable points unresolved. These are pulled apart by the theory's critics, easily. The fact remains that no satisfactory solution has ever been reached to this mystery; the suspect list continues to grow, even today. These suspects range from the very reasonable to the very ludicrous.
     The aim of this blog will be to examine the Jack the Ripper (or JtR, as most Ripperologists call him) mystery, in all aspects. Suspects, victims, the detectives, books written on the topic, alleged final solutions and all other relevant information will be explored here.
     The satisfactory conclusion to the Jack the Ripper mystery may never be reach, the final solution elusive. The answer may continue to tease and torment Ripperologists for centuries to come. Perhaps someday, someone may solve this confounding mystery. In the meantime, Ripperologists everywhere continue to search.