Unsolved Mysteries – Who Was Jack the Ripper?

By starrymag | August 5, 2024

By: Sammi Turano

 

 

The episode opens with people talking about the history of Jack the Ripper and how he became a pop culture phenomenon even though he was a notorious serial killer. There are books, movies and shows based on his life and even a museum that focuses on his life.

His story is unique and ever-evolving, with nobody ever solving the case.

August 31, 1988. Whitechapel District—two miles from Central London. A woman is found murdered and disemboweled with her throat and body cut in a gruesome and disturbing way.

The woman is later identified as Mary Ann ‘Polly’ Nichols. She was 43 years old at the time of her murder and had not been in town for long. She was living on her own, working as a prostitute and an alcoholic.

She was last seen just after 2am the night of her murder and was killed before she had the chance to defend herself. She was found at 3:45 am that same morning.

It was common for women in that area, including Polly, to live in a lodging house or doss-house. They would often struggle for money and resort to prostitution to make ends meet. They knew places to go to remain unseen, which often led to them being murdered.

On September 6^th, another woman named Annie Chapman was also murdered in the same fashion as Polly, this time with her womb removed. She also resorted to selling trinkets and prostitution to make ends meet.

She left her house around 1:45 am and was last seen at 5:30am that same morning with a man now believed to be Jack the Ripper.

She was taken to the #29 entrance, which led to a backyard, where her body would later be found. Another man claimed he heard a woman yelling NO and a thud during that time. At 6am, her body was found mutilated with her trinkets around her feet.

At this point, authorities think that the murder was done by the same person. A leather apron at the scene of Annie’s murder makes them wonder if it was left by the murderer, but it was soon discovered that it would have nothing to do with the killings.

People wondered who could do this and began running scared.

Police began to look into the murders and tried to keep it away from the press. However, they got wind of it and began reporting on it.

On September 27^th, the Central News Agency got a confession letter signed by  Jack the Ripper. They run with the story, but cops think it is a hoax to bring more attention to the case.

There was no solid suspect as to who Jack the Ripper was.

When the letter was published, more fake letters appeared, overstretching the detectives working on the case.

On September 30^th, two more murders took place in a Double Event Night. The first victim was Elizabeth Stride, who was found with a scarf around her neck and her throat cut. It is believed that Jack the Ripper got distracted when killing her and ran away before he could finish the job. She worked as a cleaning lady and also as a prostitute.

Catherine Eddowes was the second killer found that night. She was an orphan that also worked as a prostitute. The night of her murder, she was found less than an hour after Elizabeth’s murder. She was the most mutilated out of all the victims and had her left kidney, her uterus and part of her apron missing. The watchman on duty claimed that he never saw anything.

The apron was found in a doorway, but it was unclear if the blood belonged to her or the killer.

Two weeks later, on October 16^th, a man named George Lusk received a package with a letter and part of Catherine’s kidney. The letter said that it was preserved by him and he ate the other half. However, nothing was ever proven as to whether or not this was the actual kidney, nor was it known if the letter was from Jack the Ripper or if it was another hoax.

Police began to search for Jack the Ripper and for clues to hie whereabouts, but came up empty. There were only vague clues about his appearance, so nobody has any idea as to what they were looking for.

There were no more murders until November 8^th, when Mary Jane Kelly was killed. She worked as a ‘lady of the night.’ A man named Thomas Bowyer went to collect rent from her that night…only to discover her mutilated corpse with several body parts missing. It was also believed that she was asleep at the time of her murder.

Dr. Thomas Bond and Sir Robert Anderson looked into the murders and began to look for similarities and calling cards that could have been left by the killer. They came up with theories of who he could have been—a midwife, a butcher or a deranged doctor. They also researched the mental state of the name and what he could have looked like. In short, there were several theories, but very little to go on at the time.

The image of Jack the Ripper was that he had a black bag and a top hat, based on someone who was spotted the night of Elizabeth’s murder. This theory also helped set the looks for villains used in silent films.

The murders soon stopped, leaving people wondering why and if he skipped town. There were theories that he went into an asylum or that he was a sailor that left town after his work was done.

There were many suspects at the time, including Montague John Druitt, a barrister and teacher from South London. He was found on December 31^st and it was believed that he died by suicide, His brother said he was mentally unstable at the time, but there was no evidence that he was in the area at the time of murders.

Dr. Francis Tumblety was another suspect that was actually arrested for the murders prior to Mary Kelly’s. He skipped bail and went to America, where he talked about the murders, claiming that he was simply fascinated by what happened so he investigated the area. Despite the arrest, there was no evidence that he was the killer.

Another man named Aaron Kominski was also suspected of the murders. He was put into an asylum and was from the area. He was put in the asylum around 1891, three years after the murders. Police claimed a man named Kominski was involved, but it is unclear if he is the correct one they suspected.

There is also another theory that Prince Albert had a baby with a prostitute. The baby’s nanny was Mary Jane and was friends with the other ladies and they all knew about the secret baby. Therefore, they were killed by a doctor named William Gull. This has since been debunked.

One of the files from the case has disappeared, as did other pieces of evidence. Only a few have ever been found.

The case remains unsolved to this day.