Transcript Jack the Ripper

Jack the Ripper
Famous Serial Killers
Dr. Kelley Kline
FSU-PC
Who was Jack the Ripper?
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“Jack the Ripper" is the popular name given to a serial
killer who murdered several prostitutes in the East End
of London in 1888.
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The name came from a letter written and published in
the local paper by an individual claiming to be the
killer.
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The killings took place within a mile area and involved
the districts of Whitechapel, Spitalfields, Aldgate, and
the City of London. He was also called the
Whitechapel Murderer and "Leather Apron."
Why is Jack-the-Ripper so infamous?
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Although not the first serial killer in history, the Ripper’s
crimes are legendary for several reasons:
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1. The Ripper was the first serial killer in a major city with
an educated populace. Hence, his crimes were well
documented by the police and the press.
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2. The Ripper appeared during a time of political turmoil.
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3. The Ripper terrified a city by leaving his grossly mutilated
victims in plain sight.
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4. Finally, the Ripper was never caught adding to the
mystery.
Who were Jack-the-Ripper’s Victims?
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It is generally agreed that the Ripper killed 5 women, but
many believe the true # to be closer to 9.
1. Mary Ann (Polly) Nichols, murdered Friday, August
31, 1888.
2. Annie Chapman, murdered Saturday, September 8,
1888.
3. Elizabeth Stride, murdered Sunday, September 30,
1888.
4. Catharine Eddowes, also murdered that same date.
5. Mary Jane Kelly, murdered Friday, November 9, 1888.
**All 5 victims were prostitutes killed between August &
November 1888. It was thought each of the victims was
drunk at the time of their murders.**
How did the Ripper murder his victims?
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He strangled them until they died or were unconscious.
Autopsies of the victims support this cause of death.
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The Ripper then lowered his victims to the ground, their
heads to his left.
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The victims’ throats were cut on the ground as evidenced
by the blood splatter patterns (pooled beside neck & head,
rather than in front if body if victim had been standing).
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Ripper cut the victims’ throats from left to right,
suggesting he was right handed & could flee the scene
blood free (blood flow would be in direction opposite the
killer).
Ripper’s Modus Operandi (contd.)
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The Ripper mutilated his victims’ in numerous ways following
the throat slashing (cutting out their internal organs, cutting their
genitalia, face, extremities, etc.).
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There was NO forensic evidence of rape or masturbation (lack
of semen fluid/stains; no physical evidence of forced vaginal/anal
penetration). Note: they didn’t have DNA tests in 1888 so there
still could have been sexual activity that was undetected.
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The Ripper took usually took a piece of the victim’s viscera (gut
lining) as a memento of the murder.
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**It should be noted that the killer had extensive knowledge of
human anatomy & may have been a surgeon or butcher.
Polly Nichols- Victim #1
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Charles Cross found the body of Polly Nichols at 4 AM
on August 31. He saw the body lying on the ground
near the entrance to a stable yard. On closer inspection,
Cross saw it was a female lying on her back, with her
skirts lifted up to her waist.
Another person on the street noticed the body as well
& both men tried to help the woman not realizing she
was dead. They covered her bottom torso & went
looking for police.
Constable John Neil was the first on the scene. He
noticed the victim’s throat had been slashed from ear-toear & sent for an ambulance. The neighborhood was
then canvassed for any potential eye-witnesses (none
were found).
The Murder of Polly Nichols
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The victim’s throat was slashed twice & with such
force that the knife cut through the esophagus &
windpipe.
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There was very little blood on the ground,
suggesting strangulation prior to throat slashing.
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Abdominal mutilations were present. There was a
long long jagged knife wound over the abdomen
with several cuts running downward.
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No witnesses were found for the murder.
Annie Chapman-Victim #2
 The victim’s body was found at 6 AM an
John Davis, an elderly carman. Her skirts
had been raised up to her pelvis. He sought
help and returned with others.
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No witnesses---Despite bustling area at
5:30 in area where body was found, no one
in neighborhood heart any suspicious
activity or disturbances. No one was seen
with bloody clothing fleeing the scene
either.
The Murder of Annie Chapman
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The victim was found with her left arm lying
across her left breast, with her legs drawn up, feet
resting on ground, knees turned outward.
• Jagged deep incision on throat cut from left to
right. Cut nearly severed her head from her neck
• Small intestines were attached, but lying on
ground on right side of body.
• Part of stomach had been severed and placed
above left shoulder.
•The uterus, ovaries, upper portion of vagina, &
posterior 2/3rds of bladder had been cleanly
removed from the body and taken by the killer.
Mary Kelly-Victim #5
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The victim was found on November 9th in
the morning, when Thomas Bowyer was
sent to collect rent money. Inside Mary’s
flat was her dead, butchered body.
The Murder of Mary Kelly
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Mary’s murder was the most horrifying of all the murders.
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•The victim’s throat was slashed with such force that the knife cut
all the way down to the spinal column.
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•Body was on incline to left side of bed, naked, & badly
mutilated.
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• The breasts were cut off & several long jagged wounds were on
arms.
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•Victim’s face was gashed in multiple directions (nose, cheeks,
eyebrows, & ears were partly removed). Lips were cut in several
incisions.
The Murder of Mary Kelly
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•The uterus, kidney, & 1 breast were found under the
head. The liver was laid between the feet.
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• The intestines were located outside of the body on the
right side, while the spleen was found outside of the
body on the left side.
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• Skin tissue of abdomen & thighs were on table near
body.
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The Heart had been severed from the body & taken
by the killer!!!
The Ripper Letters
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It is now generally agreed by experts on this case, that
none of the letters thought to have been written by the
Ripper were in fact actually written by him.
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A letter dated September 25 & received on the twentyseventh by the Central News agency was the first to be
signed "Jack the Ripper".
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A postcard post marked October 1st followed. Since it
referred to a "double event" the police thought it might
be from the killer since it was posted the day after the
Ripper killed two women.
Letters contd.
 The post card also referred to the letter & must
have come from the same source as the letter had
not been released to the public yet.
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If the post card had been sent on September 30,
the day of the "double event", instead of October
1, the likelihood that it was really written by the
murderer would be significantly greater.
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The police were convinced the letters were the
work of a journalist.
Letters (contd.)
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One other letter was sent by the suspected killer. In midOctober, a small package was sent to the authorities.
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Inside this parcel was half of a human kidney that the killer
claimed he had removed from the 4th victim, Catharine
Eddowes. Eddowes suffered from a disease that would
deform the kidneys, and the kidney looked deformed
(consistent with her diagnosis).
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However, because DNA wasn’t available, there is no way
to know for sure, if it was her kidney.
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In addition, even if it was Eddowes’s kidney, that wouldn’t
prove Jack the Ripper himself, sent the parcel & kidney.
Suspects
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Suspect-#1: M.J. Druitt—a barrister turned teacher committed
suicide in December 1888. It was argued by the Chief Constable, Sir
Melville Macnaghten, that Druitt was the main suspect in the murders.
He argued that Druitt was a 41-year-old doctor who committed suicide
immediatley after Mary Kelly’s murder and was the most likely to kill
the women. However, his theory was not supported by others and he
was wrong about some of the details.
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Druitt was actually a 31 year-old man who killed himself a month after
the Kelly murder. He was not a doctor. As of today, most researchers
do not believe he committed the murders.
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Suspect-#2: Severin Klosowski (aka George Chapman), a multiple
wife poisoner, was thought to be the Ripper. However, there was little
support for this theory from other officers. Modern profiling rejects
Klosowski as the murderer.
Why do the Ripper cases remain unsolved?
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1. Its always hard to catch a serial killer. In the 1880’s
with primitive technology & no real forensic science, even
the basics of criminology (finger printing, blood typing,
DNA) are unavailable to the investigators.
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2. The Ripper attacked at times when the streets were
largely deserted & chose victims who were usually drunk
& defenseless.
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3. The Ripper attacked swiftly leaving little time for him
to be caught & he didn’t get much of the victim’s blood on
him, thereby making him hard to detect.
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The Future
In the past ten years more evidence has been recovered, new information garnered through the young criminal sciences,
and serious research conducted on the mystery of Jack the Ripper than at any other time since the case was officially closed
in 1892. After more than a hundred years the case is still fascinating, and results are still being gotten through research.
Nick Warren, a student of the crimes and a practicing surgeon, studied the second Kelly crime scene photograph that was
recently recovered, and was able to establish that a hatchet was used by the Ripper to split one of his victim's legs! The
likelihood of the case ever being solved is open to debate. If the police solved it but for some reason kept the Ripper's
identity a secret, then I think that the odds are good that the answer will be rediscovered. Unfortunately, I and I think most
serious students on the subject, do not think that the police did solve the case. Individual officers had strong opinions on
who Jack the Ripper was, but not the Forces as a whole. This makes the challenge much more difficult as today's
researchers must find new evidence rather than unearth that which has been lost. The evidence lost is considerable.
Virtually all of the City of London Police files were lost in the Blitz during the last world war. What remains of the
Metropolitan Police files are available to the public but the files are sparse. Some have claimed that the files were
purposefully destroyed to keep the Murderer's identity a secret. The truth is more pedestrian and unromantic. Almost from
the beginning items were removed for souvenirs. Often in those olden days when they ran out of room, the clerks would go
to the end of the shelve and simply dump out the old files by the armful. When Abberline was interviewed in 1903, the
journalist noted that the retired Scotland yard Inspector was surrounded by official files. Once, upon the death of a retired
officer, a trunk full of files concerning his old cases was found in his possession. Modern day "Ripperologists" were not above
souvenir hunting themselves. A number of documents were taken in the late 1970s/early 1980s and as a result the
remaining material was put on microfilm. It seems perfectly possible that Jack the Ripper's identity may one day be
discovered; it may be one of the serious suspects mentioned in this report, or one that the police dismissed too cavalierly all
those years ago, or it may be someone completely unknown at this time. The future may or may not reveal the Ripper's
name.