Jack the Ripper

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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)

There is no reason to believe that the victims were known to associate with each other and they varied by age. The neighborhood on the east side of London, known as White chapel, thrived with prostitution and other crimes association with immigrants and lower class, murdered prostitutes were common in this area but the pure violence was not. Forensic science and fingerprinting were not available during the time of white chapel murders making it impossible to prove a person guilty of such acts of violence. During this time period the authorities had to catch the suspect in the act or get a confession from the accused murderer.

On August 31, 188, Mary Ann Nichols, commonly known as Polly, was found dead in Buck’s Row. Mary Ann Nichols is thought to be the first victim of Jack of Ripper. She was 43 years of age and stood 5feet, 2inches. Mary Ann’s deceased body was found with her neck being sliced to the vertebrate and many stab wounds into her abdomen. Her teeth were missing and she suffered from a broken jaw which probably resulted from a blow to the face. The small amount of blood, caused speculation at the time, leading some to believe that Nichols had been killed at a different location and that her body had been carried and them dumped in Buck’s Row. (Jakubowski...

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... help solve the murders. The evidence that the authorities did collect was not properly obtained, packaged and processed. One of the bodies was cleaned by young nurse before and autopsy was even preformed. These cases are and will likely remain unsolved due to the lack of efficient investigations. Specialists have provided us with a list of no fewer than suspects as the possible “Jack the Ripper”. Much profiling work depends on analyzing evidence found at the crime scene to help narrow down the search for the person responsible (Owen 223). “Physiological profiling did not exist at the time of White Chapel murders” (Owen 17). If it had, it could have assisted the authorities in the capture of Jack the Ripper. If the authorities could have utilized today’s modern technology, there is very high probability that the mysteries of Jack the Ripper could have been solved.

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