As for Jack the Ripper, the infamous murderer has remained a mystery to this day. Jack the Ripper started his career in crime in London during the late 1800’s (History, 2010). He lurked in the slums surrounding the Whitechapel area in London, where he began murdering and dismembering women’s bodies in 1888. The Ripper’s victims were local prostitutes as it is thought that he believed them to be unclean and immoral. Jack the Ripper wielded his knife almost as if he were a surgeon, intricately slicing open the women’s bodies. He primarily targeted the sex organs of the female (Mueller, 2012). This is why some believe that he might have had some form of medical experience with the knowledge he demonstrated of the female anatomy as well as the level of precision he used. The way in which these brutal homicides were committed is how he obtained the moniker “Jack the Ripper (Worthen, 2017).” It is known for certain that Jack the Ripper killed 5 women, however, there is thought …show more content…
be other women out there that fell victim to this cold, calculated killer (Mueller, 2012). Numerous theories have been concocted to explain who the mysterious Jack the Ripper was that Jack the Ripper and H.H. Holmes are one in the same. There has been an air of secrecy surrounding both serial killers. As stated in prior paragraphs H.H. Holmes was tried and convicted of his business partner, Pitezel’s murder for which he was later hung for. However, it is thought that Holmes tricked a man into going into the gallows for him. There are various suspicious events that occurred after H.H. Holmes supposed death. A detective who discovered the remains of Pitezel’s three children became ill, the warden at Moyamensing prison later committed suicide. The priest who had delivered Holmes last rites died of mysterious causes. The district attorney’s office burnt down, eerily enough a picture of Holmes fully intact was found among the charred remains of the building (Corey, 2013). The suspicious circumstances that surrounded the case of H.H. Holmes became known as the Holmes Curse. Holmes old office building which was turned into a post office burnt down shortly after being raided by the police. The workers and customers stated they often heard strange noises and weird sightings at this location (Corey, 2013). Contrary to popular belief that Jack the Ripper was a knife-wielding maniac that lurked in the shadows around London he was actually a rather methodical serial killer.
There are many instances in which it is highly plausible that Jack the Ripper and H.H. Holmes were truly the same serial killer. He was able to slice up prostitutes in the middle of the streets without ever getting caught. Jack the Ripper would throttle his victims as he began mutilating them, similarly, this is how H.H. Holmes would subdue and incapacitate his victims. H.H. Holmes was a highly skilled and qualified doctor just as Jack the Ripper was believed to have been. The Ripper’s final victim, Mary Kelly, was murdered in her home showing how his MO was beginning to switch from a street killer to a man who preferred to take his time in the home of his victims. A well regarded investigator, Amaryllis Fox, believes the Ripper’s murders may represent Holmes “adolescence as a serial killer”, when he was still discovering his
style. One issue that arises most frequently is the fact that Holmes lived in the United States whereas the Ripper dominated in London. However, this can quickly be explained away for the simple fact that H.H. Holmes was a well-known and well-regarded business man who traveled quite often out of the state for business reasons. Holmes great-great-grandson, Mudgett as discussed previously began working with Fox to investigate the possible connection between H.H. Holmes and Jack the Ripper. As they began delving into Holmes past they quickly discovered that between the years 188-1889 there was little to no documentation regarding the whereabouts of Holmes (N.A., 2017). During the years of 1888-1889 is when Jack the Ripper was active in London. This could possibly be a coincidence, though Holmes was very meticulous in keeping journals and detailed information about his life. Another interesting piece of information that was discovered by Mudgett was a ship record for H. Holmes aboard a British ship returning to the United States. The passenger known as H. Holmes was returning to the United States after the final Jack the Ripper murder. Holmes later quoted, “I roamed about the world seeking whom I can destroy (N.A., 2017).” Another aspect that should be considered is the “Dear Boss” letter that was sent by the Ripper to local media outlets. Mudgett and Fox reviewed the letter with a linguistic professor, John Harris. He stated, “the language doesn’t identify as a British writer”, he suggested that the letter possessed more of an American style language. A sketch was constructed of what Jack the Ripper looked like by 13 witness testimonies during 1888. The sketch bears an uncanny resemblance to H.H. Holmes. Mudgett as a practicing attorney believes that this would have constituted as enough evidence to issue a warrant for H.H. Holmes (N.A., 2017). All of these weird circumstances surrounding the hanging of H.H. Holmes and Jack the Ripper seem to suggest that the two men could have been the same person. During the 1800’s, policing was extremely different than it is now and there was not a lot that was known about DNA at that time. In fact, DNA was not used in any criminal cases until around the late 1900’s (N.A., 2017). Mudgett has dedicated his life to discovering links between H.H. Holmes and Jack the Ripper in hopes that one day he will solve the age old case of who Jack the Ripper was. In conclusion, there are various suspicious circumstances surrounding H.H. Holmes death and the fact that Jack the Ripper’s true identity is still unknown is puzzling. How did a killer manage to elude the police for so long, it seems almost unfathomable. There are numerous reasons as to why it is possible that H.H. Holmes was actually Jack the Ripper which have been stated in prior paragraphs. Conspiracy theories have long been a fascination for humans because we enjoy creating alternate scenarios. Delving into this conspiracy theory, we see that it is extremely possible for H.H. Holmes and Jack the Ripper to be the same individual. Maybe one of the greatest conundrums in history was never a true mystery at all rather an overlook by police to see that they had the serial killer all along.
Investigating Why the Police Were Unable to Catch Jack the Ripper I believe the most important reason why Jack the Ripper was so hard to catch was because of the lack of evidence. In those days they did not have as advanced technology as we have today for instance, we have forensics where we can tell from a strand of hair who that hair belongs to. In those days they were only just learning the significance of footprints to catching a villain. Another part to this is that Jack the Ripper was so random towards who he killed the police could not find a link between the murders except that they were all prostitutes, which did not really help, although prostitute murders were not terribly uncommon. The press coverage to the case didn’t help much as they had forced the police to investigate ‘Leather Apron’ and this wasted a significant amount of the police time which, if spent properly, may have allowed them to uncover more information needed to catch the Ripper.
How the Police Tried to Catch Jack the Ripper In the 1880s, the police were very different from the police of today. Their main propose was crime prevention and their methods their methods were very primitive Source F is a police leaflet, which was published after the murders of Elizabeth Stride and Kate Eddowes; it was written to aid the police in their investigation it was also written in a factual tone, it suggests that the police were appealing for any information regarding suspicious characters. Because of the timing of this leaflet shows the desperation faced by the police but for because of the many defects reasons the leaflet was not successful: The first being that they did not offer any description of the murderer at all, 'person to whom suspicion was attached'. The second being that they still assumed that the person was living in Whitechapel, when there was a large amount of evidence suggested that the murderer wasn't from Whitechapel (the fact that the murders were all done on the weekends or on Friday nights, which suggests that he had a job and came into Whitechapel to murder).
American serial killer H. H. Holmes once said “I was born with the devil in me. I could not help the fact that I was a murderer, no more than the poet can help the inspiration to sing. I was born with the evil one standing as my sponsor beside the bed where I was ushered into the world, and he has been with me since” (Lukacs, 2017, n.p.). H. H. Holmes is notorious for being a well known serial killer during the late 1800s. Interestingly, he is also considered by many individuals to be the first American serial killer. Today, researchers still struggle to find a cause as to why he committed the crimes he did. It is difficult to explain his reasoning and choices – therefore, because of this, many researchers and criminologists have dabbled in attempting to create an accurate explanation for his actions. In order to do this, it is essential to first consider Holmes’ childhood, upbringing, and crimes in
The Failure of Police to Catch Jack the Ripper The Whitechapel murderer, known to many as Jack the Ripper was never caught and imprisoned for his awful crimes. Police still do not know who he is. There are several explanations as to why he was never caught and in this essay I will discuss them. The police were unable to catch Jack the Ripper as they felt that no-one actually knew what he looked like.
Serial killers are everywhere! Well, perhaps not in our neighborhood, but on our television screens, at the movie theaters, and in rows and rows of books at our local Borders or Barnes and Nobles Booksellers” (Brown). When people think of serial killers, names such as Dahmer, Gacy, Bundy, and Gein are cited. During the time Jack the Ripper was executing his victims in London, Holmes began his gruesome career in Chicago (America’s Serial Killers). “Despite being America’s first serial killer, Holmes is hardly a familiar name and until now we haven’t had any popular visual record of his crimes: (Spikol). Why is it that people only think of the more popular killers with higher known profiles? They are all very similar to one another because they share characteristics. H.H. Holmes was a successful serial killer because he was well educated, cunning and charming. Those are just a few traits Holmes ...
"I am down on whores and shant quit ripping them until I do get buckled,” (Pulditor 48). That statement was sent from Jack the Ripper himself to Scotland Yard, a detective in the case. Jack the Ripper was a horrendous serial killer that preyed on prostitutes in the late 1880s (Pulditor 45-47). Mary Ann “Polly” Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Kate Eddowes, and Mary Kelly are five of the prostitutes’ murdered by Jack the Ripper (Anderson 10-51). Although the true identity of Jack the Ripper has never been identified, experts have investigated Prince Albert Victor, Thomas Neill Cream, and Montague John Druitt as prime suspects.
Taking the life of another person is one of the worst infractions of the law to commit. The Bureau of Justice defines serial killing as “[involving] the killing of several victims in three or more separate events” (“Michigan” 1). Serial killers often commit extremely violent crimes; they usually become infamous for these crimes. The first recorded serial killers are probably Jack the Ripper in 1888 and Fritz Haarmann in 1924 (“Michigan” 1). Jack the Ripper is also one of the most well-known criminals, almost everyone knows who he is or has at least heard of him. Most people know what he is famous for and associate him with being a bad person. Serial killers are typically sadistic and sociopathic, meaning that they are unable to feel empathy for people who are suffering (“Michigan” 1). Whimsical sociopaths who have sadistic tendencies are very dangerous. They inflict pain because they do not care that someone else is suffering, they only care that it makes t...
Murder is murder, or taking the life of another person. Repeatedly taking the life of other people is killing in a serial way. Serial killers are those individuals who repeatedly murder other people. There have been thousands of nameless serial killers, but none more famous than Jack the Ripper. The 1888 maliciousness of Jack the Ripper became one of the very first investigated, and most widely studied, serial murder cases, that established the protocols that are still used today to investigate these heinous crimes. The name Jack the Ripper has instilled fear in the public since 1888, and is a name that is synonymous with serial killing. Jack the Ripper set the bar by which all other serial killers are judged, studied, and
The murders were very thought out it is suggested that Jack the Ripper was a doctor or a butcher based on the evidence of weapon and the mutilations that occurred, which showed knowledge of human anatomy (“BBC-History-Historic Figures: Jack the Ripper”). Jack the Ripper thought out his killings. He waited until the victims lifted their skirts. This meant that the victims hands were occupied and they were defenseless. He then seized his victims by the throat and strangled them until they were unconscious. He lowered his victims to the ground, their heads tilted to his left. At this point he cut their throats and other organs. He only did this once the women were on the ground (Barbee “Casebook: Jack the
Though many have been named, only a few have good cases. However, Michael Ostrog fits the bill well. He was a certified physician and was known to be insane. Along with Druitt, he was also placed on the top three list. In late November of 1888, he received his final, but not first, jail sentence (Cohen 6). Another suspect who wasn’t listed by Macnaghten, James Maybrick, wasn’t considered until a very detailed 63 page diary turned up, signed “Jack the Ripper.” He was poisoned by his wife in 1889, but before he died, he told her that he was indeed The Ripper. His wife says that the tales were simply meant to scare her, but there were details Maybrick mentioned that none other than The Ripper would know; each of them checking out as true. The most exclusive detail being that there would be no more killings, and there weren’t. On October 9th, 1888, a newspaper in Liverpool was released stating that the next attack would be in Dublin. This message was quickly refuted saying it was a hoax and that Jack would be in New York at the time. This message was signed Jack the Ripper Diego Laurenz. In Spanish, Diego means James and the name Laurenz might have been used because it sounds similar to Flauence, the name of Maybrick’s wife (Rubinstein 5-8). The many suspects named only make it harder for ripperologists, but the tale lives through them. With new technology and information being released,
As the killer was never truly found, the investigation turned into a historical research. It was so prominent that the research of Jack the Ripper became known as Ripperology. So whether the world will ever know the true identity of the killer of all killers, it will always be in study.
Jack The Ripper Jack the Ripper, as he was rightly called, was an infamous murderer in London, England in 1888, almost one hundred years ago. Jack the Ripper is by no stretch of the imagination the first serial killer ever, but the first to do so in a largely populated area, although it seemed he had no malice for other people. Although the number of kills under the belt of Jack the Ripper is unofficial, it is estimated to be around four to seven women, all prostitutes within the area. He also had no accomplice’s or accessories to the crime. Another fact was that Jack the Ripper escaped scott-free, with no charges.
Many people wonder where Dracula came from but little come to know that he was real. The real Count Dracula was a cruel, blood thirsty man that is known by the name of Vlad the Impaler. He was not born cruel but chose his ways rather quickly. As a child he had to face many things most didn’t. This was a main factor on how he came to be.
Serial killers commonly attack a single target at a time one on one. There also tends to be no or very little relation between the person being killed and the killer (murder 1). “The nature of this drive has been heavily debated, but there is a consensus on some points (Anderson 1).” Many researchers have noted sexual behavior in the murder.
Jack the Ripper, the Zodiac Killer, Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, Son of Sam, the BTK Killer. The names and assumed names of these cold-blooded serial killers are forever branded into the cognizance of people everywhere. This is mainly due to the mass media coverage, including newspapers, movies, television specials and books. This media coverage brought to light that these killers were, on the surface, normal, successful, attractive, productive members of society – that is, until the time that their heinous crimes came to be discovered.