jack the ripper

the Ripper

From 1888-1891 a portion of London England known as Whitechapel was terrorized by a rash of murders. In total eleven women were murdered, five of those are thought to be the victim of one of the most well-known serial killers whom was never identified, Jack the Ripper. Out of the murders committed in the two year period, the five had like backgrounds, they lived in boarding houses and were prostitutes, alcoholics, or both. The women were found with their bodies lying on their backs with the legs spread apart. The victims were also found to have been murdered in like fashion with their throats had been slit and their bodies mutilated. This gave Jack the Ripper a specific modus operandi narrowing down the field of likely victims from the original total. Those five murders also took place in a time span of ten months.

The first victim was attributed to Jack the Ripper was Mary Ann Nichols. She was found in a secluded pathway on August 31, 1888. Nichols was a 43 year old prostitute who was also a known alcoholic. She was found lying on her back with her clothing pushed up around her knees. Nichols throat was found slashed from her left ear to the right her right ear. There was no evidence of a struggle. Her abdomen had been cut from under the right rib, down below the pelvis, and up to the left of her stomach. There were also two stab wounds on her genitals. Modern analysis shows that her throat being slit was first and the body mutilation was second.

The next victim that shows the same modus operandi is Annie Chapman. On September 8, 1888 Chapman’s body was found on a walkway leading to a stable yard. Chapman was between the ages of 45-47, was a widow, and a prostitute. She was found to have tuberculos...

... middle of paper ...

... the newspapers claiming responsibility, these are still contested to their validity. Vigilante groups were formed by citizens who did not believe that the police were putting forth enough effort to locate Jack the Ripper and cease the killings. Eventually the murders stopped although there did appear to be a copycat.

The five victims above are the ones that are attributed to Jack the Ripper. While there were other murders during this time period, they did not showcase the same modus operandi as the murders of Mary Jane Kelly, Catherine Eddowes, Annie Chapman, Mary Ann Nichols, and Elizabeth Stride. Though many scholars have conducted cases studies, even with modern forensics analysis of the case, we are no closer to closing the case on Jack the Ripper. Because of this anonymity, he remains one of the most infamous serial killers in history.

Kimberly Meredith