JACK THE RIPPER
 
Jack the Ripper is a name given to an unknown serial killer (or killers) active in the poor Whitechapel area in the later half of 1888.
Victims were women earning income as casual prostitutes. Typical Ripper murders were perpetrated in a public or semi-public place; the victim's throat was cut, after which the body was mutilated. Some believe that the victims were first strangled in order to silence them and to explain the lack of blood at the crime scenes. The removal of internal organs from some victims has led to the proposal that the killer possessed anatomical or surgical knowledge or skill.

Victims

  • Mary Ann Nichols (nicknamed "Polly"), was killed on Friday, August 31, 1888. Nichols' body was discovered at about 3:40 two hundred yards from the London Hospital.
  • Annie Chapman (nicknamed "Dark Annie"), was killed on Saturday, September 8, 1888.
  • Elizabeth Stride (nicknamed "Long Liz"), was killed on Sunday, September 30, 1888.
  • Catherine Eddowes was killed on Sunday, September 30, 1888, on the same day as the previous victim, Elizabeth Stride. Ripperologists refer to this circumstance as the "double event".
  • Mary Jane Kelly (nicknamed "Ginger"), was killed on Friday, November 9, 1888. Kelly's gruesomely mutilated body was discovered shortly after 10:45 am lying on the bed in the single room where she lived.

Ripper letters
Over the course of the Ripper murders, the police and newspapers received many thousands of letters regarding the case. Some were from people with good intentions offering advice. The vast majority were useless and ignored.
Perhaps more interesting were hundreds of letters which claimed to have been written by the killer himself. The majority are considered hoaxes. But 3 are regarded as genuine:

  • The "Dear Boss" letter, dated September 25, postmarked and received September 27, 1888. At firstit was considered a hoax, but when Catherine Eddowes was found three days after the letter's postmark with one ear partially cut off, the letter's promise to "clip the ladys ears off" gained attention. Police published the letter on October 1, hoping someone would recognise the handwriting, but nothing came of this effort.
  • The "Saucy Jack" postcard, postmarked and received October 1, 1888, had handwriting similar to the "Dear Boss" letter. It mentions that two victims — Stride and Eddowes — were killed very close to one another: "double event this time."
    Police officials later claimed to have identified a specific journalist as the author of both this message and the earlier "Dear Boss" letter.
  • The "From Hell" letter, postmarked October 15 and received by George Lusk of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee on October 16, 1888. Lusk opened a small box to discover half a human kidney. One of Eddowes' kidneys had been removed by the killer. The writer claimed that he had "fried and ate" the missing kidney half.

Investigation
It is important to know that investigative techniques have progressed greatly since 1888. Many valuable forensic science techniques taken for granted today were unknown to the Victorian-era Police. They did not have a CSI unit.
The value of interpreting motives of serial killers, the concept of criminal profiling, fingerprinting, and other such knowledge and intelligence that have developed were unknown. Police recognised a sexual motive or element to the attacks, but were otherwise thoroughly unfamiliar with such crimes.