For the longest time, The case of Jack The Ripper has always disgusted and fascinated me. It's hard to pin down a reason why. I think it might be shock from the atrocities committed coupled with the inability to look away - like curious onlookers during a traffic accident. My fascination with this case also ties into my interest in mortuary photography.
History
"Jack The Ripper" is the popular name given to an unnamed serial killer who lived in the Whitechapel District of London in 1888. The name stemmed from a letter written by someone claiming to be the murderer, a letter later deemed to be a hoax by local media. Other names used to describe him were "Leather Apron" and "The Whitechapel Murderer".
Attacks attributed to the Ripper typically involved female prostitutes from the slums whose throats were slashed prior to abdominal mutilations. The removal of internal organs from at least three of the victims led to proposals that their murderer had anatomical or surgical knowledge. Rumors that the murders were connected intensified in September and October 1888, and letters from a writer or writers purporting to be the murderer were received by media outlets and Scotland Yard. The "From Hell" letter, received by George Lusk of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee, included with it half of a preserved human kidney, supposedly from one of the victims. Mainly because of the extremely brutal nature of the murders, and because of the media's handling of the events, the public came increasingly to believe in a single serial killer known as "Jack the Ripper".
Extensive newspaper coverage gave The Ripper something of international fame. An investigation into a series of brutal slayings in the Whitechapel area up to 1891 was unable to connect them conclusively to the earlier murders of 1888, but the legend of Jack the Ripper solidified. As the murders were never solved, the legends surrounding them became a combination of genuine historical research, folklore, and pseudohistory. The term "Ripperology" was used to describe the study and analysis of the Ripper cases. There are now over one hundred theories concentrating on The Ripper's identity, and the cases have inspired several works of fiction, including films and graphic novels.
Victims
The canonical five victims are Mary Ann "Polly" Nichols, Elizabeth Stride, Annie Chapman, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly.
Mary Ann "Polly" Nichols*
Elizabeth Stride
Annie Chapman
Catherine Eddowes
Mary Jane Kelly
My Theory
In all of my own research that I have done on the case, the sparsely available details about the murderer all point to a rather rich state of dress. Tying that into my own knowledge of the Victorian period, someone described as "well-dressed" would have been well off and thus had a strong moral code steeped deeply in religion.
Bearing that in mind, a possible modus operandi for him would be to "purify" the streets of London by ridding them of characters he deemed as impure or sinful. The five victims had a background in prostitution, thereby marking them as unfit to be on the streets in his view.
Also, given the manner in which the victims were killed - throats slashed through the carotid artery, parts of the body being removed with almost surgical precision (as in the case of Mary Kelly) - lead me to believe that the murderer had some sort of medical training or background.
Final Note
I would like to hear your own theories on this case - if you share an interest in it as I do. Post below in the comments if you wish.
In closing, if you want to do a bit more extensive reading on The Ripper murders,
this is an excellent casebook website on the subject.
*Images found on casebook.org
