Jack the Ripper as “Whodunit?"
The identity of Jack the Ripper remains a mystery to this day. Jack’s crimes would probably not make headlines in today’s world, but since it is a classic case of “Whodunit?”, his crimes have become engraved in history. His crimes involve the murders of five prostitutes. These five victims are Mary Ann (Polly) Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catharine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly, but four others may be connected to Jack the Ripper. Thousands of misleading letters were sent in to the police pretending to be Jack the Ripper. Although many letters were found to be irrelevant, a few were studied because of the objects attached to them. The witnesses described Jack the Ripper as a man in the thirties to forties with a black moustache, which led to many suspects. Among the many suspects, Prince Albert Victor Christian Edward and George Chapman are the most prominent. Although Jack the Ripper could be anyone that lived in the 18th century, George Chapman is most likely to be the assassin.
Philip Sugden wrote in his excellent book, The Complete History of Jack the Ripper, "There is no simple answer. In a sentence: at least four, probably six, just possibly eight."(Barbee) No one can be sure how many people fell victim to Jack the Ripper. Although the number of victims is unknown, five of the possible nine victims are surely connected to Jack the Ripper. The first victim was Mary Ann (Polly) Nichols followed by Dark Annie, Long Liz and Catherine Eddowes, and last Ginger.
Mary Ann (Polly) Nichols was born on August 26, 1845. Mary’s father, Edward Walker, married Caroline, her mother. She was five foot, two inches tall with brown eyes. She also had a dark complexion and brownish-gray hair. Polly was married to William Nichols and had five children. Polly’s marriage slowly went down hill and finally ended in 1881. Mary started working as prostitute. She moved into several workhouses from the time of the separation until her death. The day of her death she had slept with three or four men. She was reported bragging about her new bonnet she had bought with the doss money. Around 3:45, Charles Cross discovered her body in Buck’s Row. She was pronounced dead a few minutes later after the discovery. Mary Ann was choked until she passed out. Jack the Ripper then slit the left side of her neck. She was also violently cut with a long sharp knife below the abdomen. She died August 31, 1888. (Casebook: Jack the Ripper)
Dark Annie, formally known as Annie Chapman, was born in September of 1841. Her father, George Chapman, and her mother, Ruth Chapman married February 22, 1842. Annie was described as being five feet tall with a strong build. Her complexion was pallid, with dark blue eyes, and dark brown wavy hair. She was said to be dying from under nourishment, but these symptoms could have been from syphilis. Annie married John Chapman and had three kids, but shortly after, they divorced with mutual consent. Annie lived off an allowance her ex-husband gave her until he died. She then began seeing many men and took up prostitution. On the night of Dark Annie’s death, she had been drinking and looking for a place to stay but had no bed money. She met a man on 29 Hanbury Street. A man next door heard a woman screaming, “NO!” Annie was found with an incision across her throat and her body was badly swollen. Her abdomen had been totally cut open with her intestines removed and laid on her shoulder. Annie’s sex organs were also removed but no trace of the organs could be found. Dark Annie died September 8, 1888. (Casebook: Jack the Ripper)
Long Liz was born November 27, 1843 to Gustaf Ericsson and Beatta Carlsdotter. Elizabeth Stride, Long Liz, made a living sewing and occasionally prostituting. After she was treated for a venereal disease, she married John Thomas Stride. Elizabeth then claimed that her family had died in a boat disaster. She moved into the Whitechapel Workhouse to be treated for bronchitis. At that time, Elizabeth and John’s marriage had fallen apart, and she had moved in with Michael Kidney. Their relationship was described as “stormy”. When Elizabeth would drink heavily, she would run away. One night she had been drinking and spotted by Fairclough Street. Hours later, a man passed by running into what he thought, was a drunken woman. He went and retrieved helped and found the woman dead with a slit throat. It was believed that the Ripper was scared off by the men and couldn’t finish his mutilations. Elizabeth Stride died September 30th, 1888. (Casebook: Jack the Ripper)
The death of Catherine Eddowes was the same date as Elizabeth Stride’s death, September 30, 1888. George and Catherine Eddowes gave birth to Catherine on April 14, 1842. She stood five feet tall and had dark, auburn hair accented with hazel eyes. Her family and friends describe her as being very intelligent, and she never drank. When she was 21, she met Thomas Conway. They had three kids together, but there is no record of them being married. Catherine and Thomas decided to separate, and then Catherine became involved with John Kelly. On the night of Catherine’s death, Joseph Lawende saw her talking and touching a man. About ten minutes later, PC Watkins found Catherine’s body. Her face was badly mutilated and an incision ran from the breastbone all the way to the vaginal area. Inside Catherine’s body, organs were removed or jaggedly cut. Catherine died at forty-three years of age and was buried October 8th, 1888. (Casebook: Jack the Ripper)
Mary Jane Kelly was born in Limerick, Ireland to her father, John Kelly and her mother, who is not named. Her exact birth is not known, but it is guessed to be in 1863 because she was about twenty-five years of age when she died. Mary had blonde hair, blue eyes, and a stout build. Her appearance was overall very attractive. When she was sixteen, she married Davies but he was killed a few years later, and she took up prostitution. Mary then met Joseph Barnett and they began living together. Not long after, Joseph lost his job and Mary took to the streets. George Hutchinson saw Mary and a man walking back to Dorset Street. Mary and the man entered her room and locked the door. Mary’s body was found by Thomas Bowyer, a man sent by John McCarthy to collect past dues. Bowyer said that he told McCarthy that Mary was dead and they called on the police. They found her body in her bed lying naked. Her face was completely hacked to where it was impossible to make out facial features. Mary’s breasts were cut off, organs were cut out, and skin flaps were removed and placed around the room. Mary Jane Kelly passed away November 9th, 1888. (Casebook: Jack the Ripper)
Thousands of letters were sent in from “the real Jack the Ripper”. All but a few of these were found to be originals. The most famous of these letters is the “From Hell” letter. Two other letters from Jack the Ripper have been named “Dear Boss” and “Saucy Jacky Postcard”.
The letter “From Hell” was sent to Mr. Lusk, an official working on the Ripper murder cases. The letter is most known because it was attached with a bloody cardboard box. Inside the box, a half kidney preserved in wine was found. The letter read to be expecting the bloody knife that Jack the Ripper used to cut the kidney. (Casebook: Jack the Ripper)
The “Dear Boss Letter” and “Saucy Jacky Postcard” were statements from Jack the Ripper. “Dear Boss” informed readers that he enjoyed ripping whores, and that he was going to cut off an earlobe the next murder to prove the letter wasn’t a hoax. The letter was proved authentic when one of the victim’s ears was removed. (Casebook: Jack the Ripper) “Saucy Jacky” simply stated that Jack the Ripper was glad that the police had kept his last letters till he could get to work again. Many ripperologists believe this postcard may be a hoax, but it has been kept as an original and part of Ripper evidence.
Witnesses have described Jack the Ripper as short, standing around
5’5”. Many say he was of a dark complexion, with the age of around 37 or
older. He wore a black moustache and dark, most likely black, trench coat. Some
witnesses described him as being Jewish. Jack the Ripper must have also worked
during the weekend because every murder was placed on the weekend around the
hours of 11:00 P.M. and 6:00 A.M. Jack the Ripper must also have had some
anatomical knowledge because of his precise procedure in the amount of time
given. The way Jack the Ripper mutilated the bodies might also suggest he was
insane.
Prince Albert Victor Christian Edward was born 1864 to King Edward the VII and Princess Alexandra. He was known as being a ‘slow child’ growing up and may have been partially retarded. Eddy, as many of his friends called him, was quite the ladies man, and the public did not approve of his habits. The first signs of Eddy being a suspect arose in 1970. Dr. Thomas Stowell wrote an article stating that Sir William Gull diagnosed Eddy with syphilis causing him to go insane and commit the murders. (Bradsley) Although Prince Edward has been accused of these accusations, it is highly unlikely he is Jack the Ripper. Eddy, being that he had low intelligence, would not have had the anatomical knowledge that would be needed to carry out the type of mutilations. Eddy was reported being in Scotland during the murders, which makes it virtually impossible for him to commit all of the murders.
George Chapman, Severin Antoniovich Klosowski, was born in Poland in 1865. He apprenticed to a surgeon and completed studies at Warsaw. He then immigrated to London, became an assistant to a hairdresser, and later on opened up his own barbershop close to where the murders had taken place. His barbershop allowed him to have the weekend off, giving him time to commit the murders. His studies at Warsaw would have also helped him gain anatomical knowledge and helped him with the murders. (Bradsley)
George wore a black moustache and had a dark complexion. He was about 5’6” tall and often seen wearing a black coat. His appearance fits the description of witnesses, except that at the time of the murders, he would have been twenty-three years of age. Jack the Ripper was said to have been in his thirties to forties, but since it was usually dark out, no one can be sure of the age.
George married Marry Spink and turned out be a very abusive husband. A customer of George’s said he held down his wife’s head and meant to cut it off but couldn’t proceed because of the intrusion. Mary Spink died of poisoning. After the death of Mary, he moved in with Bessie Taylor and violently abused her. Bessie died of the same type of poisoning as Mary Spink. George then met Maud Marsh. Maud’s family encouraged her to leave him because of the abuse. When George heard of this, he poisoned her with a detectable amount of tartar emetic and was charged with murder of Maud Marsh. George was never convicted of any of his other wives’ deaths. He was hanged April 7th, 1903. (Bradsley)
George Chapman’s barbershop being located by the murders and giving him the weekends off, fitting the description of Jack the Ripper, and having past experience with surgical procedures makes him a possible suspect. Tying those main factors with his violent history of abusing women, one could conclude that George Chapman is Jack the Ripper.
No one will ever be sure of the identity of Jack the Ripper. The question of “Whodunit?” will always remain throughout history. Only the victims of the Ripper know his identity, and they will forever hold it in their graves.