Jack the Ripper was an infamous serial killer in 1888. He is thought to have killed five women. Although this has been disputed. Some argue that Jack the Ripper killed more than five women something we will discuss later in the article.
The beginning For those who are new to the Jack the Ripper case, it is important to know that there are disagreements about the case. Some Ripperologists dispute the amount of women murdered. All of Jack the Ripper's murders happened in the East End of London. In a district known as Whitechapel. Throughout 1888. In this introductory article, we are going to first talk about the general consensus among Ripperologist. That general consensus is that most Ripperologists think that Jack the Ripper murdered five women. These five murder victims are known as the Canonical Five. The Canonical Five are the five women who most Ripperologists agree were victims of Jack the Ripper. Those five women were; Mary Ann Nichols (also known as Polly Nichols), Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes and Mary Jane Kelly. That was the order of the killings.
Mary Ann Nichols
Mary Ann Nichols was the first victim of Jack. She was murdered during the early hours of the morning on the 31st of August 1888. Nichols was murdered sometime between 2.30am and 3.45am. We know this because Mary was last seen alive at 2.30am by a woman called Emily Holland. And one hour and fifteen minutes later, Mary Nichols body was found by two men, Charles Cross and Robert Paul. Nichols was not dead for that long. We know this for two reasons. The first is the two men felt that she was warm and thought she was breathing. Secondly, the nearby physician Dr Llewellyn was called to the crime scene. She's dead, ''but a few minutes'', he said when he arrived. Mary Ann Nichols was murdered on Bucks Row. She was buried on the 6th of September 1888. Annie Chapman Annie Chapman was the second victim murdered at the hands of Jack the Ripper. Annie Chapman was murdered by Jack the Ripper on the 8th of September 1888. Probably around 5.30am that morning on 29 Hanbury Street. In the neighbouring garden, 27 Hanbury Street, Albert Cadosh heard voices from the garden of number 29. All he could make out was a woman (likely Annie), saying ''No.'' At that moment he heard a thud on the fence. That was most likely the moment when Annie Chapman was murdered. Though, Albert Cadosh didn't think anything of the incident. Half-an-hour lter, at 6am, Annie Chapman's body was found by the occupier of number 29 Hanbury Street, John Davis. Annie's death is surrounded in debate. This is because there are two witnesses who claimed to have seen Annie (or heard Annie) at 5.30am that morning. One of them was Albert Cadosh. The other was Elizabeth Long, an old women who claimed that she seen Chapman with a man talking. This has caused debate about the nature of Annie Chapman's death. Both of these witnesses can't be right. Annie Chapman was buried on the 14th of September 1888.
Elizabeth Stride
Elizabeth Stride was murdered on the night which is known as 'The Double Event'. The Double Event was when Jack killed two of his victims, on the early hours of the morning of the 30th of September 1888. His first victim that night was Elizabeth Stride. His other victim was Catherine Eddowes. It is thought that Jack went on to kill Catherine Eddowes that night because, he wasn't satisfied with the way he killed Elizabeth Stride. The ripper wasn't satisfied with Elizabeth Stride's murder because it is widely believed that he was disturbed that night. He was disturbed just after he killed Eddowes by a man named Louis Diemschutz. Louis Diemschutz entered Dutfield's Yard, the place where Eddowe's body was found by Diemschutz, at 1am that morning. He was driving his cart and horse into the yard when the horse pulled back. Refusing to go into the yard. The horse likely sensed the rippers presence, but Diemschutz thought tht something was in the way. The yard was pitch black, he couldn't see anything. Having to light a match, he discovered the body of Catherine Eddows on the ground. Louis Diemschutz himself thought that Jack the Ripper was still in the yard. This was the first of two instances were Jack escaped that night... Catherine Eddowes Later that morning, Jack went on to kill his second victim, Catherine Eddowes. The murder of Catherine Eddowes probably could have been avoided. Why? On the evening of the 29th of September 1888, Catherine Eddowes was arrested for drunken and disorderly behaviour. She was taken under police custody and put in a cell until she sobered up. Eddowes was found to be sober at 12.55am and let out of jail. Although the police wouldn't have known about the murder of Elizabeth Stride that morning, they did know that Jack the Ripper was about. They knew at least two women had been murdered in the early hours of the morning, yet they still let Eddowes go. Out in to danger, no police officer escorted her home. That decision sealed her fate. Eddowes was murdered shortly after. She was last seen at 1.35am by three men outside 17 Duke Street. Her dead body was found at 1.45am inside Mitre Square. This gives us an insight into how quick Jack killed and mutilated his victims. In pitch black too. Leading some to believe that Jack the Ripper must have had some anatomical knowledge - due to the mutilations and the removal of body organs. Catherine Eddowes was buried on the 8th of October 1888. While Elizabeth Stride was buried on the 6th of October 1888. Mary Jane Kelly Mary Jane Kelly was the last Canonical Five victim to be murdered. When we read about Jack's murders, it is apparent that his murders get more gruesome the more he kills. With the exception of Elizabeth Stride. Mary Jane Kelly was murdered in the most brutal and disturbing way. She wasn't only mutilated like most of Jack's other victims, her body was completely destroyed. Her skin was removed from her limbs and face. Most of her face was removed, such as her nose. It is thought by some that the murder of Mary Jane Kelly was Jack the Ripper's disturbing fantasy. The murder of Mary Kelly was only one thing that made her stand apart from the rest Jack's victims. Most of Jack's victims were middle-aged, while Kelly was only 25 years old. All of Jack the Ripper's victims were murdered outside, meanwhile Kelly was murdered in doors. It is thought that she was murdered sometime in the early hours of the 9th of November 1888. Though, it's not exactly clear at what time she was murdered. Her murder took place in her home at Miller's Court. Kelly was buried on the 19th of November 1888. Jack the Ripper These are the five victims which most Ripperologists agree were at the hands of one man - Jack the Ripper. Jack the Ripper was likely one man. Some have claimed that Jack could have been a woman. Therefore, those who think it was a woman say that it was Jill the Ripper. Some have argued that Jack the Ripper was part of a gang. Early police reports indicated that the earliest theories by the police thought that the killings were gang related. However, the evidence suggests that it was the work of one man. The question which has been on everyone's lips for over one hundreds years is, Who was Jack the Ripper? There are hundreds of Jack the Ripper suspects. Most of these suspects can be ruled out. Why? Some of them were not in that part of the country, others were not even in the country at all, and some were in jail. These are the suspects we can rule out with certainty. There are only a tiny handful of Jack the Ripper suspects which can be taken seriously. Suspects which had motive. Suspects which lived in the Whitechapel area. Suspects which give us reason to suspect them. There are not many Jack the Ripper suspects which fit into this category. Some of the likeliest Jack the Ripper Suspects are Aaron Kosminski and William Bury. But, there could be one other suspect. A suspect which gets little to no attention. That suspect is unknown. A suspect which is not known to us. This would indicate why the other suspects have never been proven guilty of being Jack the Ripper. Sources: http://www.casebook.org/victims/mary_jane_kelly.html http://www.casebook.org/victims/eddowes.html http://www.casebook.org/victims/stride.html http://www.casebook.org/victims/chapman.html http://www.casebook.org/victims/polly.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/ripper_jack_the.shtml http://www.casebook.org/intro.html
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Real Time History
13/2/2017 14:19:55
Hi Stephen!
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