It is the From Hell letter that remains the most notorious to this day.
What Is The From Hell Letter and Why Is It Notorious? The From Hell letter was dated the 15th of October 1888. Therefore, the From Hell letter was dated on this day in history. The From Hell letter doesn't say the name 'Jack the Ripper'. But, it is a letter that is referring to the Whitechapel Murders. Specifically, the murders which happened on the 30th of September 1888. The murders which happened on the 30th of September 1888, were committed by Jack the Ripper. Those murders are known as 'The Double Event', as it was a night that Jack the Ripper had murdered two women.
The two women that Jack the Ripper murdered that night was Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes. Both women were murdered in the same hour, during the very early morning of the 30th of September 1888.
Part of Catherine Eddowes ear was found clipped off when the police found her after her murder. They had also found that Catherine Eddowes was missing a kidney after her murder. And that's where the From Hell letter comes in. The From Hell letter is perhaps the only authentic letter in the Whitechapel Murders case, in the sense, that there is good reason to suspect that this letter was from the killer himself. This is because the letter both references part of an ear being clipped off one of the women who were murdered in the Double Event. And, more terrifyingly, it is a letter that contained a package with it. That package had inside it half a human kidney. It's one thing to hoax a letter, but it's something far different when a human kidney is sent with the letter. It suggests that the From Hell letter is not just a hoax, but is a letter sent by the killer - Jack the Ripper. The From Hell letter reads: ''From hell. Mr Lusk, Sor I send you half the Kidne I took from one women prasarved it for you tother piece I fried and ate it was very nice. I may send you the bloody knife that took it out if you only wate a while longer signed Catch me when you can Mishter Lusk''
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On this day in history, the Dear Boss letter was published in the Daily News on the 1st of October 1888.
This letter was believed to have been written by Jack the Ripper, at the time that it was published - on the 1st of October 1888. However, it's now thought that the letter may have been a hoax. The authenticity of the Dear Boss letter is still debated today. But, regardless of whether the Dear Boss letter is authentic or not, it is still a very significant letter in the Jack the Ripper case. The reason that the Dear Boss letter is so significant in the Jack the Ripper case, is because of what the letter gave us: it gave us the name Jack the Ripper. The Dear Boss letter was the first ever time that the name 'Jack the Ripper' was used.
The Dear Boss letter was dated: the 25th of September 1888.
Then, the letter reached Central News Agency on the 27th of September 1888 and then it was sent off to the police. It arrived at Scotland Yard on the 29th of September 1888. Finally, the letter was published to the public, via the Daily News, on the 1st of October 1888. The Dear Boss letter remains one of three letters, out of hundreds of Jack the Ripper letters that were sent to the police in 1888, that has gained the most attention and scrutiny. The second page, and last part of the Dear Boss letter reads...
On the 30th of September 1888, one of the most infamous events in Victorian history happened - it was the night of the 'Double Event'.
What Was The 'Double Event'? The Double Event was when the infamous serial killer, Jack the Ripper, committed not one, but two murders. The two murders that night were committed within around an hour of each other in London. The murders were thought to be Jack the Ripper's third and fourth killings. Previously, Jack the Ripper had murdered two other women several weeks before the Double Event happened.
Jack the Ripper's first murder was on the 31st of August 1888, when Jack the Ripper murdered Mary Ann Nichols on Bucks Row at around 3:40 am that morning. It is believed that Mary Ann Nichols was the first woman that Jack the Ripper had murdered, though, there is debate about whether or not she was his first victim.
His second victim is believed to have been Annie Chapman. Annie Chapman was murdered on the 8th of September, 1888. She was murdered at 29 Hanbury Street at some point in the early morning hours. The Double Event Several weeks passed until Jack struck again. This time, he killed not one, but two women on the same night. This night is known as the 'Double Event'. That night, his first victim (and third overall victim), was Elizabeth Stride. Elizabeth Stride was murdered by Jack the Ripper just before 1 am at Dutfield's Yard. She was found in the yard at around 1 am, it's believed that Jack the Ripper was interrupted killing Elizabeth Stride and he was possibly hiding in the darkness of the yard.
But, Jack the Ripper escaped from Dutfield's Yard without being caught that night, to go on to kill his second victim that night. This time, he killed his fourth overall victim - Catherine Eddows. Jack the Ripper murdered Catherine Eddowes in Mitre Square in London. She was last seen alive at around 1:35 am and her body was found just ten minutes later at 1:45 am.
The Double Event resulted in a shocking night in London's history. It seems that Jack the Ripper was out of control that night - probably more so than before. As, London would have been busy with police that night after he had commited his first murder. For Jack to go on and murder again that night, possibly indicates that Jack was losing control. Another indication that Jack had lost control that night, was that his second murder that night was near a police station. The Double Event was a night were Jack the Ripper evade capture, not just once, but twice. It's a night when he was almost caught. Unfortunatley though, he wasn't caught though. And, to this day, we question and wonder who the man in the shadows - Jack the Ripper was.
Frances Coles, the last Whitechapel Murders victim, was found dead on this day in 1891. She was found dead after being murdered on the 13th of February 1891.
What Is The Whitechapel Murders Victims? The Whitechapel Murders victims were a series of murders that happened in Whitechapel, London during the Victorian era. The Whitechapel Murders began on the 3rd of April 1888, with the murder of Emma Elizabeth Smith, and they ended on the 13th of February 1891, with the murder of Frances Coles. There was a total of eleven people that were included in the Whitechapel Murders. All of them women. And all, or most, of them were thought to have been prostitutes. All of the murders happened in London, mostly in the Whitechapel area of London. It is thought that at least ten of these women were brutally murdered, and there has been a lot of speculation since the murders began that the notorious Victorian serial killer - Jack the Ripper, was responsible for murdering all of the women. There is doubt about one of these eleven victims, in the sense that there is doubt over whether or not the ninth victim died as a resulted of murder: there is speculation that the ninth victim - Rose Mylett. Some of the investigators that worked on the case thought that she had been murdered, while others believed that she had committed suicide and was not murdered.
There is also a lot of debate about how many of these eleven victims were murder at the hands of Jack the Ripper. There are different theories by people about how many people Jack the Ripper killed. However, most theorists today seem to think that Jack the Ripper killed five or six of the Whitechapel Murder victims, rather than Jack the Ripper killing all of the eleven Whitechapel Murder victims.
Was Frances Coles Murdered By Jack the Ripper? Today, most theorists don't seem to think that Frances Coles was murdered by Jack the Ripper. The murder of Frances Coles was similar to that of Jack the Ripper's victims, and most of the Whitechapel Murder victims. However, most theorists today think that Frances Coles could have been murdered by a copycat killer. Frances Coles murder remains unsolved to this day, however, there was speculation at the time of the murder about who may have killed Frances Coles. Sir Melville MacNaughten worked high up in London's Metropolitan Police from 1903 to 1913, he believed that a man seen with Frances Coles just hours before her murder was responsible for the murder of Frances Coles: his name was Mr Sadler. Did Sadler murder Frances Coles? Or, was she another victim of Jack the Ripper's? It's speculation today and open to discussion about the identity of Frances Coles murderer, no one was charged with her murder and the case remains unsolved. Frances Coles died on this day on the 13th of February 1891.
The suspect list for the Whitechapel Murders is long. The only thing that anyone can agree on, is that they all cannot have been Jack the Ripper. Perhaps even, none of them were Jack the Ripper. It’s possible that the notorious Victorian serial killer went under the radar and avoided the history books altogether. However, even though the Jack the Ripper suspect list is long, there are suspects in there which are more interesting and thought-provoking than others. Thomas Neill Cream is one of those on the Jack the Ripper suspect list which stands out.
Could he, have been the notorious Whitechapel killer that we have been searching for all of this time? Possibly. Without anyone being convicted of being Jack the Ripper it is impossible to rule anyone out. But if we are to assume that he was Jack the Ripper, then, we need evidence that Thomas Neill Cream was the Whitechapel killer during the late Victorian era. Was Thomas Neill Cream Jack the Ripper? For us to say that Thomas Neill Cream was Jack the Ripper, we need good evidence to believe that he was the killer. To do that, we first have to put him at the scene of the crime. There is good reason to believe that he was nowhere in or near Whitechapel during the Whitechapel Murders; as Cream was in prison in Chicago in the United States. He was serving time in prison there for murder throughout the 1880s. He was only released from prison on the 31st of July 1891, which was long after the Autumn of Terror. The Autumn of Terror is when Jack the Ripper murdered five women during the Autumn of 1888. The last Whitechapel Murder happened on the 13th of February 1891. Cream only arrived in England on the 1st of October 1891, long after the Whitechapel Murders had stopped. Therefore, due to Cream being in prison at the other side of the Atlantic, we have good reason to believe that he was nowhere in or near Whitechapel during the time of the Whitechapel Murders. Due to Cream not even being in the United Kingdom when the murders took place, we have very good reason to rule him out completely as a Jack the Ripper suspect. It seems highly unlikely that Thomas Neill Cream was Jack the Ripper, just based on the fact alone that he was in prison in a different country at the same time that the Whitechapel Murders were happening. So, why is Neill Cream even a suspect?
‘’I am Jack…’’ the Ripper
The reason why Neill Cream is still a Ripper suspect to this day is because of the words he apparently said before his death. The words he said before his death was ‘’I am Jack…’’. He was potentially meaning that he was Jack the Ripper. He said the words ‘’I am Jack…’’ just before he was hanged and the noose fell on him, making him unable to complete what he was saying. Cream was hanged for the murder of a woman named Miranda Clover, who he was found guilty of murdering. Miranda Clover, like Jack the Ripper’s victims, was a prostitute. However, the modus operandi that Cream used on Clover was different from Jack the Ripper’s modus operandi. Where Jack the Ripper used a knife to kill his victims, Thomas Neill Cream used poison to kill his victims. Cream is thought to have killed several women by poisoning them. Therefore, unlike many Jack the Ripper suspects, who we have no evidence to presume that they where murderers, Neill Cream is one of the Jack the Ripper suspects known to have murdered.
What is different from Jack the Ripper’s murders and Thomas Neill Cream’s murders is their modus operandi - both of their methods of killing their victims were different, this is another reason, or piece of evidence to suggest that Neill Cream was not Jack the Ripper.
The Other Jack The Ripper Suspects Who Claimed To Have Been The Ripper Cream was not the only suspect who claimed to have been Jack the Ripper. There is another suspect who claimed or might have claimed the same thing. For example, not long after the murder of Mary Jane Kelly (Jack the Ripper’s last thought of victim), there was writing found in the home of another Jack the Ripper suspect (William Bury), the writing was found on a door in William Bury’s house, that writing read: ‘’Jack the Ripper is in this sellar’’. The writing on the door in William Bury’s house was probably written by William Bury’s wife who lived with him. Not long after the writing was discovered, William Bury murdered his wife, and the murder was in a similar fashion to the way that Jack the Ripper had murdered. William Bury was living in Whitechapel during the times of the Whitechapel Murders, unlike Neill Cream. Therefore, if we should take a confession seriously, it shouldn’t be that of Cream’s, giving that he wasn’t in Whitechapel at the time, instead, we should take the confession (?) within William Bury’s house seriously, as he was within Whitechapel at the time and he did commit murder in a similar way to Jack the Ripper. However, William Bury was investigated by the police for the Whitechapel Murders and was cleared of those murders, the police at the time must have had a good reason to rule William Bury out as being Jack the Ripper. Whether William Bury was the Whitechapel murderer or not, both he and Cream couldn’t have been the killer, as most experts believe that the Canonical Five victims (and possibly Martha Tabram) were killed by the same hand. In other words, there was no more than one killer that committed the Canonical Five murders. Therefore, even if we were to presume that either Thomas Neill Cream or William Bury was Jack the Ripper, then one of the confessions has to be a lie. Either Cream’s ‘’I am Jack…’’ was a lie or the Bury house ‘’Jack the Ripper is in this sellar’’ is a lie, they cannot both be true, as the two men can’t have been Jack the Ripper. Perhaps both are lies. It is most likely certain that Thomas Neill Cream’s ‘confession’ was a lie. He couldn’t have committed the Whitechapel Murders as he wasn’t even in the United Kingdom at the time. So, why would he lie? Only Cream knows the reason why he lied. But, we can make a guess why he would have lied about being Jack the Ripper. Perhaps he wanted attention and notoriety. If that’s the case, then he certainly found that attention and notoriety, as it’s unlikely that he would have even had been remembered in history if he wasn’t linked to the Jack the Ripper case. Those who favour Neill Cream as having had been Jack the Ripper have come up with fanciful, if not rather comical explanation for how Neil Cream could have committed the Whitechapel Murders. They claim that he had a body double that was in prison and that it helped Cream to escape prison in America, for him to go over to England to commit Jack the Ripper’s murders, and then flee back to go to prison in America. It really doesn’t make sense. Why would Neill Cream return to prison when he successfully broke out of it and got a body double to take his place? It seems like a weak theory which isn’t based on any evidence. We may not know who Jack the Ripper was, but we can rule out suspects based on lack of evidence, weak reasoning and evidence which points to the contrary (like Cream being out of the country during every single Jack the Ripper murder). If we can rule any Jack the Ripper suspect out as being the Whitechapel Murderer, then it is Thomas Neill Cream, for he wasn’t in the country and when he did murder, he had a different modus operandi. A final reason why we can rule him out is due to the actual confession itself. Neill Cream didn’t say that he was Jack the Ripper, he just said he was Jack. It’s possible that he was going to say that he was Jack the Ripper, and yet, it’s also as possible that he was going to say that his real name was Jack something else. Perhaps his real name was Jack? Whatever the case, Thomas Neill Cream most likely wasn’t Jack the Ripper, as all of the evidence points against him being Jack the Ripper. So, if it wasn’t him, then who was Jack the Ripper? Sources: https://www.casebook.org/suspects/bury.html https://www.casebook.org/suspects/cream.html
Jack the Ripper killed twice in one night, in an event which has become known as ‘The Double Event’. The Double Event occurred during the early morning hours of the 30th of September 1888 within Whitechapel and within the City of London.
Both of these murders occurred in less than an hour of one another. The Double Event started that night with the murder of Elizabeth Stride. She was Jack the Ripper’s first victim that night, but she was the third or forth Jack the Ripper victim by the time of her murder. Elizabeth Stride was seen alive not long before she was found killed. She was seen alive in Berner Street in Whitechapel just before midnight. At 1am that morning, Elizabeth Stride’s body was found in Dutfield’s Yard by a man named Louis Diemschutz.
When Louis Diemschutz found Elizabeth Stride it was apparent that she had just been murdered by Jack the Ripper, as her body and face were still warm when Louis found her. This suggests that Jack the Ripper was interrupted during his murder of Elizabeth Stride, what further suggests that Jack the Ripper was interrupted during that first murder in the Double Event was that she didn’t have mutilations to her body, whereas, all of Jack the Ripper’s other victims did have mutilations to their body.
There is one final interesting thing about the murder of Elizabeth Stride during Jack the Ripper’s Double Event, and that is that Louis Diemshutz believed that Jack the Ripper was still in the yard when he entered it - with Louis going to seek help over Elizabeth’s murder, it allowed the Ripper to escape, however, had Louis Dimeshutz entered the yard he may have caught Jack the Ripper, and we would therefore, know today the idenity of Jack the Ripper.
The Second Murder Of Jack the Ripper’s Double Event
With Jack the Rippers murder of Elizabeth Stride not going to plan for him - in other words, by him being unsuccessful in mutilating Elizabeth Stride, he set on a quest to murder another victim. Sadly, that next victim would be murdered about an hour from the time that he murdered Elizabeth, his next victim was Catherine Eddowes. The Ripper could have been furious after he was interrupted, which possibly led him to seek out another victim. The Ripper seeking another victim on the night of the Double Event suggests that Jack the Ripper was out of control that night. The police were already on high alert for Jack the Ripper before Elizabeth’s death, as Jack by that point had already murdered two, possibly three victims so far that Autumn. But the murder of Elizabeth Stride on the night of the Double Event and Louis Diemshutz alerting the police to the killer just after 1am would have resulted in swarms of police all around Whitechapel looking for Jack the Ripper.
Therefore, it shows he was out of control as the police where all over Whitechapel by that point and he chose to struck again that night. His next victim was Catherine Eddowes.
Coincidentally, Catherine Eddowes was released from jail around the same time that Elizabeth Stride was murder during the Double Event. Catherine Eddowes murder in Jack the Ripper’s Double Event suggests to us that Jack the Ripper was being opportunistic in choosing his victims to kill - he couldn’t have possibly known that Catherine Eddowes was being released at that time, and her murder doesn’t seem planned - it seems like opportunism on behalf of Jack the Ripper when he murdered Catherine Eddowes that night. Catherine Eddowes was the second victim in Jack the Ripper’s Double Event that night. At around 8PM on the 29th of September, Catherine Eddowes was arrested for being drunk and disorderly on the street. By about 1am on the 30th of September 1888 Catherine Eddowes was sober and released from jail to go home. Shortly after that, Catherine Eddowes was murdered in Mitre Square by Jack the Ripper between 1.35am and 1.45am. This time, Jack the Ripper did mutilate Catherine Eddowes, and it was much more brutal than his previous mutilations.
As Catherine Eddowes was murdered in Mitre Square, it resulted in the City of London police being dragged into the Jack the Ripper case. From this point onwards, there became two police branches in London looking for Jack the Ripper - the City of London police and the Whitechapel police. Despite this, and despite Jack the Ripper being out of control on the night of the Double Event, he was never caught and his identity remains a mystery to this day.
Sources: http://www.rippervision.com/elizabeth-stride-the-body-in-the-yard/ https://www.casebook.org/dissertations/elizabeths-last-stride.html https://www.casebook.org/victims/stride.html https://www.casebook.org/victims/eddowes.html The Dear Boss Jack the Ripper Letter Was Published In The Daily News On The 1st of October 18881/10/2019
The Dear Boss letter was published in the newspaper the Daily News on the 1st of October 1888, but it was dated the 29th of September 1888, therefore, whoever wrote the Dear Boss letter must have written it on the 29th of September 1888.
The Dear Boss letter arrived on the following day on the 29th of September 1888 at Scotland Yard, claiming to be the serial killer - Jack the Ripper. The Dear Boss letter is the first time that the name Jack the Ripper was used. Prior to that, the name Jack the Ripper had never been used. The letter read:
''Dear Boss,
I keep on hearing the police have caught me but they wont fix me just yet. I have laughed when they look so clever and talk about being on the right track. That joke about Leather Apron gave me real fits. I am down on whores and I shant quit ripping them till I do get buckled. Grand work the last job was. I gave the lady no time to squeal. How can they catch me now. I love my work and want to start again. You will soon hear of me with my funny little games. I saved some of the proper red stuff in a ginger beer bottle over the last job to write with but it went thick like glue and I cant use it. Red ink is fit enough I hope ha. ha. The next job I do I shall clip the ladys ears off and send to the police officers just for jolly wouldn't you. Keep this letter back till I do a bit more work, then give it out straight. My knife's so nice and sharp I want to get to work right away if I get a chance. Good Luck. Yours truly Jack the Ripper Dont mind me giving the trade name PS Wasnt good enough to post this before I got all the red ink off my hands curse it No luck yet. They say I'm a doctor now. ha ha''
The Saucy Jack postcard arrived at Central News Agency on this day in history in 1888. It was postmarked the 1st of October 1888 and arrived on the same day.
The author claimed to be Jack the Ripper. However, there has been speculation and debate about the author's true identity ever since the Saucy Jack postcard was created. It's thought today that the Saucy Jack postcard was a hoax, and therefore, it's likely that the author of the Saucy Jack postcard wasn't Jack the Ripper. This is what the Saucy Jack postcard said:
''I was not codding dear old Boss when I gave you the tip, you'll hear about Saucy Jacky's work tomorrow double event this time number one squealed a bit couldn't finish straight off. ha not the time to get ears for police. thanks for keeping last letter back till I got to work again.
Jack the Ripper'' You can read more about the Saucy Jack postcard here.
Jack the Ripper - the notorious serial killer - is thought to have at least killed five women in the latter half of the Victorian era, in Whitechapel London. However, there has been speculation and debate since those notorious Whitechapel Murders happened.
What Where The Whitechapel Murders? The Whitechapel Murders were a series of murders that happened from 1888 to 1891. Eleven women in total, were murdered in Whitechapel between 1888 and 1891, all of these eleven women have been linked to Jack the Ripper at one point or another. In other words, all of the eleven victims in the Whitechapel Murders have, at one point or another, thought to have been killed by Jack the Ripper. Most historians today believe that Jack the Ripper killed five, possibly six, of these eleven women. At the time of the murders however, there wasn’t the same clear consensus and many thought that all eleven women were victims of Jack the Ripper.
Alice MacKenzie and the Whitechapel Murders
Alice MacKenzie was one of the Whitechapel Murders victims. She was murdered in the early morning hours on the 17th of July, 1889. Her murder took place in Castle Alley in Whitechapel. Alice MacKenzie was found murdered and mutilated by PC Andrews in Castle Alley at around 12.50am that morning. Her murder compared to Jack the Ripper’s murders in several ways: . She was murdered in the early morning hours . She was mutilated . It’s thought that she may have been a prostitute All of these things were consistent with Jack the Ripper’s murders of the Canonical Five. The Canonical Five were the five women believed to have been murdered by Jack the Ripper in the Autumn of 1888. Alice MacKenzie’s murder was similar to the Canonical Five murders, and her murder took place just a few months after the murder of Mary Jane Kelly (Mary Jane Kelly is assumed to have been Jack the Ripper’s final victim).
Was Alice MacKenzie A Victim Of The Ripper’s?
Given the similarity of the Canonical Five murders, and Alice MacKenzie’s murder, it must be wondered: ‘Was Alice MacKenzie a victim of Jack the Rippers’? At the time of the murder, there was disagreement between those involved in the Whitechapel Murders case as to whether or not MacKenzie was a Ripper victim: some of them believed she was, while others believed that she was. Sir Robert Anderson - a senior police officer at the time - didn’t believe that Alice MacKenzie was a victim of Jack the Ripper’s. His position was supported by the doctor at the scene of the murder: Dr Phillips was the doctor at the scene of the murder of Alice MacKenzie, he did not believe that she was a victim of the Ripper.s. Sir Robert Anderson, on the other hand, was not at the scene of the crime, and was not even in the country at the time, therefore, his knowledge of the murder was second hand. Compared to that of PC Munro, who had first hand experience of the murder of Alice MacKenzie, disagreed with Sir Robert Anderson. PC Munro believed that her murder was ‘’identical with the notorious Jack the Ripper’’ murders of the previous years. Given that Alice MacKenzie was murdered in a similar fashion, looked similar to the other victims, was murdered at a similar time and was thought to be in the same profession, it is hard to disagree with PC Munro’s sentiment that Alice MacKenzie’s murder was identical to the other Jack the Ripper murders - it was an identical murder to the Canonical Five murders. This assertion is also supported by Dr Bond, who was also involved in investigating the murder of Alice MacKenzie at the time. As Dr Bond simply put it: ‘’I see in this murder evidence of similar design to the former Whitechapel murders’’. A Change In Perspective If Alice MacKenzie was indeed a victim of Jack the Ripper’s, then it changes our whole perspective on the case. It would mean that Jack the Ripper did not stop murdering at the end of Autumn 1888 - one of the main questions that have been asked about Jack the Ripper, is: ‘’Why did he stop murdering after Mary Jane Kelly? Did he die? Etc’’ If Dr Bond and PC Munro were right, that Alice MacKenzie was a victim of Jack the Ripper, then it changes our view about the list of Jack the Ripper suspects we have. For example, it would rule out suspects like Druitt, who died sometime in November 1888, therefore he couldn’t have murdered Alice and therefore, wouldn't be the Ripper. What if the reason that we haven’t discovered who Jack the Ripper was, because we have been looking in the wrong places all this time? Is the key to the Ripper’s true identity, lurking in the shadows of Castle Alley? Sources: https://www.casebook.org/victims/mckenzie.html https://www.casebook.org/police_officials/po-monro.html https://www.casebook.org/police_officials/po-ander.html https://www.casebook.org/suspects/druitt.html
Overview
On the 8th of September 1888 Annie Chapman was murdered by Jack the Ripper. She was thought to have been Jack the Ripper’s second victim during the Autumn of Terror. Throughout the Autumn of Terror in the Autumn of 1888, at least five women were murdered by the notorious serial killer - Jack the Ripper. The Ripper’s first victim was thought to have been Mary Ann Nichols; Mary Ann Nichols was murdered in Bucks Row on the 31st of August 1888. Just one week later, Hanbury Street on the 8th of September 1888 became the scene of another murder in Whitechapel; the murder of Annie Chapman. The murderous event on Hanbury Street on the 8th of September 1888, resulted in the place being treated like an open morbid museum, as Hanbury Street on the 8th of September 1888 had crowds of people gathering (and even paying to see) Jack the Ripper’s latest victim, Annie Chapman. People paid to view Annie’s murdered corpse from the flats that towered above, which looked down on the yard where Annie’s body lay. The surprising thing about the Ripper’s chosen spot was in its layout - there was only one escape (the way that he and Annie must have entered the yard), which perhaps tells us something about the Ripper: it tells us that his killings were more opportunity, than careful planning, as had he had planned his killings he probably would have chosen somewhere where he could easily escape from. Though, perhaps he on, or near Hanbury Street which would have resulted in him perhaps knowing when people would be around. Annie Chapman’s Early Life Annie Chapman was born in September 1841 (though the exact date of her birth is unknown); she was born ‘Annie Eliza Smith’ though she was also known as ‘Dark Annie’ later in life. Annie had one brother and three sisters. Annie Chapman’s Marriage To John Chapman On the 1st of May 1869, Annie Chapman married John Chapman Brompton. Both of them lived in several places before moving to Windsor in 1881, where John Chapman took on the role of a domestic coachmen. Before breaking up, the couple had three children. Their marriage didn’t last long after moving to Windsor, as they broke-up in either 1884 or 1885. Their marriage seems to have broke down either because one, or both of their drinking habits - both Annie and John were heavy drinkers, which seemed to have played a role in both of them going their separate ways. Annie Chapman only moved to Whitechapel in 1886 - which was just two years before her murder. Annie Chapman In Whitechapel Annie Chapman moved into 30 Dorset Street in Spitalfields, Whitechapel in 1886. She moved there and was with a man known as John Sivvey. For the two years that Annie was separated from her husband, Annie received financial support from her husband. However, in 1886 that financial support stopped for Annie when her husband died. When she stopped receiving financial support, the man that she was living with - John Sivvey, left her. It’s possible that this is when she started prostitution. The Last Hours Of Annie Chapman and Her Murder Before Annie Chapman was murdered in Hanbury Street on the 8th of September 1888, she was seen a few times by different people. On the 7th of September, at 5pm, Annie spoke to Amelia Palmer in Dorset Street. Amelia Palmer had stated that Annie was ill, and that she was going out that night to earn money as she wouldn’t have any lodgings for that night - basically, if Annie hadn’t earned money that night, she wouldn’t have had anywhere to stay for the night. Just a few hours later, Annie returned to her lodgings at 11.30pm, where she was in and out of the lodging house until about 1.35am on the 8th of September. While going in and out of her lodging house during that time, she was seen by numerous people. Annie left her loding house for the last time, sometime just after 1.35am on the 8th of September, she had to go out onto the streets again to earn money as she did not have any money for a bed that night in her lodgings. Some of the last people known to have seen Annie Chapman alive before she was murdered by Jack the Ripper, was the nightwatchman of her lodgings, John Evans, and the deputy head of the lodgings house, Tim Donovan - who she had asked to keep a bed for her for the night, before she went out onto the streets of Whitechapel to meet her ill-fate. The last person thought to have seen Annie Chapman alive (just a few hours later), was Elizabeth Long, who had known Annie. Elizabeth Long said that she had seen Annie with a man at the front of 29 Hanbury Street at around 5.30am that morning. Not long after that, Annie Chapman was thought to have been murdered in the backyard of 29 Hanbury Street. Annie’s body was found shortly after that, at 6am by John Davis who lived in 29 Hanbury Street. Annie Chapman became the second victim of Jack the Ripper’s. |
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