TheMcnaughten Memorandum was written by an Assistant Commissioner of Crime, at London Metropolitan Police. That Assistant Commissioner's name was Mellvile Mcnaughten. Was was Assistant Commissioner of Crime during 1903 to 1913. He was not part of the original Jack the Ripper Metropolitan Police investigation into the Jack the Ripper murders. However, Mcnaughten did work on the case just after the ripper murders had stopped, between 1889 and 1891. The Mcnaughten Memorandum was written a few years after he had stopped working on the ripper case. In the Mcnaughten Memorandum, 1894, he lists three men who he believes are Jack the Ripper. However, his memorandum has came under some criticism. When one reads the Mcnaughten Memorandum, it becomes clear why Mcnaughten is criticized - even though he does list suspects who he believes to be Jack the Ripper - he doesn't really offer any real evidence as to why he believes those three men are likely to be the killer. You can read an excerpt from The Mcnaughten Memorandum below. And see what you think of Melville's three Jack the Ripper suspects. ''Now the Whitechapel murderer had 5 victims -- & 5 victims only, -- his murders were:(1) 31st August, '88. Mary Ann Nichols -- at Buck's Row -- who was found with her throat cut -- & with (slight) stomach mutilation. (2) 8th Sept. '88 Annie Chapman -- Hanbury St.; -- throat cut -- stomach & private parts badly mutilated & some of the entrails placed round the neck. (3) 30th Sept. '88. Elizabeth Stride -- Berner's Street -- throat cut, but nothing in shape of mutilation attempted, & on same date Catherine Eddowes -- Mitre Square, throat cut & very bad mutilation, both of face and stomach. 9th November. Mary Jane Kelly -- Miller's Court, throat cut, and the whole of the body mutilated in the most ghastly manner -- The last murder is the only one that took place in a room, and the murderer must have been at least 2 hours engaged. A photo was taken of the woman, as she was found lying on the bed, withot seeing which it is impossible to imagine the awful mutilation. With regard to the double murder which took place on 30th September, there is no doubt but that the man was disturbed by some Jews who drove up to a Club, (close to which the body of Elizabeth Stride was found) and that he then, 'mordum satiatus', went in search of a further victim who he found at Mitre Square. It will be noted that the fury of the mutilations increased in each case, and, seemingly, the appetite only became sharpened by indulgence. It seems, then, highly improbable that the murderer would have suddenly stopped in November '88, and been content to recommence operations by merely prodding a girl behind some 2 years and 4 months afterwards. A much more rational theory is that the murderer's brain gave way altogether after his awful glut in Miller's Court, and that he immediately committed suicide, or, as a possible alternative, was found to be so hopelessly mad by his relations, that he was by them confined in some asylum.'' ''No one ever saw the Whitechapel murderer; many homicidal maniacs were suspected, but no shadow of proof could be thrown on any one. I may mention the cases of 3 men, any one of whom would have been more likely than Cutbush to have committed this series of murders: (1) A Mr M. J. Druitt, said to be a doctor & of good family -- who disappeared at the time of the Miller's Court murder, & whose body (which was said to have been upwards of a month in the water) was found in the Thames on 31st December -- or about 7 weeks after that murder. He was sexually insane and from private information I have little doubt but that his own family believed him to have been the murderer. (2) Kosminski -- a Polish Jew -- & resident in Whitechapel. This man became insane owing to many years indulgence in solitary vices. He had a great hatred of women, specially of the prostitute class, & had strong homicidal tendencies: he was removed to a lunatic asylum about March 1889. There were many circumstances connected with this man which made him a strong 'suspect'. (3) Michael Ostrog, a Russian doctor, and a convict, who was subsequently detained in a lunatic asylum as a homicidal maniac. This man's antecedents were of the worst possible type, and his whereabouts at the time of the murders could never be ascertained.'' There are three Jack the Ripper suspects for Melville in his memorandum. They are, in the order he lists them, (1) M. J. Druitt, (2) Kominski, and (3) Ostrog. The reasons he suspects Druitt is because, in his words, Druitt is ''sexually insane'', and ''his own family believed him to be the murderer. His case for suspecting Kominski seems stronger. He argues that Kominski was ''insane'', ''had a hatred of women...especially prostitutes'', and, had ''homicidal tendencies'', in his words. Lastly, his reasons for believing that Ostrog was Jack the Ripper, was because he was ''insane'', a ''homicidal manic'', and, his whereabouts during the ripper murders is unclear. For a police officer who presumably had first hand knowledge about the ripper murders, Mcnaughten doesn't provide any evidence for suspecting these men. He does site reasons for suspecting these men. But that isn't good enough. It falls short of hard evidence. Source: www.casebook.org/official_documents/memo.html
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