The Whitechapel Murders were a series of murders which happened in Victorian London, between 1888 and 1891. The Whitechapel Murders began in the Spring of 1888, on the 3rd of April 1888, when a woman named Emma Smith was attacked. The murders ended on the 13th of February 1891, with the murder of a woman named Frances Cole. There was a total of eleven women murdered between 1888 and 1891, they were known as the Whitechapel Murders - all of the eleven victims were murdered in Victorian Whitechapel, all of them were thought to have been prostitutes and their murders have all be linked in the past. The Unsolved Whitechapel Murders All of the murders remain unsolved. Some Ripperologists argue that all of these women were at the hands of one man - Jack the Ripper. Other Ripperologists have argued that only some of these women were murdered by Jack the Ripper, while the other women murdered were either not related to Jack the Ripper killings at all, or that they were copycat killings which were trying to replicate what Jack the Ripper had done. Who Were The Whitechapel Murder Victims? There were eleven Whitechapel Murder victims, most of which were murdered throughout 1888 - especially during the Autumn of Terror. The Autumn of Terror is the named given to the Autumn of 1888 when Jack the Ripper committed at least five murders throughout the Autumn season. There's the possibility that Jack the Ripper killed six victims during that time (if we include Martha Tabram as his victim). There is also the possibility that Jack the Ripper murdered more women than was known. Victorian Whitechapel was already notorious for being a crime infested area; even before Jack the Ripper committed his crimes. It was an area which was riddled with violence, other street crime like robberies, prostitution, drunkness, poverty, homelessness and poverty. These conditions made it unsafe for a Victorian to live - especially if you were a woman out on the streets, like Jack the Rippers victims were. The first victim of the Whitechapel Murders to have been murdered was a local prostitute named Emma Smith. Emma Smith was attacked, robbed and stabbed in the early morning hours of the 3rd of April 1888. Emma Smith died the following day because of the attack, she was 45 years old. Her murder remains unsolved to this day, the culprit or culprits of her attack were never caught. Some Ripperologists today argue that Emma Smith was murdered by a local gang. However, Chief Inspector of the Metropolitan Police Walter Dew thought that Emma Smith was the first victim of Jack the Ripper. He also thought that someone else was aware of the identity of Jack, Dew said in 1938 that 'Someone, somewhere, shared Jack the Ripper's guilty secret'.
The murder of Martha Tabram came four months after the murder of Emma Smith. She was another local prostitute, who was last seen at 11.45pm by another prostitute she was out with that night - Mary Ann Connelly.
Martha was found murdered in George Yard Buildings in Whitechapel, at 4.45am, she was found in a pool of blood in George Yard Buildings by John Reeves. Her murderer has never been identified. However, Martha Tabram could have been Jack the Rippers first victim. Mary Ann Nichols Martha Tabram could have been the first victim of Jack the Ripper, or, our next Whitechapel victim was - Mary Ann Nichols. Mary Ann Nichols is considered to be the first victim of Jack the Ripper. She is also the first canonical five victim. The canonical five were five women who were murdered in Whitechapel during the Autumn of 1888 (the Autumn of Terror). Many Ripperologists argue that Jack the Ripper only had five victims; these are the canonical five. The canonical five are included in the Whitechapel Murders; they are part of the Whitechapel Murders.
Mary Ann Nichols was the first canonical five victim, she was murdered in the early morning hours of the 31st of August 1888. Her body was found not long after she was attacked, on Bucks Row between 3.40 am and 3.45am. One of the men who found Mary Ann Nichols, Robert Paul, thought that she was still alive and breathing when he found her. Robert Paul, however, was not the first man on scene f Mary's death, that was a man known as Charles Cross (or Lechmere). Charles Cross is a suspect, due to being found at the scene of the murder. There are other reasons for him being suspected of being the killer, such as lying to the police about his real name. Others have ruled Cross out.
Annie Chapman Just over one week since the murder of Mary Ann Nichols, another prostitute was found murdered in Whitechapel. This time, Annie Chapman was found murdered on the 8th of September 1888. Annie Chapman was found that morning around 6 am, by local resident John Davis in 29 Hanbury Street. The inquest into the murder of Annie Chapman found that she might have been murdered around 5.30am that morning, according to the coroner, Wynne Baxter. This would fit with a witness statement. According to the neighbour in 27 Hanbury Street, Albert Cadosch, he went into the yard on 27 Hanbury Street ready to go to work, when he heard a woman say 'No!' followed by a thud on the fence, which might have been Jack the Ripper killing Annie Chapman. Elizabeth Stride Elizabeth Stride was the next victim, she was murdered in the early morning hours of the 30th of September 1888. Unlike all of the other victims, who were murdered much later in the morning, Elizabeth Stride was murdered just before 1 am that morning. This is one reason some Ripperologists don't think that Elizabeth Stride was murdered by Jack the Ripper. There is a reason - Elizabeth Stride wasn't mutilated like the other victims were. There is a reason for this though.
A man named Louis Diemschutz turned his horse and cart into Dutfield's Yard (where Elizabeth Stride's body lay). Diemschutz said that his horse refused to go into the yard and stopped. He got off the horse and cart, went into the yard and found Elizabeth Stride's body. He thought that due to his horse's behaviour, that the killer was still in the yard. If the killer was still in the yard, Louis going to get the police at that moment allowed Jack the Ripper to get away. Had Diemschutz acted differently, Jack the Ripper could have been caught and history would be very different today.
Catherine Eddowes Jack escaped, and just under an hour after Elizabeth was murdered, another prostitute, Catherine Eddowes, was also murdered on that night. This night has become known as the Double Event; when Jack the Ripper murdered two women in the space of an hour. Catherine Eddowes was his second victim that night. She was making her way home after spending the night in a police cell, for being drunk and disorderly on the Victorian streets earlier that evening. Eddowes was released at 1 am from Bishopsgate police station on the 30th of September 1888.
At some point she met Jack the Ripper along the way, she was found murdered in Mitre Square shortly after being released from Bishopsgate police station. She was found murdered and mutilated in Mitre Square at 1.45 am, by PC Edward Watkins. Shortly after her body was found, there was graffiti wand a bloody apron which were found not too far away, in Goulston Street. The apron was took from Catherine Eddowes and used by the Ripper to wipe either blood off of him, or his knife, perhaps both.
The graffiti found had read: ''The juwes are the men that shall not be named for nothing.'' Whether or not this was written by Jack the Ripper, is uncertain. Today, it's impossible to tell. It was immediately washed off the wall by the police, for fear that there would be anti-Jewish riots. There was also no pictures of the graffiti taken (that we know of). Therefore, we cannot compare the Goulston Street Graffiti to any of the Jack the Ripper letters. The Jack the Ripper letters There were several Jack the Ripper letters which were sent throughout October 1888 and one letter which was sent just before the Double Event. The Dear Boss letter was sent, postmarked, on the 27th of September 1888. A postcard, called the Saucy Jack postcard, was sent on the 1st of October 1888. Both the Dear Boss letter and the Saucy Jack letter were probably written and hoaxed by a journalist. There is one more interesting letter. The From Hell letter is the most interesting of all the Jack the Ripper letters. The From Hell letter was sent on the 16th of October 1888 to a local Whitechapel resident called George Lusk. Lusk also received half a human kidney with the Dear Boss letter. Catherine Eddowes, Jack the Rippers fourth victim, was missing half a kidney after her murder and mutilation. Mary Jane Kelly There was one final victim in the Autumn of Terror; Mary Jane Kelly. Mary Jane Kelly is thought to have been Jack the Rippers final victim. Unlike the other Jack the Ripper victims, Mary Jane Kelly was murdered indoors, the rest were murdered outside. Mary Jane Kelly was murdered in the early morning hours of the 9th of November 1888. Mary was also a prostitute and was much younger than Jacks other victims, she was in her 20s, most of the others were in their 40s. She was murdered in her home in 13 Millers Court. The murder of Mary Jane Kelly was the most gruesome out of all of the murders. After the murder of Mary Jane Kelly, the Autumn of Terror stopped, there were no other murders by Jack the Ripper. But, the Whitechapel Murders did not draw to a close after the murder of Mary Jane Kelly, but there is doubt that these other Whitechapel Murder victims were at the hands of Jack the Ripper. One final murder took place in 1888 - that of Rose Mylett. Rose Mylett Rose Mylett was found dead on the 20th of December 1888. The nature of her death is unclear, some officials at the time thought that her death was murder, others thought that she committed suicide. Her death was ruled as murder by jury and several doctors also thought that she was murdered. But one doctor, Dr Bond along with police officials, Robert Anderson, thought that her death was a suicide. The death of Rose Mylett remains unsolved. Alice McKenzie In 1889, a prostitute named Alice McKenzie was murdered. Her murder echoes that of the Jack the Ripper murders. She was a prostitute who was murdered in the early morning hours of the 17th of July 1888. Like the Jack the Ripper murders, Alice McKenzie had her throat cut and hand her abdomen attacked, however, her death has been speculated to have been a copycat killer, rather than Jack the Ripper himself. Pinchin Street Torso The torso of a murdered woman was found on the 10th of September 1889 during the early morning hours. The murderer has never been identified and neither has the victim. The Pinchin Street Torso is in the Whitechapel Murders file, however, the police at the time weren't convinced that this was the work of Jack the Ripper. Frances Cole The final murder in the Whitechapel Murders file was that of a local prostitute named Frances Cole. France Cole was murdered on the 13th of February 1891, she was found murdered in the early morning hours at 2.15 am at Swallow Gardens by PC Thompson. There were no mutilations to her body, but her throat is cut. A man named Jack Sadler was arrested for her murder, but he was later released, as there was not enough evidence to convict him of the murder. Therefore, Coles murder remains unsolved to this day, and her murdered remains unknown to this day. The Frances Cole murder drew the Whitechapel Murders to a close. It drew a close to one of the Victorian Eras greatest mysteries and one of the worlds greatest mysteries - who was Jack the Ripper?
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