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The name ‘Jack the Ripper’ has become the most infamous in the annals of murder, with an identity that remains hidden even today. In the years 1888-1891 the name was regarded with terror by the residents of London’s East End, and was known the world over. He was not the first serial killer, but he was probably the first to appear in a large metropolis at a time of turmoil.

The number of Jack’s victims still remains unclear. Officials believe that he is responsible for nine murders. The five that are generally accepted as the work of the Ripper are:

1. Mary Ann (Polly) Nichols, murdered Friday, August 31, 1888.
2. Annie Chapman, murdered Saturday, September 8, 1888.
3. Elizabeth Stride, murdered Sunday, September 30, 1888.
4. Catharine Eddowes, also murdered that same date.
5. Mary Jane (Marie Jeanette) Kelly, murdered Friday, November 9, 1888.

The suspects were named in a report dated 23 February 1894, although there is no evidence of contemporary police suspicion against the three at the time of the murders. The circle of suspects has been reduced to a mere four:

1. Kosminski, a poor Polish Jew resident in Whitechapel;
2. Montague John Druitt, a 31 year old barrister and school teacher who committed suicide in December 1888;
3. Michael Ostrog, a Russian-born multi-pseudonymous thief and confidence trickster, believed to be 55 years old in 1888, and detained in asylums on several occasions;
4. Dr Francis J. Tumblety, 56 Years old, an American ‘quack’ doctor, who was arrested in November 1888 for offences of gross indecency, and fled the country later the same month, having obtained bail at a very high price.

The name is easy to explain. It was written at the end of a letter, dated 25 September, 1888, and received by the Central News Agency on 27 September, 1888. They, in turn, forwarded it to the Metropolitan Police on 29 September.

The letter began “Dear Boss……” It went on to speak of “That joke about Leather Apron gave me real fits……” (’Leather Apron’ was a John Pizer, briefly suspected at the time of the Chapman murder). “I am down on whores and I shant quit ripping them till I do get buckled…”; and so on in a similar vein. The appended “trade name” of Jack the Ripper was then made public and further excited the imagination of the populace.

Filed under: Documentary