Jack the Ripper murders explored

[Still Waters]

It has been 125 years since Jack the Ripper stalked the streets of London, yet the shadow of his gory legacy still looms large.

The identity of the man who brutally murdered five - possibly more - women in the Whitechapel area of London's East End remains a mystery but the case continues to frighten and fascinate.

http://www.bbc.co.uk...london-23759777

[+susieice]

I had heard of this murder before and just saw a show about it tonight. It was the murder of a prostitute in NYC named Carrie Brown. NY police thought it may have been committed by Jack the Ripper when he came to the US. Several people were investigated and one man was convicted, spending years in prison until it was ruled the evidence against him was planted or got there during a botched investigation at the onset. What amazes me is that Chapman was reportedly living across the river in Jersey City, NJ at the time, having come to America.

http://www.casebook....ims/carrie.html

http://www.casebook....arriebrown.html

http://www.casebook.org/dissertations/dst-carrieb.html

What do you think? Possible?

Edited January 27, 2014 by susieice

[Antilles]

I think you could tie the murder of any prostitute in the known world to Jack around 1888/91. Carrie Brown, OK Jack on a boat, but then why didn't he murder again?

I can understand Jack stopping after the slaughter in Miller's Court and I think one of these is a plausible reason: he died, he was incarcerated or he left the country. Personally, I think Jack died but let's say the last is true and he decamped for the US. Why no more murders? Serial killers like Jack just don't stop. Not after what he did to Mary Kelly. So, I suppose technically Jack could have left the UK but I myself don't think he did.

There are some similarities to Jack's murders but I suspect that if you look carefully enough, you could find similarities in many murders to Jack's work. Again, the idea of a slaughterman working on board a cross-Atlantic ship is interesting if, in fact, such a job actually existed.

Carrie Brown can't definitively be ruled out as one of Jack's, but I'd include Martha Tabram as a Jack victim before I included Carrie Brown.

[Neognosis]

I don't really feel at all sure that the "ripper" murders were all committed by the same person anyhow.

[Skep B]

Its strange how someone like Jack keeps people's attention, while known quantities like HH Holmes are much more scary in their method and dont get talked about all that much comparatively.

[Maureen_jacobs]

JTR is the quintessential serial killer. He is unknown.

H. H. Holmes is a crazy bird, but we all know who he is. JTR is a mystery. Unsolved. Enigmatic.

And, yes, check out the Casebook. Everything you want to know is there.

[Skep B]

Yeah, I guess the mystery aspect of it is nifty.

but after so long, its just odd hes stuck.

im sure back then plenty of killers got away with their kills. Plus, I don't mean to be flippant, but he killed some prostitutes. It's not like he killed dozens of people, or people of importance.

I guess im not in the right mindset for this. it seems like a curiosity of no real historical significance that people have stuck with

[Regi]

Its strange how someone like Jack keeps people's attention, while known quantities like HH Holmes are much more scary in their method and dont get talked about all that much comparatively.

Right? Personally, I've never been particularly interested in the case.

A serial killer case I'm more interested in occurred in Texarkana in 1946 and it also remains unsolved. There was a documentary style movie about it and it scared the heck out me when I was a little girl. (Even the title gave me shivers.)

From wiki, "Since the movie claimed that 'the story you are about to see is true, where it happened and how it happened,' the fabricated parts created much of the myth and lore for several decades. The 1976 film The Town That Dreaded Sundown was released internationally and is loosely based on the events despite its claim that 'only the names have been changed.' "

http://en.wikipedia....onlight_Murders

Here's the movie trailer.

[media=]

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Edit: I don't mean to derail the thread. For anyone interested, there is a thread about the case on the board.

I want to add that I think the reason that case is more interesting to me than the Ripper case is because the victims and locations were random. To me, not only is that a far more terrifying prospect, but for LE, it's an especially difficult case to solve because serial cases are already difficult, but under those circumstances, even more so.

Edited January 30, 2014 by regi

[WhispersInTheAttic]

I strongly believe this will always remain a mystery. I've actually read a book about where he claimed he thought that his own father was Jack The Ripper.

Here's the book I read

http://www.amazon.co...Jack The Ripper

Has anyone else read this? If so, what are you thoughts?

Edited February 1, 2014 by WhispersInTheAttic

[Regi]

I strongly believe this will always remain a mystery. I've actually read a book about where he claimed he thought that his own father was Jack The Ripper.

Here's the book I read

http://www.amazon.co...Jack The Ripper

Has anyone else read this? If so, what are you thoughts?

I haven't read it, but was there something in it about having extracted DNA from an envelope?

[msmike1]

One of the main reasons Jack is still talked about today like a superhero, is because he was one of if not the first documented serial killer. Sure there were others, but it was about this time that newspapers and penny articles were coming out, detailing the crimes and making the information public knowledge.

Mike

[dr no]

I think the reason we still talk about the killings is because of the nickname and the letters supposedly sent by him,both of which were probably press inventions.Before and after "Jack" there was the Thames Torso Killings,equally grisly and unsolved murders.I think if the torso killer had put pen to paper we might be talking about him and not Jack the Ripper

[Mr.United_Nations]

Spring Heeld jack and jack the ripper, same person?

[dekker87]

Jack the ripper was a tabloid fantasy.

[Small Town History]

I think the reason we still talk about the killings is because of the nickname and the letters supposedly sent by him,both of which were probably press inventions.Before and after "Jack" there was the Thames Torso Killings,equally grisly and unsolved murders.I think if the torso killer had put pen to paper we might be talking about him and not Jack the Ripper

Pen to paper, we sure might.

A killer writing his bio while killing... interesting.

Why do you say pen to paper?

Nickname (pseudonym, aka).

Letters, (communication).

Equally, (grisly or important).

Genre: Horror, (murders, killings).

Genre: Satire, (writings, letters).....Hmmmmm.

I see more Conan Doyle than the press inventions.

[dr no]

Pen to paper, we sure might.

A killer writing his bio while killing... interesting.

Why do you say pen to paper?

Nickname (pseudonym, aka).

Letters, (communication).

Equally, (grisly or important).

Genre: Horror, (murders, killings).

Genre: Satire, (writings, letters).....Hmmmmm.

I see more Conan Doyle than the press inventions.

I bet somebody has put Conan Doyle forward before now,Van Gogh and members of royalty have been accused.I just think without the Jack the Ripper name and the letters he supposedly wrote your left with murders we wouldn't be talking about today,like the Torso Killer who is not generally known

[Sir Wearer of Hats]

If Conan-Doyle was involved, there'd be faeries or libeling of the Mormons somewhere in the mythos.

[Small Town History]

If Conan-Doyle was involved, there'd be faeries or libeling of the Mormons somewhere in the mythos.

I couldn't exclude his archetype exemplars, did you?

He Doyle was a (SEAL) and (WHALE) killer, he had much experience at slaughtering.

But that may not be important, my uncle was a butcher too.

But his handwriting and his knowledge of writing murder, is a founded fact.

Again, not excluded, in fact, a perfect match on some exemplars.

[Small Town History]

Doyle was a letter writing fool.

[HollyDolly]

Various theories and possible suspects have been put forward but i doubt we will ever know. Some people even say it was James Maybrick.He was a wealthy cotton buyer who met his wife Florence if I recall on board a ship.She was I think younger than he.Anyhow,she was later brought to trial for his murder by poison. She served time in prision and later when released came back to the US where she was from.You can Google her. I don't know if you recall the brouha over the Ripper Diary when it came out years ago. There was some thought it was maybrick's diary.I even recall was it The Ghost Club or someother paranormal group in England even did a seanceI think at the Maybricks old home .In any case,,when they tried to contact James Maybrick, they asked him if he was the Ripper and were informed that nohe wasn't the Ripper.Most people think it was Druitt because he died shortly afterword and the murders stopped. However Maybrick if he really wrote the Ripper Diary and was the killer,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, also died which would have stopped the murders.

Don't think we will ever know who he was.

[Small Town History]

You might look at Doyle's letters on the web, there are many out there.

I did find one of his D's to match perfectly as well as other letters.

in fact he wrote in many styles and changed his handwriting up constantly.

Conan Doyle is a person of interest.

Not for his fiction SH only.

[Small Town History]

Remember, Doyle could write a murder, taunt police, and evade them in his works.

He did it for a living, perhaps in real life too. Kill, taunt, evade.

[Likely Guy]

Conan Doyle is a person of interest.

Dozens of others spring more readily to mind that Conan Doyle. Sure, he was alive at the time and everyone is a 'person of interest'.

Maybe Oscar Wilde did it?

[Sir Wearer of Hats]

I do, FWIW find it interesting that Doyle, who wasn't above lifting topical news for his Holmes stories (either as inspiration or just background colour) never touched on the Ripper. I don't, IIRC, even think that beyond folks like Moran being a "killer of men" that Doyle ever had a serial killer as a target for Holmes.

[Likely Guy]

I do, FWIW find it interesting that Doyle, who wasn't above lifting topical news for his Holmes stories (either as inspiration or just background colour) never touched on the Ripper. I don't, IIRC, even think that beyond folks like Moran being a "killer of men" that Doyle ever had a serial killer as a target for Holmes.

No, he didn't. Largely because he wrote in short story formats. A 'serial killer' would have taken much too long.