Jack the Ripper

Jack the Ripper - Documentary - [part 1]

2011-02-10T14:43:00.000-08:00

WHO WAS JACK THE RIPPER

2011-02-10T14:36:00.000-08:00

JACK THE RIPPER VIDEO SECTION

2011-02-10T14:31:00.000-08:00

Witnesses

2011-01-08T18:56:00.000-08:00

Joseph Lawende (also known as Lavender)

Witness who, with Joseph Hyam Levy and Harry Harris, saw a man and woman standing at the corner of Duke Street and Church Passage, leading to Mitre Square, at around 1.35 a.m. on the morning of 30 September 1888, about ten minutes before the body of Catherine Eddowes was discovered in Mitre Square.

The first publication of the description of the man seen by Lawende was in the Times on 2 October - "of shabby appearance, about 30 years of age and 5ft. 9in. in height, of fair complexion, having a small fair moustache, and wearing a red neckerchief and a cap with a peak".

George Hutchinson

A man coming in the opposite direction to Kelly tapped her on the shoulder and said something to her. They both burst out laughing. I heard her say alright to him. And the man said you will be alright for what I have told you. He then placed his right hand around her shoulders. He also had a kind of a small parcel in his left hand with a kind of strap round it. I stood against the lamp of the Queen’s Head Public House and watched him. They both then came past me and the man hid down his head with his hat over his eyes. I stooped down and looked him in the face. He looked at me stern. They both went into Dorset Street.

Description age about 34 or 35. height 5ft6 complexion pale, dark eyes and eye lashes slight moustache, curled up each end, and hair dark, very surley looking dress long dark coat, collar and cuffs trimmed astracan. And a dark jacket under. Light waistcoat dark trousers dark felt hat turned down in the middle. Button boots and gaiters with white buttons. Wore a very thick gold chain white linen collar. Black tie with horse shoe pin. Respectable appearance walked very sharp. Jewish appearance. Can be identified. Mary Jane Kelly was discovered there.

Elizabeth Long

She was walking on the same side of the street as No.29 and outside the house she saw a man and woman on the pavement talking. The man's back was turned towards Brick Lane, while the woman's was towards the Spitalfields Market. They were talking together, and were close against the shutters of No.29.
Mrs Long saw the woman's face, but she did not see the man's, except to notice that he was dark. She described him as wearing a brown deer-stalker hat, and she thought he had on a dark coat, but was not quite certain of that. She could not say what the age of the man was, but he looked to be over 40, and appeared to be a little taller than deceased. He appeared to be a foreigner, and had a 'shabby genteel' appearance. Witness could hear them talking loudly, and she overheard him say to the woman, "Will you?" to which she replied, "Yes." They remained there there as Mrs Long passed, and she continued on her way without looking back. Annie Chapman was discovered there.

Israel Schwartz

Witness who saw a woman being attacked in the gateway of Dutfield's Yard in Berner Street at about 12.45 a.m. on the morning of 30 September 1888, about 15 minutes before the body of Elizabeth Stride was discovered there.

Thomas Ede
On Saturday morning, 8th September, Ede was coming down Cambridge Heath Road when he saw a man on the opposite side of the road, just outside the Forester's Arms public house. The man's peculiar appearance made Ede look at him; he appeared to have a wooden arm which was hanging at his side. The man then put his hand down, revealing about four inches of knife-blade sticking out of his trouser pocket. There were three other men present who were also watching and Ede spoke to them. He then followed the man who, realising he was being followed, quickened his pace before being lost under some railway arches.
The man was described as being about 5ft 8in in height, about 35 years of age with a dark moustache and whiskers. He wore a double peaked cap, dark brown jacket and a pair of overalls and dark trousers. He walked as though he had a stiff knee and had 'a fearful look about the eyes'. He had the appearance of a mechanic (he was not muscular) and the overalls were clean. Ede could not tell what sort of knife it was. Mary Ann Nichols' was discovered there.

2011-01-08T18:09:00.000-08:00

In the Autumn of 1888 there began a series of terrifying grisly murders by an unknown Killer. The notorious serial killer who stalked London's East End, butchering prostitutes and terrorising the population was shrouded in mystery.

It was the officers of Scotland Yard to whom the task of apprehending the killer was entrusted.

The victims were all prostitutes, murdered and mutilated in the alleyways of Whitechapel.

(The Victims)

It is unclear just how many women the Ripper killed. It is generally accepted that he killed five, though some have written that he murdered only four while others say Nine or more.

( The five Generally Accepted victims below)

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.

It was at this time Between August to November 1888 panic was at its height and the notoriety of the murders was becoming truly international, appearing in newspapers from Europe to the Americas. There where many photos taken of the victims, Even at this early stage the newspapers were carrying theories as to the identity of the killer, including doctors, slaughterers, sailors, and lunatics of every description.

Surprisingly, a full understanding of the Ripper's Killing technique was not established until several years ago.

The Whitechapel murderer and his victim stood facing each other. When she lifted her skirt, the victim's hands were occupied and was then defenseless. He then strangled his victim until they were unconscious, Then he laid the women carefully on the ground, Reaching over to cut the victim's throat, beginning with the side facing away from him. This effectively drained the blood from his victim, he would then make his ritual mutilations on the naked exposed parts of the body... Then Disappear into the night, As suddenly as he Appeared.

In a time before forensic science and even finger printing, the only way to prove someone committed a murder was to catch either him or her in the act, or get the suspect to confess.

In this case, this was very Difficult, The killer was like a fox who prowled through the night Hunting & Hiding.

120 year mystery

Modern profiling techniques have been used to form the most accurate portrait ever of the murderer, whose identity has remained a mystery for 120 years.

Baffled detectives were left to puzzle over half clues and supposed suspects. Theories in Books and arguments still rage to this day, as to the true identity of Jack the Ripper.

The clues also suggest that police at the time were probably searching for the wrong kind of man.

The serial killer, who strangled and butchered five prostitutes in east end of London in seemingly motiveless attacks in 1888, is thought to have been aged between 25 and 35, about 5ft 6in (1.68m) tall and stockily built.

There were many suspects at the time, including doctors, slaughterers, sailors, and lunatics of every description.

The Two-man theory

Another theory is that Jack the Ripper could have been Two People.

one lookout, the other murderer.

There has been a lot of debate about elizabeth stride being a Ripper Victim.If elizabeth stride was a jack the ripper victim, Then there is a strong chance that the ripper could have been two people working together.

Why two Rippers?

Below is Actual eyewitness accounts and Police reports of 1888.

12:45 AM Israel Schwartz a witness, on the night elizabeth stride was killed stated that turning into Berner Street from Commercial Road, and having gotten as far as the gateway where the murder was committed, he saw a man stop and speak to a woman, who was standing in the gateway. He tried to pull the woman into the street, but he turned her round and threw her down on the footway and the woman screamed three times, but not very loudly. On crossing to the opposite side of the street, he saw a second man lighting his pipe. The man who threw the woman down called out, apparently to the man on the opposite side of the road, "Lipski" and then Israel Schwartz walked away, but finding that he was followed by the second man, he ran as far as the railway arch, but the man did not follow so far.

Assistant Commissioner Sir robert Anderson admitted that he was open to the possibility of an accomplice to the Ripper.

1:00 AM: Louis Diemschutz enters Dutfield's Yard driving his cart and pony and Finds elizabeth stride murdered with her throat cut.

(12:45am) since Israel Schwartz witnessed the argument and the woman being thrown to the floor and the time frame of the body being found by Louis Diemschutz on his pony and cart. (1:00am) Within the space of 15 minutes Raises serious questions.

Please Read on..

The Two-man theory

2009-10-04T13:14:00.000-07:00

Jack the Ripper could have been two people. one look-out, the other murderer.
There has been a lot of debate about elizabeth stride being a Ripper Victim.
If elizabeth stride was a jack the ripper victim, Then there is a strong chance that the ripper could have been two people working together.

Why two Rippers?

Below is Actual eyewitness accounts and Police reports of 1888.

12:45 AM Israel Schwartz a witness, on the night elizabeth stride was killed stated that turning into Berner Street from Commercial Road, and having gotten as far as the gateway where the murder was committed, he saw a man stop and speak to a woman, who was standing in the gateway. He tried to pull the woman into the street, but he turned her round and threw her down on the footway and the woman screamed three times, but not very loudly. On crossing to the opposite side of the street, he saw a second man lighting his pipe. The man who threw the woman down called out, apparently to the man on the opposite side of the road, "Lipski" and then Israel Schwartz walked away, but finding that he was followed by the second man, he ran as far as the railway arch, but the man did not follow so far.

Assistant Commissioner Sir robert Anderson admitted that he was open to the possibility of an accomplice to the Ripper.

1:00 AM: Louis Diemschutz enters Dutfield's Yard driving his cart and pony and Finds elizabeth stride murdered with her throat cut.

(12:45am) Israel Schwartz witnessed the argument and the woman being thrown to the floor. Then the body being found by Louis Diemschutz on his pony and cart at (1:00am) Within the space of 15 minutes Raises serious questions.

Please Read on..

Victorian Slum Streets

2009-10-03T16:22:00.000-07:00

It wasn´t easy being poor in Victorian London, if you had a job you would properly only earn enough to survive and if you didn’t… Starvation and malnutrition was common and hygiene was bad. Typhus, tb, smallpox and cholera flourished and many kids didn´t live to see their first birthday. The living conditions were horrible, old, worn-down houses with families crammed together in a single room, no pluming and properly high rent. But even among the poor there where different rank. The “rich” lived in the front house and the more poor you where the further in, in the dark backyards you lived.
Within the shadow of The City walls is London's oldest synagogue, the Bevis Marks, whereas Whitechapel is where the Salvation Army was founded and the original Liberty Bell was forged. However, what everyone remembers most about this area are the Victorian slum streets that were stalked by the most infamous serial killer of all, Jack the Ripper.
At No. 90 Whitechapel High Street once stood George Yard Buildings, where Jack the Ripper's first victim was discovered in August 1888. A second murder occurred some weeks later, in hanbury Street, behind a seedy lodging house at No. 29, is where Jack the Ripper left his third mutilated victim, "Dark" Annie Chapman. A double murder followed, and then, after a month's lull, came the death on this street of Marie Kelly, the Ripper's last victim and his most revolting murder of all. He had been able to work indoors this time, and Kelly, a young widow, was found strewn all over the room, charred remains of her clothing in the fire grate. Jack the Ripper's identity never has been discovered, although theories abound, including, among others, the cover-up of a prominent member of the British aristocracy, the artist Walter Sickert, and Francis Twomblety, an American quack doctor.

Jack the Ripper. But who was he?

2009-09-30T12:54:00.001-07:00

Who was the phantom that terrorized the east end of London in the
autumn of 1888.

Some Historians believe it was the devil himself.

Many church goers at the time believed it was religious madman doing the slayings to Rid the streets of vice and sins.

Someone that was mentally disturbed, who had a great hatred for women, especially fallen women of lower class.

Someone who walked the streets of whitechapel, spitting and foaming at the mouth. Very unlikely.

I will let you decide..

Like the modern serial killer`s of today, This person looked normal. someone who would go about his daily business.

Jack was most likely of the asocial type; preferring to be alone and probably worked at a job that promoted that atmosphere.

You have to remember at the time of the killings, and at the hight of
the panic, when women were afraid to go out, or be approached by a
man. somehow the ripper slipped through this.

So who was he? A gentleman with a top-hat that looked like this.

or an ordinary working class man, That looked like this.

Well whoever he was, the women at the hight of the murders thought it safe to walk down the streets with this man and do business for a penny or a loaf of bread.

Who knows one day someone might shed new light on one of Britain's
biggest mysteries of the last century - Jack the Ripper.

Please Read on..

First Victim of Jack the Ripper ( Polly )

2009-09-30T12:09:00.000-07:00

Mary Ann Nichols 43 years of age". Also Known as Polly was murdered in buck`s Row

Mary Ann Nichols 1883 Photo

On the night of her death, Polly is known to have been staying at a
lodging house known locally as ‘The White House’, 56 Flower and Dean Street, where men and women are allowed to share a bed.

Friday, 31st August 1888:

11pm: An unnamed witness sees Polly walking down Whitechapel Road.

12.30am: Polly leaves The Frying Pan public house and returns to the
lodging house.

Approx. 1.30am: The deputy of the lodging house tells Polly to leave as she cannot pay the fee (known as “doss money”). Polly leaves but asks for a bed to be saved for her, exclaiming “see what a jolly bonnet I’ve got now” and showing off a new black bonnet.

2.30am: Polly meets Emily Holland and claims she has had her doss money three times already that day but has spent it on alcohol. She tells Emily that she is going to try soliciting for trade one more time before returning to the lodging house on Flower and Dean Street.

3.15am: Two police officers patrolling Buck’s Row report nothing unusual.

3.45am: Polly Nichols' body is discovered in Buck's Row by Charles Cross and Robert Paul. two men find police officer P.C. Neil, who calls for Dr. Llewellyn. The doctor pronounces Polly dead.

The inquest testimony reported Polly as having her throat slit, Two or three inches from the left side was a wound running in a jagged manner. The wound was a very deep one, and the tissues were cut through. as well as several incisions running across the naked body.

Buck's Row Mary Ann Nichols body is discovered

old photo of Buck’s Row, The arrow points to site where Mary Ann Nichols mutilated body was found.

Buck’s Row the site where Mary Ann Nichols body was found.
photo taken 2009.

Mary Ann Nichols Mortuary photo 1888

Please Read on..

Hanbury street Murder

2009-09-29T15:19:00.000-07:00

The next murder committed by Jack the ripper was Annie Chapman.

Photo Annie Chapman 1880

This Route takes me Right into the heart of whitechapel.

The walk from Dorset street to Hanbury street took me just under 5
minutes.

Number 29 Hanbury Street is the site which Annie Chapman, the second victim of Jack the Ripper, was murdered on 8th September 1888. Although the murder site has now been obliterated, There is still several buildings that survives from 1888 and where one of the major suspects actually worked!

Saturday, 8th September 1888: Approx 1am: A lodger, William Stevens, reports seeing Annie wrapping some medication in a piece of envelope after the pill box broke.

1.35am: Annie returns to the lodging house, eating a baked potato, she tells the deputy that she cannot afford her bed, but asks for it to be saved for her as she will be back soon.

5.30am: A witness named Elizabeth Long reports seeing Annie with a man (she only sees the back of the man). He asks Annie “will you?” and she replies “yes”.

( This eyewitness account by Elizabeth Long is very important, she could be the only one that ever did Actually see Jack the Ripper)

A young carpenter living at 27 Hanbury Street walks into his back yard probably to use the outhouse. Passing the five foot tall wooden fence which separates his yard from that of number 29, he hears voices quite close. The only word he can make out is a woman saying "No" He then heard something falling against the fence.

( This witness statement from the carpenter is also important, Had he peered over the wooden fence that night, He would most definitely had seen Jack the Ripper)".

Annie's body was discovered a little before 6.00am by John Davis, a man who lived on the third floor of No.29 with his family.Annie Chapman`s abdomen had been entirely laid open, the intestines, severed from their mesenteric attachments, had been lifted out of the body and placed on the shoulder of the corpse; whilst from the pelvis, the uterus and its appendages were Removed.

Annie Chapman Post-Mortem photo 1888

Murder site 29 Hanbury street 1888

Annie Chapman was found in the backyard of 29 hanbury street

Annie Chapman`s Murder site, photo taken 2009

The site is now Dominated by the Truman Brewery.

Please Read on..

Jack the Ripper (Elizabeth Stride)

2009-09-24T14:29:00.000-07:00

The next murder committed by the whitechapel Fiend was that of Elizabeth
Stride .

Elizabeth Stride 1872 Photo

She met her Assassin between 12:45 a.m - 1.00am.

Elizabeth "Long Liz" Stride (September 1888) is believed to be the
third victim of the notorious unidentified serial killer called Jack
the Ripper, who killed and mutilated prostitutes in the Whitechapel
area of London from late August to early November 1888

She was seen by an eyewitness being attacked by a man who might of
been jack the ripper, and thrown to the ground on the street outside
Dutfield's Yard at around 12:45 a.m.

Elizabeth Stride was killed on the night of the "Double Event" that
saw the murder of Catherine Eddowes less than an hour later.

Stride's body was discovered close to 1:00am in the early morning of Sunday, 30 September 1888, lying on the ground in Dutfield's Yard, off Berner Street in Whitechapel. Elizabeth Stride was 44 years old when she Died.

Elizabeth Stride post-mortem Photo 1888

Body of Elizabeth Stride Discovered

Dutfields Yard, how it looks today, photo taken 20th sep 2009

Please Read on..

Theory on Jack the Ripper

2009-09-21T15:02:00.000-07:00

What i Learned from this Walk is that each murder site can be reached in under 5 to 10 minutes, And all the murders were commited within the Whitechapel Area.

There is a good possibility that Jack the ripper Lived in the Area, Where all the murders took place.

He was a local man and Known to a lot of People. Someone who Appeared Trustworthy.

He Probably worked in the local pub or a shop.

Maybe the most important evidence is the way the Ripper cut his
victims. When he removed organs from the victims he would dissect
their bodies in the same manner that a trained doctor would have done. To do this in total Darkness, under Tight time constraints is unbelivable.

This shows that Jack the Ripper had some medical Knowledge, To know exactly where to find the organs, and cut them out in one big sweep.

At the time of the murders, When Panic was at a High, when prostitutes were afraid to go out, or even be approached by a Stranger. Somehow The ripper slipped Through this.

This shows he Probably did not look threatening at all, maybe a man that was lady- like "feminine" maybe someone who knew the women.

Who knows, one day we may find the Ripper’s DNA or fingerprints,.. I very well doubt it. 120 years have past, all the Evidence has Long Disappeared.

His Poor victims Lie in cemeteries Across London. And so does Jack the ripper. Maybe somewere in a whitechapel cemetery, or maybe in a paupers Grave.

Thousands of people who visit the Grave yards of London every year, probably walk past the Rippers Grave...Just a thought.

The hunt for the Victorian Killer`s identity by Ripperologists and students will continue for generations to come.
Who knows, one day we may find the Truth to this Mystery.

Please Read on..

Whitechapel Murderer in Dorset Street

2009-09-21T12:43:00.000-07:00

The next route my walk takes me to is Dorset Street, where
Miller's Court once stood.

The walk from Goulston street to Dorset Street took me just under 4
minutes, which Generally shows that each murder site can be reached in under 10 minutes.

This is where Mary Jane Kelly met her killer.

Artist impression Mary Jane Kelly 1888

At 2:00 am she is seen in Commercial Street

While standing under a street light near the Queen's Head Public House an eyewitness gets a good look at man with Mary Jane Kelly. He has a pale complexion, a slight moustache turned up at the corners, dark hair, dark eyes.

The man puts his hand on Kelly's shoulder and says something at which Kelly and the man laugh. the eyewitness hears Kelly say "All right." and the man say "You will be all right for what I have told you." The man then puts his right hand on Kelly's shoulder and they begin to walk towards Dorset Street, The couple then head down to Miller's Court.

Mary Jane Kelly was killed on Friday 9 November 1888. Her gruesomely mutilated body was discovered shortly after 10:45 a.m., lying on the bed in the single room where she lived at 13 Miller's Court, off Dorset Street, Spitalfields.

This murder was the most gruesome, Her throat had been severed down to the spine, and her abdomen virtually emptied of its organs. Her heart was missing.
There was slabs of flesh on the side table, her face was mutilated beyound recognition.

Dorset Street was Where Mary Jane Kelly was Slaughtered by Jack the Ripper.
This is the Passage way leading into Miller`s Court.

Dorset Street, how it looks today, photo taken 20th sep 2009

The mutilated remains of Mary Jane Kelly, Taken back in 1888 by the city of London Police, This photo shows the gruesome & terrifying murder Committed by Him.

Please Read on..

Jack the Ripper ( blood stained apron)

2009-09-20T14:49:00.000-07:00

The next route my walk takes me is Goulston Street passage.
The walk from Mitre Square to Goulston street took me just under 5 minutes.

which Generally shows that the murders where committed within
a one mile radius, and each murder site can be reached in under 10
minutes.

Goulston Street is now one of many streets which take on the overflow from Petticoat Lane and Wentworth Street markets.

Wentworth street market back in 1888, where jack the ripper stalked his victims.

Wentworth street market, how it looks today, photo taken 20th sep 2009

Below is Goulston street passage, just around the corner from wentworth street market. This is where jack the ripper dropped the bloodied apron..

This is the doorway to these flats, where fragment of a blood stained apron, matching that cut away from the fourth victim, Catherine Eddowes, was found.

A piece of Eddowes' apron, which the Ripper used to wipe off his
knife, was found by a constable near this doorway that had a chalked
message over the door. "The Juwes are the men that will not be blamed for nothing",

Goulston street passage is where the bloodied apron was found in 1888, this photo was taken at a later Date.

Goulston street passage how it looks Today, photo taken 20th sep 2009

The next route my walk takes me to is Dorset Street, Where Jack the ripper Killed Mary Jane Kelly.

Please Read on..

Jack the Ripper (Hunting Ground)

2009-09-20T14:23:00.000-07:00

This route that my walk takes has been designed to get straight into
the area where the murders occurred and give you a better understanding of what the neighbourhood was like when Jack the Ripper stalked the very alleyways and passageways.

Mitre Square is a small, quiet square heading off Mitre Street, Aldgate. It has three entrances: one from Mitre Street, the second leading from Duke Street via the narrow Church Passage, and the third leading from St James's Passage.

Catherine Eddowes had early on been arrested for being drunk & disorderly, At around 1:00 am she was released from the police station.

She turned left out the doorway which took her in the opposite direction of what would have been the fastest way back to Flower and Dean Street. She appears to be heading back toward Aldgate High Street where she had become drunk. On going down Duke Street, and at the end of which was Church Passage which led into Mitre Square is where she met jack the ripper.

Catherine Eddowes 1883 Photo

Catherine Eddowes like Elizabeth Stride, killed on Sunday 30 September 1888. Her body was found in Mitre Square, in the City of London, three-quarters of an hour after Stride's. her throat was, severed by two cuts, the abdomen was ripped open by a long, deep, jagged wound. The left kidney and the major part of the uterus had been removed. Her and Stride's murders were later called "The Double Event" in the media, and across London.

Mitre square was the scene of Catherine Eddowes
murder committed by Jack the Ripper.

Above: Mitre square how it looks today, photo taken 20th sep 2009.
Eddowe's body was found just behind the bench in the back (seen Behind the car)

Catherine Eddowes post-mortem Photo 1888

The next route my walk takes me to is Dorset Street passage. where Miller's Court once stood.
Dorset Street was the scene of Mary Jane Kelly`s murder committed by Jack the Ripper.

Please Read on..