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| Whitechapel |
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| Whitechapel |
Tonight
marks the 124th anniversary of the first of the ‘official’ murders
attributed to an unidentified serial killer, given the monikers, "Leather Apron, "The Whitechapel Killer," and “Jack the
Ripper.” Almost a century and a
quarter later, the five murders remain unsolved. Many suspects have been identified, but no one has been
undeniably determined to have been “Jack the Ripper.”
The
“Official” Five
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| Nichols Body Discovered |
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| Mary Ann Nichols |
It
was in the middle of the night on August 31, 1888, when 43-year-old Mary Ann
(Polly) Nichols was found murdered
in the Whitechapel district of London.
Nichols, a local prostitute, was found lying in front of a stable on
Buck’s Row, with her skirts raised.
Her throat had been cut twice and her abdomen slashed deeply several
times. The coroner placed the time
of death around 3 A.M.
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| Marker for Mary Ann Nichols |
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| City of London Cemetery |
Nichols’
body was held at the Whitechapel Mortuary until the following Thursday. She was buried on September 6, 1888 at
the City of London Cemetery in Ilford.
Nichols death was the first police officially attributed to “Jack the
Ripper.”
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| Annie Chapman |
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| Where Chapman was found |
About
1:45 on the morning of Saturday, September 8, 1888, 47-year-old Annie
Chapman found herself without
money for lodging. Worse for
drink, she headed out into the streets to earn the necessary funds. Her body
was discovered around 6 A.M. Her throat had been severed by two cuts, and her
abdomen had been laid open. It was
later discovered that her uterus had been taken.
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| Manor Park Cemetery |
Annie
Chapman was buried at Manor Park Cemetery on Friday, September 14, 1888. Her
funeral was kept secret by her family in order to avoid crowds. Chapman’s grave
no longer exists; it has since been buried over.
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| Searching for suspects |
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| Headlines of the Day |
It
was after Chapman’s death that the police realized the same person could
have committed both her murder and that of Mary Ann Nichols. The two crimes were so similar that the
investigations were merged into one and officials began searching for one
suspect.
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| Police News Headlines |
After
Chapman’s murder, the public, panicked by the thought that a murderer was loose
on the East End, began observing curfews, careful to travel in groups. The police began investigating any lead
that came their way, many hoaxes dreamed up by those wanting to trick the local
police. But after three weeks
without a murder, it seemed that maybe the worst was over….
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| Elizabeth Stride |
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| Discovery of Stride |
The
night of September 29th was wet and cold. Forty-four-year-old Elizabeth Stride had been drinking with friends that Saturday
evening, spending the money she’d earned earlier in the day, cleaning
rooms. Around 11 P.M. she
was seen working the streets. At
12:45 A.M. on September 30th, Stride’s body was discovered. She was
lying by a fence in the yard near the International Workers Educational
Club. Her throat had been gashed
deeply, but it appeared the murderer had left quickly.
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| East London Cemetery |
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| Grave of Elizabeth Stride |
Elizabeth
Stride was buried on Saturday, October 6, 1888 in the East London Cemetery at
Plaistow. The local parish
provided for her short funeral and burial.
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| Catherine Eddowes |
The
police had just arrived on the scene of the Stride murder when yet another
murder was occurring nearby. Forty-six-year-old Catherine Eddowes had spent her Saturday evening in a cell for
drunks at the Bishopsgate police station. She was released at 1 A.M. when she
was able to stand and walk out of the station unaided. At 1:45 A.M. Eddowes mutilated body was
found by a beat cop in the corner of Mitre Square. Her throat had been cut, her face disfigured, her abdomen
laid opened, and the intestines pulled out and laid over a shoulder. Her left
kidney and most of her uterus had been taken.
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| Marker for Catherine Eddowes |
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| City of London Cemetery |
Catherine
Eddowes was buried on Monday October 8, 1888 in the City of London Cemetery in
an unmarked grave. A plaque was
placed by cemetery officials in 1996.
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| Kelly's Room |
The
last murder officially attributed to Jack the Ripper occurred sometime during
the early morning hours of November 9, 1888. Twenty-five-year-old
Mary Jane Kelly had gone out
about 11 P.M. on Thursday, November 8th. She returned to her room in Miller Court around 11:45 with a
man. She was heard singing in her
room around 1 A.M. and was reportedly seen taking another man to her room
sometime after 2 A.M. A neighbor
reported hearing the cry of “Murder” about 4 A.M. and someone leave the room
close to 6 A.M.
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| Mary Jane Kelly |
It
was almost 11 A.M. Friday morning when a man sent to collect Kelly’s rent,
looked through her window and saw what was left of her mutilated body on the
bed. Police determined that she
had been killed by a slash to the throat before the mutilations were
performed. It was reported that
her heart was missing. Kelly’s
body was the most maimed and disfigured of the five.
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| St Patrick's Catholic Cemetery |
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| Marker for Mary Jane Kelly |
Mary
Jane Kelly was buried on Tuesday, November 19, 1888 at St. Patrick’s Roman
Catholic Cemetery in Leytonstone.
No family attended her funeral.
During the 1950’s, the cemetery reclaimed Kelly’s grave. A small plaque was placed in the
cemetery in the 1990’s.
Others
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| Murder Location for Emma Smith |
Other
murders might have been committed by Jack the Ripper, beginning with 45 year
old Emma Elizabeth Smith on April 3, 1888 in Whitechapel. She was attacked, sexually assaulted,
and died the next day of peritonitis at London Hospital. Her killing was the first
recorded of the “Whitechapel Murders.”
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| Surgery Implements |
Although
the M.O. (modus operandi) does not follow the Ripper’s later actions, it could
be that he had yet to settle on a technique. It is considered more likely that the media made the
connection for added interest to the Ripper murders during the autumn attacks.
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| Martha Tabram |
The
other murder, prior to the “Autumn of Terror”, involved 39-year-old Martha
Tabram. She was murdered August 7,
1888 in Whitechapel. She died from
39 brutal stab wounds. Police
thought that the closeness of the date to the five attributed murders, along
with the savagery of the attack, a lack of motive, and the location warranted
it to be considered as a Ripper murder.
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| Discovering Another Body |
It
is worth noting that both women fit the victim profile; dark hair, single, heavy
drinker, prostitute. No one was
ever arrested in either murder.
The other “Whitechapel Murders” included Rose Mylett, Alice McKenzie,
Frances Coles, and a woman who was never identified.
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| The Murders |
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| Location of 1888 Murders |
The
“Whitechapel Murders” occurred from April 3, 1888 to February 13, 1891. A total
of eleven women, all prostitutes in the Whitechapel area, were brutal murdered.
Five were attributed to Jack the Ripper, the others were considered to likely
be Ripper victims.
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| Suspects |
Police
questioned over 2,000 people during and after the murders. Of those, over 300
people were investigated; eighty were taken in and detained. Although scrutinized, most were not
believed to be seriously involved. Some were considered but had alibis, and a
few have remained top suspects for well over 100 years. But no one was ever charged with any of the murders.
After 124 years, it is doubtful that the identity of
Jack the Ripper will ever be known.
It appears the murders of this serial killer will remain part of a
historical whodunit for all time.
~
Joy
The
police had just arrived on the scene of the Stride murder when yet another
murder was occurring nearby. Forty-six-year-old Catherine Eddowes had spent her Saturday evening in a cell for
drunks at the Bishopsgate police station. She was released at 1 A.M. when she
was able to stand and walk out of the station unaided. At 1:45 A.M. Eddowes mutilated body was
found by a beat cop in the corner of Mitre Square. Her throat had been cut, her face disfigured, her abdomen
laid opened, and the intestines pulled out and laid over a shoulder. Her left
kidney and most of her uterus had been taken.
