Jack the Ripper
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Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper was one of the most famous and renowned killers in history. Even though he was not the first serial killer, he was the first killer to strike on a metropolis setting. Jack the Ripper was in his prime at a time when the media had a strong control over society and society had as a whole was becoming much more literate. Jack started his killing campaign at a time of political controversy between the liberals and social reformers along with the Irish Home rule partisans. The reports of Jack the Ripper were collected and reported by the police, but then the different newspapers with their political influences slightly distorted the stories to give them their own effect. It has been more the one hundred years since the last murder and there is no longer any more original evidence, and the “facts” about the stories have changed over time due to different writers or differing sources. The press changed Jack the Ripper from being a depressed killer of prostitutes to one of the most romantic figures seen throughout history. One fact that most sources agreed upon was that the Ripper was a killer who wanted nothing more than to strike fear into the entire city by horribly mutilating his victims and then leaving them in locations where they were sure to be seen. Jack was the type of killer that wants fame and loved the fact that his “name” was on everyones lips and was able to strike fear into anyone and everyones heart.
In the late 1800s “Jack the Ripper” began his rampage of killings. He was a serial killer who murdered several prostitutes in the East End of London in 1888. The people of London, mainly the press at the time, dubbed this killer, “Jack the Ripper.” The name was given to the killer because at the time of the murders, a person wrote a letter to the police and press claiming to be this serial killer, and he had called himself, “Jack the Ripper.” These killings took place in the districts of Aldagate, City of London proper, Spitalfields, and Whitechapel which all happen to be within a mile radius of each other. Within these different districts, he was given different names depending on the stories that were told about the killings some of these other names that the serial killer “Jack the Ripper” was given were Whitechapel Murderer, which was an extremely creative and original name, and “Leather Apron,” which is presumed to reference the stories of the murders. Jacks “romantic” killings of women were the murders that lead the way for the killings we see all too often in todays society. In todays society, it is common to see rape murders or any type of murder that had some form of sexual assault. What the world knows about Jack the Ripper is that he was a killer in London that gruesomely murdered most likely five women and was never caught.
All the victims of Jack are truly unknown, but it is believed that he was only responsible for five of the killings that took place in the London area. There were other killings that happened around the same time as Jacks, but these murders were dismissed as the work of “copy-cats” looking to share the spotlight with “The Ripper.” The five women that were accepted as the victims of “Jack the Ripper” were Mary Ann (Polly) Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catharine Eddowes, and Mary Jane (Marie Jeanette) Kelly. It is also presumed that Martha Tabram was a victim of Jack but the exact number is uncertain. Some sources say that he killed as few as four women while others say that he killed a minimum of nine and mostly likely killed several more. The first killing in this spree began on Tuesday, August 7, 1888 with the murder of Martha Tabram. Next came the slaying of Mary Ann Nichols on Friday, August 31, 1888, and that death was followed with the murder of Annie Chapman on Saturday, September 8, 1888. Then on Sunday, September 30, 1888 came the killings of Elizabeth Stride and Catharine Eddowes. It is uncertain whether or not the murder of Stride was performed by the alleged Jack the Ripper. The uncertainty lies within the dual murders on the same day. It just did not seem typical of a killer who had seemed to plan everything so meticulously to commit to murders in the same day. One would think he would risk unveiling his identity, but then again one murder at a time may not have been enough of a challenge for him. The last victim presumed to be killed by “Jack the Ripper” was Mary Jane Kelly who was killed on Friday, November 9, 1888. All of these victims including Martha Tabram were all prostitutes killed with in the months of August and November in the East End of London. All of them were presumed to be drunk at the time of their death, and Tabram and Kelly were they only two victims to be killed indoors. Lastly the only connection these women had with each other was the fact that they were all massacred by “Jack the Ripper.” Another thing all the women had in common was the way they were killed because “Jack the Ripper” was a man set in his ways and used the same method every time.
Jack used the same basic method on every single one of his victims. The only part of the killings that tended to vary was in what way he chose to mutilate his prey with a knife after they were unconscious or even dead. The first step “Jack the Ripper” was believed to select his prostitute and then treat them to a few drinks until they were in the state that he preferred. Once the women were ruled drunk by Jacks standards, he would take them to an ally to have sex with them, and after they had lifted up their skirts, he would proceed to strangling his prey until they were either dead or unconscious. He would then lay them on the ground, and it was determined that they were laid on the ground rather than thrown or strangled there after intercourse, but due to the lack of bruising on the back of their heads and the filth that was left on the streets both of these possibilities were ruled out. Once on the ground, he would then slash their throats from “ear to ear.” Due to how the splatter stains were on the surrounding area and the depth of the cut in certain areas, it was determined that