Jack the Ripper

Topics Covered
Who is he?

Agenda What is so important about him?

Letters

Victims
Who is he?
Nobody knows who Jack the Ripper really was. Some
think he might have been a doctor or a butcher because
of how he killed and cut up the women, much like how
a surgeon might perform surgery, or how a butcher
might dissect an animal. All the murders happened on
weekends, so it could have been someone who did not
live in London but visited the city on weekends, or
someone who worked during the week and was only
free at the weekends. In September 2014, a research
group claimed that it had identified Jack the Ripper as a
23-year old Jewish immigrant from Central Europe
named Aaron Kosminski.
What is so
important about
him?
Jack the Ripper is the name given
to an unidentified serial killer. He
was active during the summer and
autumn of 1888 in the Whitechapel
district of London, England, which
was known for its overpopulation
and prostitution.
Letters
 "Dear Boss"
Two weeks later, a letter was sent claimed to have been written by the killer himself. The letter, received
on September 27 1888, was signed "Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper." The law enforcement and newspapers
referred to him as the Ripper from that point on. The letter read:
Dear Boss,
I keep on hearing the police have caught me but they wont fix me just yet. I have laughed when they look
so clever and talk about being on the right track. That joke about Leather Apron gave me real fits. I am
down on whores and I shant quit ripping them till I do get buckled. Grand work the last job was. I gave the
lady no time to squeal. How can they catch me now. I love my work and want to start again. You will soon
hear of me with my funny little games. I saved some of the proper red stuff in a ginger beer bottle over the
last job to write with but it went thick like glue and I cant use it. Red ink is fit enough I hope ha. ha. The
next job I do I shall clip the ladys ears off and send to the police officers just for jolly wouldn't you. Keep
this letter back till I do a bit more work, then give it out straight. My knife's so nice and sharp I want to get
to work right away if I get a chance. Good Luck. Yours truly
Jack the Ripper
Dont mind me giving the trade name
PS Wasnt good enough to post this before I got all the red ink off my hands curse it No luck yet. They say
I'm a doctor now. ha ha
 "From Hell"
From Hell letter was received by George Lusk, leader of the Whitechapel Vigilance
Committee, on 16 October 1888. The handwriting and style is unlike that of the "Dear Boss"
letter and postcard. The letter came with a small box in which Lusk discovered half of a
kidney, preserved in "spirits of wine" (ethanol). Eddowes' left kidney had been removed by
the killer. The writer claimed that he "fried and ate" the missing kidney half. There is
disagreement over the kidney: some contend it belonged to Eddowes, while others argue it
was nothing more than a macabre practical joke. The kidney was examined by Dr Thomas
Openshaw of the London Hospital, who determined that it was human and from the left side,
but (contrary to false newspaper reports) he could not determine its gender or age.
Openshaw subsequently also received a letter signed "Jack the Ripper".
Victims
The main victims thought to be killed by
the Ripper were five prostitutes:
Mary Ann Nichols - 43 years old (31 August)
Annie Chapman - 47 years old (8 September)
Elizabeth Stride - 44 years old (30 September)
Catherine Eddowes - 46 years old (30 September)
Mary Jane Kelly - 25 years old (9 November)
Newspapers and police in London
around this time started to get
taunting letters. The letters were
signed "Jack the Ripper". Other
murders were reported around the
same time, but were not thought to be
done by Jack the Ripper. He was also
known to have sex with his victims
before he killed them.