An Overview of the Crimes of Jack the Ripper

Few names in the annals of history are as recognizable or conjure up intense fear as does Jack the Ripper’s. In today’s society, he is likely to have been little more than a blurb on the third page of national newspapers, but the paralyzing fear he imposed on London’s East End during 1888 remains one of the great crime stories of history. So who was Jack the Ripper? His identity remains unknown, but he was a serial killer who brutally and sometimes even inhumanely butchered at least 5 prostitutes in the Whitechapel district of Victorian London (the number of murders has always been a heated point of discussion).

All the murders were committed at night, with no reliable eyewitness accounts and no useful clues. All the victims’ throats were slashed, and most of their bodies were mutilated with organs removed. The most gruesome murder was that of Irish native Mary Kelly, whose entire body was cut open beyond all recognition.

The murders caused an uproar in London society. The public formed vigilante groups and held mass protests urging the police to resolve the matter, but to no avail. Jack the Ripper would kill and then vanish into the night. There were many suspects and many accusations, but no one was ever arrested for the murders.

The prime suspects, although there are many more, remain:
Aaron Kosminski, a Polish immigrant and resident of Whitechapel who harbored an extreme hatred of women, especially of the prostitute class
Montague John Druitt, a doctor from a prominent family who was sexually insane and who was found in the Thames river seven weeks after the last murder
Michael Ostrog, a Russian doctor whose whereabouts during the murders were never clear and who was later institutionalized as a homicidal maniac.

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Jack the Ripper and his mysterious identity have remained popular topics of discussion, especially since the 1973 BBC documentary miniseries Jack the Ripper aired in the UK, alleging the Royal Family of England was involved in the murders of the East End prostitutes. Every detective, at one point or other, has been interested in (or at least intrigued by) the Jack the Ripper case. His continuous popularity has been perpetuated by the media’s fascination with his identity. The media has not only romanticized the figure of “Jack,” but has added to the bewilderment of the case by regularly introducing new evidence, facts and revelations sure to pique the public’s interest. Renewed curiosity in the first-ever glamorized serial killer has resurfaced as a result of the latest Johnny Depp and Heather Graham film, From Hell, based on Stewart P. Evans’ book Letters From Hell. The movie opened at number 1, generating $11.6 million USD in ticket sales during its first 3 days of release throughout North America. Considering that Jack the Ripper’s reign of terror occurred over a century ago, this story certainly has staying power. As sure as the sun will rise, there will always be plenty of people out there searching for the answer to one of modern time’s most intriguing questions: who was Jack the Ripper?