Who is Jack The Ripper?

Question

Ding!

Answer 1

If you want the simple, ‘Sunday Schooled’ version…
Jack the Ripper was an anonymous figure of evil who murdered and severely mutilated 5 of Whitechapels prostitutes in 1888. He was never found and his identity was never discovered.

First of all, some corrections... Jack the Ripper was never accused of being a female, in fact, the only basis of the theory is four questions...
What sort of person was it that could move about at night without arousing the suspicions of his own household or of other people that he might have met.
Who could walk through the streets in blood stained clothing without arousing too much comment.
Who would have had the elementary knowledge and skill to have committed the mutilations.
Who could have been found by the body and yet given a satisfactory alibi for being there.

Secondly, she had no name... she was known as Jill the Ripper, no suspects were created under this theory.
Thridly, to the person who mentioned the DNA subject... false. I'm quite sekptical because there was no DNA found on the evidence, nothing was found, in fact, I question your sources.

If you don't want a long series of ramblings, completely ignore the proceeding.
Now, for the in-depth stuff, this will be long, so be prepared.
I shall review some of the suspects of the case, showing you some of the pro’s (if any) and con’s of each suspect.
The most common theory and the most played out in the media is the Royal/Masonic Theory. I must firstly say that this theory is absurd for many reasons…
The idea and basis of the theory, for those who do not know, is that Prince Albert Victor, and the story goes that he impregnated an 'Unfortunate', a woman, a prostitute. This infatuation would bring Albert to ruin, and the child being bred from Royal blood would legally gain heirship to the throne. This couldn’t be done, so the Royals, along with the Freemasons, would contrive to rid the truth.
They employed the Royal doctor, Sir William Gull (as Albert was unable to perform the murders himself due to illness) to murder those who knew of the truth, the infatuation and the child. These just happened to be Polly Nichols, Annie Chapman, Liz Stride, Catherine Eddowes and Mary Kelly.
Now, with the theory explained, let me get to the logical bias of this theory.
First of all, the idea of William Gull making his way through the streets of Whitechapel alone can be dismissed as that, as his stature promotes, wouldn’t have known about the layouts pf the East End, the "Ripper' however clearly knew Whitechapel, East End and its Slums.
So why not have Sir William travel by carriage with an accomplice by the name of Netley... Logically, wouldn’t someone have heard the loud noise of wheels rolling on cobblestones in the claustrophobic streets of Whitechapel? Yet no one noticed these sounds or made mention of them at the time of the murders.
Another interesting thing to note is that, at the time of Dark Annie's murder, a woman saw miss Chapman outside 29 Hanbury Street (the place she was killed) negotiating with a man, most likely the 'Ripper'. In case you haven’t caught on yet, the witness saw ONE man, not two... she also saw no carriage. Would it help if i mentioned that the man she saw didn’t match any of the Royals?
Okay, another thing is that, if the theory was correct, all of the victims knew each other and had a regular friendship... it is a known fact that none of the victims knew each other... doesn’t this throw the theory into shaky realism?
So, why do so many movies, such as the comic book adaptation From Hell and the earlier TV miniseries 'Jack the Ripper', base there story and plot on this theory? Simply because it has the most dramatic, interesting and playful affect. They make the theory their movie because of the plot value, not for truth and accuracy.
There was never a grape vine found at the scene of the murders, Mary Kelly did in fact die, Inspector Abberline did not know Mary Kelly, no mention or evidence of laudanum or opium was found.

Moving on, lets take a look at Patricia Cornwell’s theory of the Ripper being the artist, Walter Sickert. The theory has the potential to impress the minds of millions worldwide with certain ideas about the Ripper crimes which are, unfortunately, largely inaccurate.. Some of the ideas that tis theory presents is that, Walter Sickert sent the infamous ‘Ripper’ letters to the police, taunting them and the media during the murder spree.
She claims to have conclusively found Sickert’s DNA on one or more of the “Jack the Ripper” murders. The discovery of Watermarks on the Ripper letters and Sickert letters.
Another idea was that Walter Sickert inserted clues and symbols about the Ripper case into his drawings and paintings. Some of these clues are so similar to the actual crime scenes that only the true murderer could have painted them.
Now, I wont go into detail on each of these speculations, but you may be interested in reading this article;
http://www.casebook.org/dissertations/dst-pamandsickert.html
It deals with Concept vs. Fact of Cornwell’s Sickert theory.
Now, one very contradictory fact about the Sickert case is that there are several independent sources of evidence that indicate Walter Sickert was in France between August and October, 1888.
This automatically throws the theory into fiction. Truth be said, this theory is a lot of tom-foolery. Patricia Cornwell bakes up bundles of theories without backing them up with facts.

Now, moving on to the ‘Black Magic’ theory. A theory that believes that ‘Jack’ was a Black Magic ritualist.
This theory purports to explain the motive, planning and execution of the Ripper murders as part of a mystical "black magic" ritual performed by none other than Roslyn Donston. The theory is that the murders were planned on a map according to an ancient geometric symbol called Vesica Pisces.
This is a very bold theory and would be a very bold risk in believing it. If the mind permits, anyone can connect the murder sites and from some of a letter or sign, it’s entirely up to the imagination.

Aaron Kosminski, why do many people follow the path of the English men during the ‘Ripper’ period and blatantly suspect that an ‘Ill-bred’ Jew committed the atrocities? Why, I ask?
As for the suspicion, it started when one witness identified him as the ‘Ripper’. No charges were brought forward however.
He was apparently known to have been insane, however, he was not known to have violent tendencies.

If I were you, I'd do as much research as you can and find a much more worthy and reliable suspect. I found one; he goes by the name of Francis Tumblety.
Tumblety; the first and earliest notion of this subject came from one of the police officials on the case, a Mr Littlechild, who later wrote a letter describing his thoughts and theory and presenting his idea of who the murderer was. This letter was only discovered in the twentieth century when a literature collector and librarian was cleaning out his books, ridding of any to be sold. He came across the letter and dismissed it as another hoax. However, when he sent it to a Ripper collector and Ripperologist, Stephen Evans, who later sent it for analysis which found the ink and paper to be authentic. This letter later became known as the 'Littlechild Letter' and is the absolute basis of this theory.
Tumblety himself, and American Doctor, or 'Quack' as referred to in the letter, was known to be a hater of women, a misogynist. This man made regular visits to London, one of which was in 1888 at the time of the murders. Known to have disguised himself on various occasions.
Now for the interesting parts, STRONG evidence against him was that Tumblty collected Uteruses, preserving them and such... Annie Chapman's uterus was taken.
More interesting to note, is that on the night of the double murders, of Stride and Eddowes; upon Tumblety's returning to his lodge house, the lodging lady discovered that his clothes had visible bloodstains on them.
He was arrested on November 7th, 1888 on charges of gross indecency and indecent assault with force and arms against four men between July 27th and November 2. These eight charges were euphemisms for homosexual activities. Tumblety was then charged on suspicion of the Whitechapel murders on the 12th (suggested he was free to kill Kelly between the 7th and 12th). Tumblety was bailed on November 16th. A hearing was held on November 20th at the Old Bailey, and the trial postponed until December 10th. Tumblety then fled to France under the alias ‘Frank Townsend’ on the 24th, and from there took the steamer La Bretagne to New York City.

Tumblety fits many requirements of what we now know as the ‘serial killer profile.’ He had a supposed hatred of women and prostitutes (the abortion with the prostitute Dumas, his alleged failed marriage to an ex-prostitute, his collection of uteri, etc.)
Tumblety was in London at the time and may indeed have been the infamous ‘Batty Street Lodger’ -- he therefore may have had fair knowledge of the East End environs.
Tumblety may have had some anatomical knowledge, as inferred by his collection of wombs, his ‘medical’ practice, and his short-term work with Dr. Lispenard in Rochester.
He was arrested in the midst of the Autumn of Terror on suspicion of having committed the murders.
There were no more murders after he fled England on the 24th November, if one counts only the canonical five murders.
Chief Inspector Littlechild, a top name in Scotland Yard, believed him a ‘very likely suspect,’ and he was not alone in his convictions.
Tumblety was fond of using aliases, disappearing without a trace, and was the subject of police enquiries before his arrest.
Scotland Yard and the American police had been in touch numerous times concerning Tumblety’s flight from France to New York.
One of the three detectives inspectors assigned to the case was sent to New York at the same time, perhaps to pursue Tumblety.
Tumblety evaded capture in New York City once again.
Tumblety had the wealth necessary for frequent travel and could afford to change his clothes frequently should they have become bloodstained.
He was an eccentric; but shrewd.
He had a tendency toward violence at times, and his career may have included other offences both at home and abroad.
Several acquaintances of his in America believed it likely that he was the Ripper when interviewed in 1888.

This is where I’m going to leave it, and yet I have not mentioned Joseph Barnett or James Maybrick and his Diary.

Cheers ;)

Answer 2

actually rdenig_male brings up an important thing ... nobody knows for certain that Jack the Ripper was in fact a man.

There was a Midwife ( be buggered if I can remember her name) who IS considered to have been a possible suspect. She was a strong powerful woman ... and I THINK DNA testing on remaining evidence showed that there was female DNA APART from many of the victims' own DNA.

Rumours abound as to who was the ripper The Midwife? A polish Jew, a member of royalty ( among others ) ...

Perhaps ONE day a means will be invented or discovered where the identity of the Ripper WILL be able to be Identified ... given now though .. that all involved are dead .. and there would be no real benefit of KNOWING who the ripper was ( as in you couldn't make them go to gaol ..) ... I think a HUGE part of me would rather it remains a mystery ...

http://www.carpenoctem.tv/killers/ripper.html

EDIT .. re the DNA ... I did type THINK .. because i was going from memory and was NOT stating it was a FACT or something THAT I knew for certain .. BUT i do beg to differ with you ... there WAS a female suspect recently mentioned and named .. ( was on one of those world channel docos SO it's reliability MAY be questionable ) ...

AND of course there is DNA evidence .. ONE way or another .. only at the time the technology wasn't there to use it....the samples taken from the letters sent to the police at the time have been tested to a degree and that showed MALE DNA,

Answer 3

Jack the Ripper became a serial killer who murdered prostitutes in an impoverished area of england. To on the present time he keeps to be nameless, in spite of the undeniable fact that there are various theories as to his id.

Answer 4

Jack the Ripper was a name assumed/attributed to the most (in)famous serial killer(s) in the world. He lived in England. His main targets were casual prostitutes who lived in the Whitechapel area and adjacent districts of Victorian London in the latter half of 1888. He/she was well known for the method of killing, which was a cut in the throat followed by mutilation to the corpse. Sometimes, he/she used to dissect the body and take out organs, which led to the belief that he/she possessed anatomical knowledge. One is unsure if it was just one person doing this.

Read this carefully:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_the_Ripper

Answer 5

No one is officially sure, but several people think they know. Patricia Cornwell offers the thought it was a Victorian painter by the name of Walter Sickett, while others offer up other possibilities.
If you can turn up the name of the Ripper, history will be most grateful

Answer 6

No one knows for sure who Jack the Ripper WAS. He/she can be no longer alive as the murders he committed took place over 120 years ago

Answer 7

Jack the Ripper was a man who did kill many girls thought to have been prostitutes. he did open society to forensic science if anything. the biggest mystery of him was even to this no one knows who he was or were we went. one theory is he was a member of a secret society that need to keep a secret under raps that the victims were involved in this idea was the basis for the movie From Hell

Answer 8

Queen Victoria's grandson.

Answer 9

A muderer in the victorian times

Answer 10

a man who raped heaps of girls