Jack The Ripper Case example essay topic

1,175 words
In the late 1800's a madman known as "Jack the Ripper" started and as far as we know accomplished a killing spree, for this case is not yet solved. His work was done in the gloomy dark streets of the southeast end of London. Jack the Rippers targets were all prostitutes. Each woman was between the age of 30 and 40. The victims were brutally slaughtered and harshly murdered. Between the months of August and November of 1888, the East End of London played as a stage for Jack the Ripper.

The first murder was said to be the most ferociously and most brutally done, the victim being Mary Ann Nichols. The second murder took place on a dark damp Saturday morning of September 8th 1888. Albert Caroche was thought to hear the muffled sounds of an assault, and then shortly before 6: 00 a.m. Annie Chapman's mutilated body was found. The police went frantic; who was this crazed killer?

On Saturday September 30th of 1888 was a day of double murder. At about 1: 00 a.m. in Berner Street the body of Elizabeth Stride was found, cut from ear to ear. Then just 10 minutes from Berner Street at almost 1: 45 a.m. Catherine Eddoes was found slaughtered by this now practiced killer. The month of October was mainly pretty silent. Then on the dreadful day of Friday November 9th 1888 Jack took the life of the youngest victim and said to be the most attractive, Mary Anne Kelly, murdered behind closed doors.

The police arrested many suspects but who was really guilty? Francis Thompson was a suspect, many books have been written about him declaring that he is defiantly the killer. Thompson was known to have some secret affairs with prostitutes. The second suspect, John Pizer was a Jew that just so happened to fit the description. A butcher, with access to 5-inch blades and in possession of a leather apron. Pizer had stabbing convictions against him but he also had a well-known dislike for prostitutes.

The next suspect Thomas Cream had been arrested in connection to poisoning of prostitutes. Cream was hung for the murder of the prostitutes with his last words being " I am Jack the Ri... ". . Michael Ostrogg spent most of his time in police custody, and was known to go by many aliases.

Ostrogg became very suspicious when after failing to report to the police on charges of suspicion. A Russian Doctor, Alexander Pedachenko was linked to the murders being called a "Russian lunatic" He was trained as a barbers surgeon and had joined the staff of Maternity Hospital. Pedachenko soon went nuts and was sent to an insane asylum for the murder of a woman in St. Petersburg; he died in the insane asylum. Many say he was merely a suspect of convince for a short time. Sir Charles Warren had ordered the removal of writing from Jack the Ripper off a wall before police could photograph and record it, which led to the thought of cover up. Prince Albert was known to have made many trips to the east-end of London.

Albert had Syphilis of the brain making him mad enough to commit the murders. Aaron Kosminski was a hairdresser with a great hatred for women, especially prostitutes. He was known as the most insane, and had homicidal tendencies and a history of crimes. The Last suspect Montague John Druitt was a school master, described as "sexually insane" and even his own family suspected him of the Whitechapel murders.

He had studied medicine but then became a barrister. Soon later Druitt's suicidal note was found "Since Friday I felt I was going to be like mother and the best thing for me was to die" He felt he was going insane, He was discovered dead in the Thames river. The police closed the Ripper file following Druitt's suicide. Along with all the suspects there were about 13 witnesses, which all led to no help. In the Jack the Ripper case there were clues, such as blood but during the 1800's DNA was not practiced.

If Jack the Ripper were to have committed these crimes today, we would have him caught. Jack the Ripper sent letters and body parts, as mentioned in one note he removed a kidney, fried part and ate it, while he sent the rest. With these we could possibly get fingerprints. DNA fingerprinting would have had a big affect on the Ripper case. If you were to get even a small tip of a fingerprint you could determine the culprit. Jack the Ripper was probably mentally ill, the women he killed did not know him they didn't see anything coming.

Each woman was cut and taken apart. These brutal murders will forever go down in history. We may never know the real killer. Patricia Cornwell a skilled crime writer has been on the case recently. She is determined to solve it, believing Walter Richard Sickert, an impressionist painter was Jack the Ripper. She has bought many of his painting, some of which were torn apart to find any trace of DNA.

She found blended DNA on Sickert letters that may match Ripper letters. Sickert painted gruesome pictures of dead prostitutes, She says one painting resembles the room in which Jack's last victim Mary Kelly was murdered. "Many serial killers keep souvenirs of their crimes to fuel fantasies later". Her hunch is that Sickert drew sketches as a souvenir but all sketchbooks have been lost.

Patricia says Sickert waited about 20 years to paint the portraits because he knew they would have attracted much attention had he painted them right after the killings. Sickert had a psychological profile very similar to many serial killers, growing up with and abusive father and who was a fearful and compulsive child. Patricia Cornwell strongly believes she has solved the case, but she will need to obtain physical evidence to convince people. I agree with Patricia Cornwell that Walter Richard Sickert is the real Jack the Ripper. Many serial killers have a growing rage from childhood that sets them off. Walter had many, he had undergone surgery many times for fistula, the abnormal canal made Walter sterile, and maybe the sexual disability finally set him off.

Another person has said that he had kept a red handkerchief in his studio where he painted. A witness reported that they saw a man hand Mary Kelly the last victim a red handkerchief before she was killed. Jack the Ripper was a sick person that took the lives of 5 innocent women. But who was he?

Will we ever know.