The Chemical Accomplice

[Scorpio]

In the Whitechapel murders, what effect, if any, can be attributed to substance abuse ?. In an examination of possible factors related to JtR 's likely familiarity with his environment, the prevalence of drink culture in the East End was immediately apparent. Was alcohol consumption by the killer part of the pre-homicide behaviour pattern?.
With our first drink, and with blood alcohol levels remaining fairly low, stimulation is the immediate effect. Areas of the brain associated with thought, memory, pleasure seaking are effected, and inhibitions decrease. This stimulated state seems to fit with the behaviour of Jack according to most witnesses. With a few more drinks, mood is heightened, and a state of euphoria may set in. This is consistent with the post Eddowes shenanigans ( i will use any excuse to use that word ). The consumption of more drink at this stage is usually a turning point as the neural receptors that perk up after a drink or two refuse to respond and alcohol acts like a depressant/sedative. Any more drink and speech and motor functions are increasingly impaired leading to unconsciousness.
It seems that Jack could not have completely avoided the effects of alcohol when carousing, Kate Eddowes breath provides a good example of this, and he was probably a casual drinker at the least. Immoderate drinking would have effected motor functions, which are at odds with the organised elements of Jacks behaviour. The evidence of Schwartz alone seems consistent with this.

[Errata]

With a few more drinks, mood is heightened, and a state of euphoria may set in

As a lifelong designated driver, my only entertainment from alcohol has been in the messing with people who have consumed it. My experience has been that people who consume enough alcohol to experience significant behavior change barely have the motor skills to make it to the bathroom on their own. I can't imagine any kind of murder and successful getaway while toasted.

[Rubyretro]

I think that how much alcohol someone consumes before there are changes in behaviour and motor skills, entirely depends on the person ; in my experience, alcoholics often have a switch flipped in their brain after the very first drink -their change in behaviour can be spotted by those people close to them, although they do not appear drunk to anybody else.

Also motor skills certainly depend on the person..I'm thinking about all those French peasants and builders swigging pastis and then red wine at lunchtime, and perfectly able to do tricky jobs in the afternoon.

I think that it's perfectly possible that JtR could have drank before committing his crimes.

[kensei]

A little known fact is that the notorious serial killer Ted Bundy was at least somewhat drunk during virtually all of his crimes in a "liquid courage" kind of way. With the pervasive "gin palace" culture of the Victorian East End, I'd guess it would be a surprise if the Ripper was a teetotaler. In all likelihood he was probably inebriated to some degree during most if not all of his murders, as were his victims and many of the other characters making their way through the Whitechapel night. The only question is- was he an alcoholic? Long time alcoholics build up a tolerance and are able to handle amounts of drink that others might find unbelievable.

[Scorpio]

There is an undisputed positive correlation between alcohol/violent crime, but that does not mean alcohol causes violent crime, especially not serial homicide, but it is a factor, certainly in this case i believe . Throw a stone in the Victorian East End and you would probably hit a pub window.

[Scorpio]

Two pints of lager and a packet of cashews

Could it be that alcohol was JtR's one achilles heel?. Consider this, the killer of Liz Stride was the killer of Tabram, Nichols, Eddowes and Kelly, but in Strides case the attack was the result of unusually high alcohol consumption, leading to poor judgement in a number of spheres; the area was to respectable, the time was to early, and the victim was to obstinate. Liz was seen in a pub in the locality,with a man, who was not her boyfriend ( the brazen hussy ). I think it may have been the Bricklayers arms, and the Working mens club was pratically overlooking the crimescene, offcourse.

[caz]

Hi All,

Well considering one must drink to live, and plain water in 1888 tended to be considerably less potable than beer, I'd say the odds are pretty good that the ripper did drink something stronger than coffee before and after (and possibly even during) his few encounters with murder.

After the pubs closed, he'd have gradually sobered up without a pot of ale or hip flask to keep himself topped up. But if he was a moderate to heavy drinker, it does make sense that last orders could have made all the difference between an impulsive, badly judged effort in Dutfield's Yard, while under the 'fluence, and the much more thorough job in Hanbury, which was successfully undertaken at a later hour, despite the risk factor still being high.

Some see a problem with him being worse for wear in Mitre Square, but I don't. I have more of a problem with anyone risking a trick like that stone cold sober! There's a saying that God looks after drunks and little children, and this killer was looked after all right. He had the devil on his side too, helping him to dodge a dozen ways of coming a cropper.

Sally Anne Bowman's killer was a complete stranger who was high on drink and drugs when he brutally murdered and mutilated her, shortly after attacking another woman nearby and being interrupted by a passing taxi. He was staying the night with two female friends, who had put him up on their couch after an evening down the pub. When they woke the next morning he was back on the couch and they had no idea he had ever left it, let alone that he had let himself out of the house, attacked one woman and murdered a second, then let himself back in to sleep it off. Nobody suspected a thing and he would have got clean away with it, because his DNA was not on file. He was only caught when he got himself into a pub fight long after the event and had to provide a routine DNA sample.

If he could do all this while drunk and high on drugs I see no reason why the ripper had to be sober to do what he did. In fact I think it's highly likely he wasn't.

Love,

Caz
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[Errata]

I think someone might actually perform better while high and drunk than drunk alone. Especially if it's something like cocaine. I mean, your thinking would be crap, but your reflexes would be pretty good.

[Scorpio]

Just For The Taste Of It

Cocaine was habit of the wealthier classes in Victorian London and i suspect they had lots of quaint terms for it, because they considered it harmless.It was only when the commonality start using it in the sixties that the establishment took notice. I am pretty sure that a struggling working class person living in communal house would not of heard of it, or new anyone who used it recreationally. A slummer , or a casual visitor with some means,Tumblety for instance,is more likely, but i would consider a hip flask to be more likely than a vial for a JtR suspect. The immediate effects of cocaine are powerfull, but short lived. The state of euphoria,deadening of pain, increased self confidence,energy and attention could be considered ripperesque,but these effects might last fifteen to thirty minutes, so presumably, Jack would have been taking quite a lot of it considering the time he spent wandering Whitechapel.

[caz]

Actually, for Bowman's killer it was a mixture of 'several pints' and two lines of cocaine, and it was also his 35th birthday. He had a partner (and kids) at the time and she had refused to come to the pub to celebrate with him, and according to witnesses he had a phonecall during the evening which put him in a bad frame of mind.

Love,

Caz
X