Data Mining to locate the Ripper?

[lynn cates]

Hello Cris. Thanks for the kind words.

Cheers.
LC

[lynn cates]

Hello TQ. It could be that "Jack the Ripper" is a way for human minds to link disparate things. Just an idea.

Cheers.
LC

[Robert]

Hi Lynn

True, the rising level of violence might point to an unstoppable train scenario. But there could have been a descending slope to bring the train to rest, if we include, say, McKenzie and Coles.

I was thinking of it in terms of a drug addict or alcoholic, who simply gets sick of what he's doing. In the Ripper's case, he would have had the memory of blood, urine and faeces. Not exactly an attractive thing to return to.

[lynn cates]

Hello Robert. That's true enough.

Of course,

1. Some pathological preferences thrive on those items.

2. There was a canonical killing after the one with the maximum exposure to faeces.

3. If blood is a problem, that likely began with Polly.

Cheers.
LC

[ChrisGeorge]

Originally Posted by lynn cates

Hello TQ. It could be that "Jack the Ripper" is a way for human minds to link disparate things. Just an idea.

Cheers.
LC

Hi Lynn

Of course the idea of one killer comes to us partly from the newspapers. The notion of there being just one blood-thirsty killer sold newspapers. Nonetheless there are, as Dr. Bond pointed out and authorities such as Melville Macnaghten accepted, a number of similarities between the majority of the canonical crimes, e.g., the deep neck cut in all five murders and the removal of the intestines and uterus, that do argue for one killer rather than different killers.

Best regards

Chris

[Steelysama]

Originally Posted by thequestioner

I am new to Ripper Research so I am possibly being naïve when I suggest data mining must offer tools not previously available so as to identify the Ripper.

The one fact that is almost universally true of serial killers is they do not stop their killing spree until some outside factor intervenes.

The Ripper’s killing spree was very intense, geographically very localised and stopped without obvious reason.

So the question is; why did the killings so abruptly stop?

Either the Ripper died, or he was arrested and imprisoned for some other offence, or he had some form of epiphany (e.g. got religion) or he was being controlled by some third party who ceased to have control over him.

My question is: in seeking to identify the killer my question is; has any research been done to identify a man probably residing in the Spitalfields area, who during the month of December 1888 either, died, or was imprisoned for a lengthy period? The epiphany option would be much harder to identify but it would form the basis for further enquiry if no obvious candidate fitting the other alternatives could be found. The controlling hand of another also leads itself to an enquiry as to whether the controller died, was imprisoned etc.

The tools are there to do this research.

There is no doubt that the use of databases can be extremely powerful in solving crimes. It is used today, certainly.

However, I am not at all certain that "data mining" techniques would be very helpful in identifying Jack the Ripper.

Even with the incredible amount of data that law enforcement has at their disposal today - DNA, fingerprints, DMV records, criminal records, and more - some criminals are still able to go avoid identification, especially when they have no prior record.

Now consider the situation of London at the time of the Ripper Murders. Let us put aside the fact that forensic science was primitive at best during that period. The simple problem that faces an investigator is that, unlike today when we are constantly tied to an identity, it was very easy in the late 19th century for a person to move through life relatively unknown. It is doubtful that there is a solid record of who actually lived in London - especially the East End - at any given time. And then it would be easy enough for a person to "disappear" if they wanted to - find a new name and a new identity.

It comes down the the simple problem that for databases to work for you, they need to contain the right information. That information is scarce in this case. And even the information we do have can easily be incorrect for a variety of reasons.

It is a good question that you have. I hope that I have offered some food for thought on the idea.

[Tel]

Originally Posted by ChrisGeorge

Hi Lynn

Of course the idea of one killer comes to us partly from the newspapers. The notion of there being just one blood-thirsty killer sold newspapers. Nonetheless there are, as Dr. Bond pointed out and authorities such as Melville Macnaghten accepted, a number of similarities between the majority of the canonical crimes, e.g., the deep neck cut in all five murders and the removal of the intestines and uterus, that do argue for one killer rather than different killers.

Best regards

Chris

Even so, I am inclined (and becoming more so) to exclude Kelly and Stride from the tally.

[lynn cates]

Hello Tel. "For one who hasn't yet lived a single lifetime, you're a wise man."

Now, if I can convince you about Kate.

Cheers.
LC

[Bridewell]

And then it would be easy enough for a person to "disappear" if they wanted to - find a new name and a new identity.

They didn't even need to do that, Steely. In some cases they just moved, without anyone ever making the connection.

Regards, Bridewell.

[Cogidubnus]

Hi Colin/Steely

My Whitechapel-based great great grandfather seems to have pulled that stunt and the name-change repeatedly, (for whatever reason), alternating between McCarthy and Carty, and frequently changing address. According to my uncle, who finally put all the genealogical links together, he was a bugger to track down even with todays resources...

Dave