JtR's Ideal Victim Type

[Garza]

JtR has been classed as a lust murderer and a necrosadist. Lust murderers tend to have IVt's (Ideal Victim Type) that they ideally sexualise and want to overpower. For example, Ted Bundy always selected females with long dark hair parted in the middle.

Lust murder is a phenomenon most common among serial killers. These offenders have made a connection between murder and sexual gratification. When this type of offender chooses a victim there must be something about that victim that the offender finds sexually attractive. This attractive trait might be common among all of the offender’s victims and is called the offenders Ideal Victim Type (IVT). There might be many potential targets that an offender passes by because they do not meet his IVT. Once the offender has found a victim who is ideal he might engage in stalking or other predatory behaviors before acting out his fantasy on his victim. Fantasies are a key component in lust murders and can never be completely fulfilled. The lust killer will have a fantasy that continues to evolve over time and becomes increasingly violent as he struggles to fulfill it.[

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lust_murder

So what is Jacks? If he has one.

Polly Nichols - 44, 5ft 2, dark hair, brown eyes, stocky appearance
Annie Chapman - 47, 5ft, dark hair, blue eyes, stocky
Liz Stride - 45, 5ft 5, dark curly hair, light gray eyes, slim
Catherine Eddowes - 46, 5ft, dark auburn hair, hazel eyes, slim
Mary Jane Kelly - 25, 5ft 7, blonde hair, blue eyes, stout



Polly and Annie are very similar in appearance, age and height, tis also similiarities of Martha Tabrum's appearance, as well as Catherine, however she is more slim-line. Liz is only different though weight and being slightly taller. Mary Jane Kelly seems to be the complete opposite to the rest of them.

My does Jack not go for younger, more attractive, less stocky, weaker prey. Why older, built like a tank women? Why so much anger and hatred towards these women? They are certainly not the pinnacle of female sexuality which he attacks with such feriousity.

I think that Jack the Ripper had mummy issues, I need more research, but I'm leaning that way. He attacks these women because they look like his mother. His mother neglected him or probably even abused him. The connection between his mother and sex is strong. She was probably a prostitute, maybe she brought clients home, where (in those one-room flats), where he might actually have seen his mother had sex with clients. Of course this is all speculation.

Which leads me to Mary Jane Kelly. Was she a JtR victim because she was so unlike JtR IVT?

Possibly. However how many stocky, small women, which were probably not the most attractive and not in high demand results in them having to stay out til the small hours of the morning to ply their trade would own their own place as Mary Jane did? Maybe Jack bypassed his IVT to be given the time and the space to carry out his sick fantasies in a private room.

[Rubyretro]

You are taking it as fact that JtR was a 'Lust Murderer', but this may not be so at all.

I read a thread on Casebook by 'Corey' (try looking under 'motives'), in which he gave his own considered diagnostic, which was 'Narcissism', and that really made sense to me..

If Narcissism was the cause, then an IVT may not exist..

[c.d.]

It might not have had anything to do with personal appearance. Perhaps there was just "something" about them. Or maybe they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

c.d.

[protohistorian]

I think the only conclusion we can make with certainty is his perceived ability to physically do the murder. We cannot say with certainty much else, particularly regarding the time needed to commit the crime, as that feature is going to vary widely by psychological state. Whether he was a buff lad 4 and 1/2 ft tall or a tall adult male we cannot say. In his mind however,it is a fairly solid conclusion to say that he had enough perceived confidence to launch the attack. Dave

[Garza]

You are taking it as fact that JtR was a 'Lust Murderer', but this may not be so at all.

I read a thread on Casebook by 'Corey' (try looking under 'motives'), in which he gave his own considered diagnostic, which was 'Narcissism', and that really made sense to me..

If Narcissism was the cause, then an IVT may not exist..

Interesting read. Its a valid point, although I disagree with it lol. Lust killers tend to place their dead victims in sexual poses (in Jack's case the knees up and drawn wide, ready to accept the missionary position)

[Garza]

I think the only conclusion we can make with certainty is his perceived ability to physically do the murder. We cannot say with certainty much else, particularly regarding the time needed to commit the crime, as that feature is going to vary widely by psychological state. Whether he was a buff lad 4 and 1/2 ft tall or a tall adult male we cannot say. In his mind however,it is a fairly solid conclusion to say that he had enough perceived confidence to launch the attack. Dave

True, hardly anything is certain in these cases.

[bolo]

Hello Garza, all,

the murderer's preferred (I hestitate to call them ideal) victims were poverty-stricken female prostitutes who happened to cross his path when he roamed the streets of Whitechapel or accosted him (which may have been one of his prerequisites). There must have been other easy targets available at that time and place, like beggars sleeping in railway arches or senselessly drunk sailors he could have acted out his urges on as well, yet our man stuck to (low-class) women.

I think that is the closest I can get to the murderer's IVT. It's difficult to tell wether appearance played a role as well, we only have a bunch of postmortem photographs, some medical reports and witness testimonies with details on body measurements, hair color, etc., noone knows for sure how the victims looked like when they were still alive. Judging from the few ascertained facts we know about them and their lifes, the only similarities between the victims are gender (female), habits (alcohol, occasional or full-time prostitution) and living conditions (East End, very poor to semi-nomadic).

Jack may have been a Lustmörder but could have been a missionary type or criminal misogynist as well, at least the nature of his victims seems to allow several starting points for psychological assessments like that.

Regards,

Boris

[Lord-z]

I believe Jack to have been a opportunist, praying on easy victims. Prostitutes, who he could easily lure into an alley with promise of money. Eddowes, even if she was not in the act of prostitution, was drunk and easy to grab, and Kelly was sleeping it off in apartment where he had, one way or another, gained access.

They say that rape is not about sex, it is about power. Likewise, I think that Jack was going for people that he could dominate. People at their weakest.

[Phil H]

To slightly edit an earlier post:

Polly Nichols - 44, 5ft 2, dark hair, more than a little the worse for wear for drink, probably staggering somewhat
Annie Chapman - 47, 5ft, dark hair, unwell, possibly tipsy (at least) and perhaps shambling
Catherine Eddowes - 46, 5ft, dark auburn hair, probably hun-over and staggering a bit (even if more sober than earlier).

I no longer believe Stride or MJK were victims of JtR so have omitted them.

Tabram might fit much the same bill as the three detailed above.

Phil

[JosephDurham]

Mary Jane Kelly is the only one that does not fit the standard: she did not have "dark hair" and her "age" was considerably younger than that of the other canonical victims. Perhaps it really wasn't MJK that was murdered.

I do not believe that he was killing these women at random choice, but there was a very clear motive behind the killing spree.

Joseph

[The Good Michael]

Joseph,

Kelly's hair could have been dark. We don't know. Also, I suggest that Stride looked younger than her years. Kelly may well have looked older than her years. If the killer knew all the women, he would have known ages, but that's surmise. I think these were just easy victims in JTR's hunting areas.

Mike

[JosephDurham]

Well if we throw in all of "might have", "possiblies", "could have," et cetera all of our victims "could have" looked just alike. We have to go by the information and photographs that we have available to us and base our information on that.

Joseph

[The Good Michael]

Joseph,

Yes. We do have to use the information at hand... as I have.

Mike

[Garza]

Joseph,

Kelly's hair could have been dark. We don't know. Also, I suggest that Stride looked younger than her years. Kelly may well have looked older than her years. If the killer knew all the women, he would have known ages, but that's surmise. I think these were just easy victims in JTR's hunting areas.

Mike

I would have loved to know if any of the victims knew each other or knew "of" each other. I mean there was a lot of people living in spitalfields, but they more than likely visited all the same pubs.

[The Good Michael]

I think it was a small world. I imagine many of the 'unfortunates' knew each other as competitors and comiserates. Just as costermongers knew each other by sight at the very least, why not prostitutes.

Mike