The 120 year old trail is freezing

[Joseph]

Hello everybody,

IMHO there are just far too many suspects in this bewildering case for a concensus of opinion to ever agree on the true identity of Jack the Ripper. If the experts on the scene in 1888 couldn't solve the puzzle then what hope is there for today's armchair detectives ?

Peace to you all,

Joseph

[Robert]

Hi Joseph

I live in hopes.

Re consensus, it is possible for one person to know who JTR was, without anyone else agreeing with him. So a consensus isn't necessary. However, it's unlikely that anyone ever will know who JTR was.

[Cap'n Jack]

Freezing?
It's bloody boiling in my armchair.
Everyday I find five or six fellows far more likely to have murdered women in Whitechapel in 1888 than the usual candidates, simply because they were in Whitechapel in 1888 and did murder people.

[Scott Nelson]

So A.P.,

Which one of these fellows looks like the best fit, so far?

[Cap'n Jack]

Ask me in a year, Scott, there are still a lot more out there to look at.

[CraigInTwinCities]

You sound awfully confident, Joseph. Perhaps that means... YOU DID IT!

[Glenn Lauritz Andersson]

Hello everybody,

IMHO there are just far too many suspects in this bewildering case for a concensus of opinion to ever agree on the true identity of Jack the Ripper. If the experts on the scene in 1888 couldn't solve the puzzle then what hope is there for today's armchair detectives ?

Exactly.
None. You can't solve a 120 year old murder case and certainly not prove a person's guilt to the extent that would unanimously make all the experts agree. After 120 years there simply isn't enough evidence to point at anyone. This is not only true regarding the Ripper case but also every other unsolved murder case at least 80 years old or more.

All the best

[revpetero]

Is there anybody else that isn't just here to find JtR? I have a keen interest in the times and also in the many suspects. I like the fact that nobody will ever conclusively know who the killer was. Part of the fascination has to be exactly that. It's not freezing, the amount of money and hard work that still goes into research only goes to show that there is still a keen interest and more to add to the discussions all the time.

IMHO there would be a lot of people who wouldn't want a conclusive answer to the mystery as they would have to find real jobs and I would have to start working during the day instead of sitting on here

Peter

[j.r-ahde]

Hello you all!

When one has feet on the ground, there are two things;

1. We can only achieve a justified guess, who Mary Jane Kelly really was,

and then the main thing;

2. We can only achieve a justified guess, who Jack the Ripper really was.

All the best
Jukka

[anna]

Hi all,
Hope you are all well on this super sunny morning.
Remembering that information has turned up in the recent past,there's no knowing what lies hidden.
Nowadays,with the advent of bootsales,and with the craze of "clearing out our clutter" and of course house renovations,loft rooms,etc....
Better chance now than there ever has been of someone unearthing something saved from days past,that's been collecting dust,that suddenly sees the light of day....the unfortunate downside of this may be that someone has a relatives house to clear,finds something,and because they're not savvy with JTR won't know what they've got,and just throws away a bunch of documents,photos..whatever.
Which is why,when I go to aucton or find a secondhand bookshop,I always have a good look amongst old book pages to see if there anything tucked in amongst them.It's fun,and it doesn't take much time.You should try it.
I recently purchased the paperwork of one family from Rochester,Kent that has a letter that was the last one (written in copperplate,and very poetical)from a father to his son from his deathbed,from over 100 years ago.
The remaining family were not interested,and everything would have been discarded at the end of the auction.

[Investigator]

Hi everyone,
Perhaps it would be easier to show who JtR is not by excluding the characteristics that are most unlikely. eg, is he over 6 ft? Is he a child? Does he wear hobnial boots? Does he look like Frankenstein? While these may seem frivolous questions, by asking more thought out questions it would at least narrow the field of characteristics that could discount most of the "suspects". What d'ya reckon?

[detective abberline]

Is there anybody else that isn't just here to find JtR? I have a keen interest in the times and also in the many suspects. I like the fact that nobody will ever conclusively know who the killer was. Part of the fascination has to be exactly that. It's not freezing, the amount of money and hard work that still goes into research only goes to show that there is still a keen interest and more to add to the discussions all the time.

IMHO there would be a lot of people who wouldn't want a conclusive answer to the mystery as they would have to find real jobs and I would have to start working during the day instead of sitting on here

Peter

Good point. Think of all the authors who would be out of a job if they didn't have Jack to write about. Most of it is tripe but whatever...

[Victor]

Hi everyone,
Perhaps it would be easier to show who JtR is not by excluding the characteristics that are most unlikely. eg, is he over 6 ft? Is he a child? Does he wear hobnial boots? Does he look like Frankenstein? While these may seem frivolous questions, by asking more thought out questions it would at least narrow the field of characteristics that could discount most of the "suspects". What d'ya reckon?

What about the most important characteristic...

Were they in Whitechapel in 1888?

[Graham]

If CCTV existed in 1888, and someone discovered footage of, for example, Eddowes being bumped off in Mitre Square, there'd still be people who would cry "Fake!" in 1888. It's how it is.

Cheers,

Graham

[Supe]

Abberline,

Good point. Think of all the authors who would be out of a job if they didn't have Jack to write about. Most of it is tripe but whatever...

Who are all these authors who would be out of a job? The number of writers about the Ripper who ever get more than an occasional coffee from their efforts could probably be counted on Homer Simpson's four-fingered hand. For most it is only a frustrating labor of love.

Don.