Jill The Ripper Theories

[Uncle Jack]

Does anyone believe Jack The Ripper was a woman and if so, what good cases have you got to put forward? I would love to hear your opinions as the theory has always intriuged me....

[Mayerling]

Hi Uncle Jack,

The main theory about "Jill the Ripper" is that of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
He once suggested that an insane midwife might have been responsible for the killings. But he did not go into great detail. I believe he mentions it in his autobiography MEMORIES AND ADVENTURES.

So far the lead "female" candidate (and a weak one) is the murderess Mary Eleanor Pearcey (actually Mary Eleanor Wheeler) (hanged in 1890). Mrs. Pearcey had a confrontation with her successful rival Phoebe Hogg in Pearcey's home in St. Johns Wood (which is still standing), and bloodily blugeoned Phoebe to death. She wheeled Phoebe's dead body in the perambulator that Phoebe's baby was in (thus suffocating the baby as well), from her home to Hampstead Heath, where she dumped the cargo and perambulator. At the time that the crime broke, before the newspapers learned it was based on jealousy between the women over Mr. Frank Hogg, the state of Phoebe's body, and its being left out in public, made some newspapers compare it to the Ripper murders of a few months earlier. However, there were no other murders of her own linked to Mary Pearcey
(her father, Thomas Wheeler, was hanged for a burglary murder in 1880 - a rather unique father/daughter joint fate there). As I said she is the lead candidate for "Jill the Ripper" but a weak one.

Best wishes,

Jeff

[Uncle Jack]

Thanks for that Jeff

Regards,

Adam

[steje73]

I'm sure I read somewhere that there was a theory that Jill the Ripper was a midwife who could get away with being bloodstained by saying she'd just delivered a baby. Apparently she'd bungled an abortion and so she killed the woman involved, abortions being illegal at the time. Five times in a couple of months.
Seems a bit of an extreme way to cover yourself, doesn't it?

[Steve S]

I'm sure I read somewhere that there was a theory that Jill the Ripper was a midwife who could get away with being bloodstained by saying she'd just delivered a baby. Apparently she'd bungled an abortion and so she killed the woman involved, abortions being illegal at the time. Five times in a couple of months.
Seems a bit of an extreme way to cover yourself, doesn't it?

Think that idea was promoted by an ex-copper in a newspaper series?
Steve

[Mike Covell]

A mid wife theory was brought up on the rippercast when Debs came on to discuss the torso murders. One of the torso's was found with some sort of plug inserted in the rectum, a practice often associated with abortions during the period apparently.

[Debra A]

Mike, not necessarily a female midwife though. It seems highly likely that Elizabeth Jackson was the victim of an abortionist, of whatever sex.

Didn't Bachert put forward a female ripper idea at the time too?

[Mike Covell]

A letter was sent to the Echo on Sept 12th 1888 entitled "The Whitechapel Murder Mystery", signed F.H.H and putting forward the theory it was the work of a woman.

The article appears in Stephen P Ryder's excellent "Public reactions to Jack the Ripper" (p17)

[Mitch Rowe]

There are two other whacky "Jill the Ripper" theories I have come up with. I dont support them as I believe the chances of a Jill the Ripper being the killer to be virtually nil. I base this conclusion on the fact that there seems to be no other reason(For example)for Annie Chapman to have been in the backyard other than to service a Man.
However I might mention that it is said Abberline once asked the question if it was possible that a Woman could have been the kiler. The killer of MJK at least. And the reason for the question is believed to be one possible explanation as to why Caroline Maxwell claims to have seen MJK and talked to her long after she was supposed to have been dead. If the killer was a Woman. The killer might have dessed herself in MJKs clothes and was mistaken as MJK by Caroline Maxwell.

Now for the two whacky theories....

There is a legend that on the day of Mary Pearceys execution she asked her Lawyer to post a message in a spanish newspaper. The message said something like this: MECP. Have not betrayed. MEWP.
Sooo..If she was informing MECP that she has not betrayed him or her could MECP have actually been the killer of Pheobe Hogg and her baby and Mary Pearcey had taken the fall? Could MECP have actually been JTR??
Now..I should say that after reading Mary Pearceys trial transcript I noticed that she did write letters signing them by initials. I think the legend of the last letter was probably made up. But there is indication in the trial that Mary Pearcey acted very odd while Police were investigating the Murders she was convicted of. Somewhat like an innocent person covering up for the guilty. But this is a matter of my own opinion and probably how the story of the final letter was conceived of by some-one else long ago.

Now.. To the next whacky theory. I had some help on this one. I forget who it was but on the other boards a person mentioned that they thought it was possible for Pearly Paul to have been a Transexual Prostitute!
I thought that if this were true there is a motive for the killings and removal of the uteri of some of the victims.
Pearly Paul wanted to be a Woman. She was jealous that she was not a true Woman and therefore de-sexed her victims whenever she could. The reason for the killings to stop was that she finally found a Man who was willing to accept her the way she was.

OK..Two whacky theories I find nearly totally implausable but possible. I always like to make sure I have covered all bases first and evaluate second. I have evaluated and concluded that the chances of either of these theories being true are virtually nil. As I feel the chances of a Woman being JTR are virtually nil.

[Mitch Rowe]

There is also one other implausable theory I have.
That is that JTR was actually a Mad Nun bent on stopping the Women from prostituting themselves near to Churches and Schools!

[Mike Covell]

The killer of MJK at least. And the reason for the question is believed to be one possible explanation as to why Caroline Maxwell claims to have seen MJK and talked to her long after she was supposed to have been dead. If the killer was a Woman. The killer might have dessed herself in MJKs clothes and was mistaken as MJK by Caroline Maxwell.

She kills MJK then dresses in her clothes, comes outside and spews her guts up!!!

[Mitch Rowe]

She kills MJK then dresses in her clothes, comes outside and spews her guts up!!!

Right..Totally implausable. But if Abberline actually asked the question. And if Abberline thought that there may be a possibility of such a thing. It only tells me that Abberline was considering all angles wich is what he should have done.

[Mike Covell]

Would a lady have left the room in such a mess?

[Mayerling]

There is a legend that on the day of Mary Pearceys execution she asked her Lawyer to post a message in a spanish newspaper. The message said something like this: MECP. Have not betrayed. MEWP.
Sooo..If she was informing MECP that she has not betrayed him or her could MECP have actually been the killer of Pheobe Hogg and her baby and Mary Pearcey had taken the fall? Could MECP have actually been JTR??
Now..I should say that after reading Mary Pearceys trial transcript I noticed that she did write letters signing them by initials. I think the legend of the last letter was probably made up. But there is indication in the trial that Mary Pearcey acted very odd while Police were investigating the Murders she was convicted of. Somewhat like an innocent person covering up for the guilty. But this is a matter of my own opinion and probably how the story of the final letter was conceived of by some-one else long ago.

I am not sure Mitch if this was a legend or true. I first crossed the story of the "Have not betrayed." message in the account of Phoebe Hogg's murder in the F. Tennyson Jesse classic MURDER AND ITS MOTIVES. Jesse was a pretty thorough Criminal historian. She says that Pearcey instructed her solicitor Freke Palmer to insert the advertisement in the newspapers in Madrid, but she claimed it dealt with a marriage she had contrated. Palmer could not get the lady to give her more details. Jesse believes Pearcey was a romantic who frequently believed in a fantasy world. In fact the murder of Phoebe Hogg may have been an act of insanity. By the way, Jesse points out that had someone male had been in the dock with her, Mrs. Pearcey would have not hanged - the man would have. It was like her French contemporary Gabrielle Bompard, who used her atractiveness to avoid the guilloutine for the murder of M. Gouffe, while her partner Michel Eyraud was guilloutined. Most people probably would have liked Frank Hogg to have been in the dock with Mrs. Pearcey.

If one thought about it, Mrs. Pearcey was not the only English murderess of the time (possibly one could stretch it to include Mrs. Florence Maybrick), but Pearcey did the most violent murder directed to a woman. So she is the lead for "Jill the Ripper".

Jeff

[Uncle Jack]

Is there anyone on the casebook that believes a woman was the killer??