Murder Dates and Times

[RonnieKray]

Could anyone shed light on the reason why perhaps the Ripper murders occured when they did at weekends and towards the end of the month or on the 9/10/11 day.

Thank you in advance guys!

[Mike Covell]

Now then Ronnie, give my best to Reggie, charlie and Violet.

Some have suggested the murders took place on the weekends as the killer worked during the week, whilst others have put forth the theory that the killer was working away. Most of these theories are suspect orientated, so it might be worth you reading through the Suspect Threads, or looking at the suspect lists on the left hand side of this screen.

Another option, and one I find interesting, are the Dissertations, which again are accessable on the left hand side. These cover all aspects of the case, and are well written, well referenced, and by some of the nicest people in Ripperology.

[DarkPassenger]

Seems that he was probably working during the week, and is used to working late at night/early in the morning. Since he's so deftly chosen victims in the Whitechapel area, it's a good guess he worked in the main thoroughfare of the district.

[sdreid]

Say hello to Cannonball.

Kelly could be the exception but many murderers choose to kill at night. The last day of the the month/end of the first full week of the month is more difficult to explain. Since it's a small sample, it could have just been the luck of the draw. I guess he could have had a job where he was on 3 weeks then off one so sailor has been brought up and I think military could be another possibility.

[Sam Flynn]

many murderers choose to kill at night.

Indeed, Stan. Some interesting stats published by the Australian Government confirms that...



... and also found that most homicides occur at weekends than on other days of the week. Of course, this was taken from a modern study, but at least it shows that we might be too hasty in attributing any spooky significance to apparent patterns in the Ripper series.

[Monty]

Pay day

I think the victimology, the fact prostitutes take payment up front, indicates Jack was most likely in reliable employment and was paid around the end of the week. As is tradition.

[RonnieKray]

Monty...

Yeah something like pay day occurred to me too. I am a Ripper-Virgin so to speak and am trying not to get too bogged down in some of the perhaps over anylytical theories.

I would say it would be a practical reason as simple as that but of course no one can for certain now lol can we.

[chrismasonic]

he might work in Whitechapel all week...and like to rip people up just before he goes home for the weekend...

[Sam Flynn]

he might work in Whitechapel all week...and like to rip people up just before he goes home for the weekend...

The overwhelming majority of people who worked in Whitechapel would have lived there as well, Chris. No "commuter town", this.

[perrymason]

Could anyone shed light on the reason why perhaps the Ripper murders occured when they did at weekends and towards the end of the month or on the 9/10/11 day.

Thank you in advance guys!

Hi Ronnie,

Before you have only subjective opinion as your feedback......

The Canonical Group were all killed on a weekend or holiday....period......and he only kills from the last or second last day of one month until the 9th of the next...period.....which shows us that for at least 21 days of each month... and never on a weeknight unconnected to a holiday, he doesnt kill.....that is consistent, and also the facts.

Killing on days and at times when work stoppage is more prevalent in that area is one hint....not killing for the exact same period and days between these beginning/end of month kills is another. We may have a man that kills when he is not working, and doesnt kill.. in London at least... when he is not there. There is evidence of a schedule. Whether thats what it was....is up to the individual, but I prefer to actually use the facts in my calculations.

Best regards Ron

[Sam Flynn]

and he only kills from the last or second last day of one month until the 9th of the next...period.

"Last or second day" hardly sounds emphatic enough for a "period", though - furthermore, that doesn't quite fit with Chapman, who died on the 8th.

which shows us that for at least 21 days of each month... and never on a weeknight unconnected to a holiday, he doesnt kill.....that is consistent, and also the facts.

The facts are also supportive of a scenario whereby he didn't succeed in killing on other nights, Mike. We've been through this before - we have no absolutely no reason to suppose that he unerringly claimed a victim on every occasion he went out "hunting".

[Supe]

RK,

Both Nichols and Kelly were killed early on a Friday morning, not evening, so the pay=packet idea may not work. Chapman early on a Saturday morning, Eddowes and Stride early on a Sunday morning and Tabram early on a Tuesday morning. Were it not for Chapman one might suggest an observant Jew.

As has been pointed out many times before, though, the sample (even including Tabram) is much too small for any statistical significance. Moreover, since just how many murders were committed by Jack, even among that group, is hotly debated (with some mixing and matching as well) that furtherr makes the possible victim pool meaningless statistically.

And, as with the Australian study Sam cites about homicides, most crimes involving grievous bodily harm occur on weekends, for all the many reasons we might suggest.

As it stands, Jack was clearly a creature of the night and even looking at the few victimes we have may have searching a Thursday night through Tuesday morning, a pretty wide range considering there are just seven days to a week.

Don.

[Monty]

Don

Excellent point about Nichols and Kelly being killed early Friday morning, though Kelly is questionable as a Ripper victim. Stats show a trend true, but there must be reasons for that stat. The fact that his victims were murdered at weekends doesnt prove that was the only period he trolled. However it does prove it was the only period he was successful. Make of that what you will.

[Mike Covell]

I worked night shifts for a few years and if we were lucky we were offered the chance to start early, so we could finish early, and collect our pay packet. We used to knock off at a minute past midnight, collect our wage packet and disappear into the night.

It was a popular scheme for people with families and loved ones, as it meant getting a longer weekend, but as it meant having a shorter rest period between the thursday and friday shifts, it wasn't taken up by many of the older workers.

It was also illegal, as the law then stated that you need 11 hours between shifts!

[DarkPassenger]

The thing that got me was...when did the Ripper sleep? The murders are happening anywhere from one o'clock in the morning to ten in the morning. Why is he up so early/late?
The Ripper was of the same general class as most people in Whitechapel, he was in employment, he was not phased by gore or blood.

Here's my theory. His first murder took place opposite London Hospital, more or less. His other murders - whether you include Stride or not - take place in a closer proximity to each other than the first murder does to any of the rest. Why was his first murder, which should have been in his comfort zone, so far from the rest? Well, we can guess he lives within a ten-minute walk of any one murder scene because it takes around 15 minutes to get around the whole lot on a Ripper tour. He lives in the centre of the murder zone, the Goulston Street apron suggests that, yet he chose to kill his first victim so far from what is obviously an area he knows so well? The answer is that he works at the Hospital.

I reviewed the Coroner's testimony at the inquests yesterday and it occured to me that the Ripper is a controlled and determined killer. He has great physical strength, which he used to strangle the women into submission, slash their throats to kill them, and then slices them open, digging into the organs, in the dark, for some reason known only to him. I think he was indeed familiar with anatomy and the Hospital's proximity to the Polly Nichols scene supports this.

Another thing - Emma Smith. Maybe the Ripper was at her autopsy?