Newbie JTR head trauma?

[OctavBotnar]

First post here.
There is lots of info to digest on this forum and elsewhere in various other forms of media- but what puzzles me that conspicously lacking is any mention that JTR may possibly have suffered head trauma possibly in his early years causing damage to his frontal lobe
I am "convinced-ish" he must have suffered this - and this was one of the factors that would have caused him to act in such a way.
What do others think?

[lynn cates]

temporal lobe

Hello Octav. Would not a temporal lobe lesion be a more fruitful avenue of investigation?

Cheers.
LC

[Barnaby]

Case study evidence does seem to suggest that serial killers are more likely to suffer from childhood head injuries than the general population. But plenty of people in the general population suffer from childhood head injuries and do not become serial killers. Perhaps it is a risk factor. But I'm not sure how this will get us any closer to uncovering Jack's identity.

[kensei]

Let's be careful in not offering Jack an "excuse." Ok, if he'd been caught and brain damage from a head injury could have been proven then he'd have been off to Broadmoor to live out his life instead of to the gallows, but it reminds me of a very high profile kidnap/rape/murder case that occurred a few years ago in my local community in which the killer is now on federal death row (and in which I took part in the search for the victim before her body was found) where in the guy's trial his lawyers tried to argue he had brain damage from exposure to toxic farm chemicals as a kid. It was rather annoying.

Head trauma is pure speculation without having a specific suspect in mind whose life one can examine for evidence of such. With Jack viewed just as Jack, I still tend to think he was just pure evil.

[sparta68]

Although there is lots of evidence that trauma to the head does affect a persons behavior we just really know nothing about Jack to say this was or was not the reason. Personally I don't think it likely because most serial killers don't just become a killer they sorta evolve into it.

[steje73]

Case study evidence does seem to suggest that serial killers are more likely to suffer from childhood head injuries than the general population. But plenty of people in the general population suffer from childhood head injuries and do not become serial killers. Perhaps it is a risk factor. But I'm not sure how this will get us any closer to uncovering Jack's identity.

Most of the stuff on this site won't get us any closer to uncovring Jack's identity.

[Scott Nelson]

Just a lot of major head trauma for us all.

[Tom_Wescott]

There is lots of info to digest on this forum and elsewhere in various other forms of media- but what puzzles me that conspicously lacking is any mention that JTR may possibly have suffered head trauma possibly in his early years causing damage to his frontal lobe

We've got that covered. JK Stephen - cousin to Virginia Wolff, pseudo-Ripper suspect, and Royal Conspiracy mainstay - fell off a horse when he was younger, hit is head, and is said to have never been the same.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[johns]

You could have a good point there.

Peter Sutcliffe reckoned he had a motorcycle accident as well as his "messages from God" which turned him into a serial killer. I have no idea whether or not his bike smash actually happened though.