The Thoughts,Ideas and Questions of a Newcomer.

[Mycroft]

Hello to everyone on this great site. As someone new, I just wanted to put forward my ideas and see what people think. I am no way near as knowledgable as many on here, so please don't be too hard on me for what may well be naive, simplistic and ignorant suggestions. I also have several questions which I would greatly appreciate any help with. I have been conducting my investigation by asking a question and then finding the possible answers and then, picking the most likely one to be the truth. Multiple choice basically. This is where I am at so far.Again apologies, if it's too simplistic.

Is JtR local to Whitechapel?
a. yes b.no
My answer is yes. I feel that the killer must have lived in the local area . He seems to have a feel for and knowing of Whitechapel, that only comes from being in your "hometown".

My question. Was Whitechapel known throughout London as a red light area, like Soho is and did it attract visitors from other areas or did the prostitutes just service the locals?

Was he a British native?
a. yes British through and through b.recently arrived immigrant c. born to immigrant parents, brought up in Britain.
From the various descriptions c., I think that he was an eastern European of Jewish background, but had either been born here or brought up here. He can speak English well enough to lull his victims in, knows the area ,people and "scene " well.

Question. What was the population percentage in Whitechapel at the time British-immigrant?

Was he?
a.Surgeon b. butcher/slaughterman c. unskilled
I have this notion that people who choose to become surgeons/doctors generally want to save life not take it (Shipman I know) and that bloody murder would go against their instincts.Also, if he lived locally, surely there were only a handful of such medical people and he would have been picked up. I also think that a surgeon, because of his training would have wanted to take more time and be more precise. I think that a surgeon madman, would have done them all like Mary Kelly, like on an operating table. I'm sure it would have been relatively easy to get victims into a room on their own.Personally b. is my answer. He is fairly skilled in meat management and is used to the blood and guts. He processes his meat quickly, because he has many to do , before his work is done. It is his job.He kills and cuts and calms his nerves by using his normal work routine.

Why did he do it?
a. insanity b.hatred of women c.hatred of prostitutes d. revenge for some perceived injustice e. religious reasons
A tricky one that I have pondered on for ages. I think all of them. I don't think that he had just one motive, but that anyone of them could have triggered him off. I think that he cuts their throats as a sort of mocking joke to make his "meat" Kosher. He is saying out of some bitterness, but also from how he's been brought up," Here are your religious rules, they are death". He has seen how these women are and despises them and likens them to the animals that he deals with. He is making them into the carcasses of his work.I don't think that he thinks of them sexually, but only with contempt.
Question. Was there any sign of any sexual contact with any of the victims . For instance, was any semen ever found (I know that's their business) and if it had, would that have been mentioned or would the Victorian mind think that indecent?

Got to go now, as I think it's getting a bit long. Many thanks to all that have read my little piece and I will continue another day, as I have much more to say and ask.Many regards.

[Steven Russell]

Dear Mycroft,

I know how you feel. I am also relatively new to this site and can claim no expertise. However, I have taken an interest in this case for some time so thought you might like to hear my thoughts, however uninformed.

1) It seems highly likely that JTR was familiar with the area since he was able to avoid detection (at least officially) and sufficiently well versed in the ways of the East End to engage the women into taking him to secluded places in which to perform business. Therefore, he was either a native or someone who made frequent visits to the area and chose it specifically as a location for his crimes (a "marauder"). The former seems more likely.

2) Users of prostitutes quickly become aware of which areas of town offer the best possibilities for "trade".

3) Ethnicity. This is more difficult as some witnesses describe someone having a foreign or Semitic appearance, while others speak of lighter colouring which would suggest Northern European ancestry. I doubt if a poor command of English would prove insurmountable to a transaction if the person providing the service was keen to secure payment.

4) Surgical skill. Again difficult as the experts of the time could not agree on the level of skill shown. I think you make an excellent point that medical men tend to gravitate towards that profession to help people rather than otherwise. Some doctors have been murderers, true, but they seem to prefer poison to the knife. There do seem to have been a staggering number of butchers and slaughtermen in the area at the time, not to mention others whose trade involved sharp knives. Personally, I agree with you on this one for exactly the reasons you describe.

5) Motive. Who knows? Personally, I find it difficult to fathom how anyone can embark on a killing spree and not be insane but it seems that the legal profession does not believe this impossible. A deep hatred of women would be my guess. His post-mortem activities usually centered on the womb and reproductive organs which are, after all, what makes a woman a woman. Perhaps his mother had abandoned him, he had been jilted, or a lover had aborted his child without his knowledge or consultation. In all likelihood we will never know.

6) Sexual contact. No evidence was ever found and the Victorian doctors certainly mentioned this even if they might have couched it in rather staid - to our ears - terms e.g. "no evidence of recent connexion".

I realise that none of this will have added materially to your knowledge but hoped you might be interested to hear the views of another rank amateur.

Best wishes,

Steve.

[John Malcolm]

As we can (and do) get tangled up and strangled with the details, I think the previous posts represent something that is often wanting in these kinds of discussions- simple, general and lucid observations. No matter how much we think we know or where our influences have taken us, fresh perspectives are a necessity.