Respond Time

[clark2710]

How long did it take the authorities to respond to a ripper slaying? Did they literally stumble upon the bodies or how did that work?

[kensei]

I expect others will respond in more detail, but once the bodies were discovered the police responded very quickly in all cases. Almost all the victims were found within minutes of the murders- Polly Nicholls by two civilians and then by a policeman after they'd left to find a cop, Annie Chapman by a resident of the house she was killed behind, Liz Stride by the steward of the club where she was killed with the blood still flowing from her wound, Catherine Eddowes by a policeman on a constant circular beat that only took him around 15 minutes. In all those cases, large numbers of police were on the scene within minutes once the alarm had been raised. Mary Kelly was the only victim who lay dead for several hours, since she was the only one killed indoors and wasn't found until late morning by her landlord's handyman. Again, as soon as the police were alerted they arrived on the scene in just a few minutes.

[clark2710]

in that case

In that case then is it safe to say that the Ripper himself, or herself if the Ripper were Jill, could have been watching the police work and try and find him or her? Some of the taunting of the letters would suggest to me that the Ripper may have enjoyed doing that sort of thing.

[Monty]

Huge crowds did gather in the streets around the murder spots so yes, he could have been amongst them.

Dutfields yard was sealed when the police arrived and those inside the club inspected. Non were arrested though.

Monty

[kensei]

In that case then is it safe to say that the Ripper himself, or herself if the Ripper were Jill, could have been watching the police work and try and find him or her? Some of the taunting of the letters would suggest to me that the Ripper may have enjoyed doing that sort of thing.

Well, the letters are in great dispute as to how many (if any) were really written by the Ripper, and I myself am on the fence about them. The one I think is most likely to be from him is the "From Hell" letter which came with the piece of kidney, and that was taunting not the police but George Lusk, head of a civilian watch group.

As to watching the police though, if you are relatively new to all the fine details of the case you should study the night of the Double Event. Almost everything about it is also in dispute of course, as are most elements of the whole story, but it really seems that on that night the Ripper remained in the area after killing Catherine Eddowes for quite some time even though a dragnet was in progress involving scores of cops on the streets looking for him, and with human organs in his pockets no less. In my opinion Jack was an adrenaline junkie, willing to do things that were dangerous to him, getting a huge nervous thrill out of hiding in the shadows as cops passed by yards away that night.

[clark2710]

"but it really seems that on that night the Ripper remained in the area after killing Catherine Eddowes for quite some time even though a dragnet was in progress involving scores of cops on the streets looking for him, and with human organs in his pockets no less."

If the Ripper was a butcher of some kind, and constables came upon him, i could see even if someone known to be a butcher holding organs in his or her pocket would be hard to explain away but it can be done....as in, i left my shop in a hurry...or some such other explanation that the no doubt overworked police may have bought and said that's disgusting get on your way...many of the day may not have been able to tell an organ from a human or an organ from a person....that's the thought that came to mind when i read that ....someone that wouldn't have been questioned at all or would have been but could pull it off....records of the day would be able to answer that if they survive right?
again just a thought from someone new to looking into this