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First, if this is the wrong place for me to say hello and to ask for some guidance on being a more informed member of this forum, Mods, please feel free to move this to the appropriate area.
Now, on to the meat of this. I have been working for about 15 years (possibly longer) as a forensic pharmacologist. My specialty is DID or DID Not. Or, Drug-induced-death or Not Drug-induced-death. This frequently devolves into questions about the impact of multiple drugs found in the deceased individual and what role they may have had or contributed to the person's demise.
To evaluate these things, I can review: Toxicology testing, history of the decedent, investigative reports, review of items retrieved from the scene (prescription vials, tablet count, syringes, wrappers that are associated with illicit drug use, photographs, autopsy reports, etc.) Witness reports, confessions, or initial statements from persons of interest are all considered in my evaluations. Each datapoint presents its own problem. And each, contributes to my final impressions of a case. Some contribute greater weight, and others lesser. The framework of my evaluation depends on my ability to discern the factual contribution that each item contributes to the whole picture.
So, when it comes to Ripperology, we are some 130 plus years removed from the events. There are no videos, no laboratory reports, and there is no repository of policing materials. None of the things that I rely on. I am a fish out of water.
As I understand it, much of the police reporting has gone missing (theft, house cleaning, recycling) and that we depend on newspapers for some of our facts. I have a number of good books that I am reading now to help bring me up to speed, but I am curious on two major points:
1. How good is the newspaper reporting of the time? I suspect that, then as now, some were trustworthy, and others were not. Are there resources that can be suggested to me that will help me as I read about information that is derived from newspapers of the time.
2. Is there any reasonable estimate about what was lost in terms of police documents from the time. I have heard that one or several Ripperologists were able to save some police records from discussion. Based on what I have read so far, it does not seem that there was a "smoking gun" document among the "lost" records.
I greatly appreciate your tolerance for my long post and will be indebted to you for any useful guidance that you can provide. I plan on doing my homework.
Thank you,
Richard
Now, on to the meat of this. I have been working for about 15 years (possibly longer) as a forensic pharmacologist. My specialty is DID or DID Not. Or, Drug-induced-death or Not Drug-induced-death. This frequently devolves into questions about the impact of multiple drugs found in the deceased individual and what role they may have had or contributed to the person's demise.
To evaluate these things, I can review: Toxicology testing, history of the decedent, investigative reports, review of items retrieved from the scene (prescription vials, tablet count, syringes, wrappers that are associated with illicit drug use, photographs, autopsy reports, etc.) Witness reports, confessions, or initial statements from persons of interest are all considered in my evaluations. Each datapoint presents its own problem. And each, contributes to my final impressions of a case. Some contribute greater weight, and others lesser. The framework of my evaluation depends on my ability to discern the factual contribution that each item contributes to the whole picture.
So, when it comes to Ripperology, we are some 130 plus years removed from the events. There are no videos, no laboratory reports, and there is no repository of policing materials. None of the things that I rely on. I am a fish out of water.
As I understand it, much of the police reporting has gone missing (theft, house cleaning, recycling) and that we depend on newspapers for some of our facts. I have a number of good books that I am reading now to help bring me up to speed, but I am curious on two major points:
1. How good is the newspaper reporting of the time? I suspect that, then as now, some were trustworthy, and others were not. Are there resources that can be suggested to me that will help me as I read about information that is derived from newspapers of the time.
2. Is there any reasonable estimate about what was lost in terms of police documents from the time. I have heard that one or several Ripperologists were able to save some police records from discussion. Based on what I have read so far, it does not seem that there was a "smoking gun" document among the "lost" records.
I greatly appreciate your tolerance for my long post and will be indebted to you for any useful guidance that you can provide. I plan on doing my homework.
Thank you,
Richard
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