If you knew Jack

[dixon9]

I was thinking(makes a change for me) if Jack was a family man,surely a member of that family would have noticed a change in him on the night/mornings of the events.
The question is,did they cover for him?(as in turn a blind eye) would you have done the same if Jack was a member of your family?
Or was he just a loner/single with no close relatives?

[Fisherman]

I was thinking(makes a change for me) if Jack was a family man,surely a member of that family would have noticed a change in him on the night/mornings of the events.
The question is,did they cover for him?(as in turn a blind eye) would you have done the same if Jack was a member of your family?
Or was he just a loner/single with no close relatives?

If he was living together with other people, I think we must realize that there may have been different incentives for their silence.
You are suggesting that they could have turned a blind eye, and that is true; there are plenty of examples of how for example a mother will not turn her son in. And that works on two levels - there is the outright refusal to come clean and admit what you know, but there is also those who will not even admit to themselves what is sometimes very obvious.

Another possible explanation for the silence of those who may have lived with the killer is sheer terror. And that too could have worked in two ways, either passively (where somebody is not willing to take the risk to reveal what he or she knows for fear of reprisals) or actively (where the culprit threatens those in his proximity in order to silence them).

So the spectre is a wide one!

We know that there were families (like the Druitts) who allegedly entertained a suspicion that they were aquainted to the killer, and I think this would have been the case in more than one family. And it is a very real possibility that the ones closest to the real Ripper either entertained a suspicion about him or actually were on the clear with who - and what - he was.

As an aside, I think loners were more likely to attract suspicion than family men, and perhaps even more so then than the case would have been today.

[dixon9]

thanks fisherman,as you point out fear could have been a big factor in the silence.

[GUT]

Or they didn't have a clue.

[Jon Guy]

What about the reward ?

Why would a wife and the kids live with a possible murderer when they could claim a reward and start again.
Even more so if they lived in the East End.

But, you would need to be quite positive that your old fella was the killer before taking that big step and shopping him.

[GUT]

What about the reward ?

Why would a wife and the kids live with a possible murderer when they could claim a reward and start again.
Even more so if they lived in the East End.

But, you would need to be quite positive that your old fella was the killer before taking that big step and shopping him.

And not terrified of him.

Or maybe even in love with him.

[Jon Guy]

And not terrified of him.

Or maybe even in love with him.

True, but if kids were involved, their safety and financial future might tip the balance.

[JadenCollins]

If I was related to him, I wouldn't tell a soul. It'll get me in trouble too.

[Errata]

Or they didn't have a clue.

It's amazing how many serial killer family members had absolutely no idea. I mean let's face it. If your husband is going out at night, you think he has a girlfriend, not a fetish for human innards.

[Pierre]

I was thinking(makes a change for me) if Jack was a family man,surely a member of that family would have noticed a change in him on the night/mornings of the events.
The question is,did they cover for him?(as in turn a blind eye) would you have done the same if Jack was a member of your family?
Or was he just a loner/single with no close relatives?

Shame would have been the biggest problem.

Regards, Pierre

[GUT]

It's amazing how many serial killer family members had absolutely no idea. I mean let's face it. If your husband is going out at night, you think he has a girlfriend, not a fetish for human innards.

Even look t how many people have no idea that their partner is getting a bit on the side.

[Errata]

Even look t how many people have no idea that their partner is getting a bit on the side.

I feel like If Gacy's wife didn't know he was killing in the house, and Kemper's mom didn't know he was bringing body parts back home and burying them in the garden, then a family can be excused for not knowing what their loved one is doing out of the house and out of sight.

[Rosella]

Shame would have been the biggest problem.

Regards, Pierre

I agree. For most families in Victorian England to have been related to a serial killer of that notoriety would have like been branded with the Mark of Cain for the rest of your life.

Having said that, in my own humble opinion I don't think Jack was married or a father. Wives often have strong intuitions about their husbands' absences from the family home, and unless our friend was a butcher or slaughterman there might have been too many bloodstains to explain away on washday.

I just can't see him either in a house with growing children who might ask questions or blab to schoolmates about Dad being away at night (if he wasn't a shift worker.)

I think Jack was probably a loner who did have relatives he saw occasionally and these relatives may well have had a feeling there was something 'off' about him, just not enough to send them to the authorities.

[Pandora]

I feel like If Gacy's wife didn't know he was killing in the house, and Kemper's mom didn't know he was bringing body parts back home and burying them in the garden, then a family can be excused for not knowing what their loved one is doing out of the house and out of sight.

I 100% agree, especially if he always left early to go to work anyway. I doubt his family had a clue.

[GUT]

LVP England many wives and children knew better than to ask questions of the "Old Man".

Also you must remember that his wife (had he one) was just a hair breadth away from herself becoming an unfortunate if she made such an allegation and was wrong.