If you knew Jack

[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.

[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.

[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

[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.

[JadenCollins]

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

[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.

[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]

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]

Or they didn't have a clue.

[dixon9]

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

[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]

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?