Real, prank, or other?

[Harry D]

If the Ripper never wrote the letter to Lusk, do you buy into the theory it was a prank, possibly by medical students, or some other explanation?

I think it was probably some crook, or a gang of crooks, in the area whose toes were being stepped on by the Vigilance Committee. We know that Lusk thought he was being stalked by someone, and there was that whole scene in the pub where a shady guy wanted to 'ave a word in private. It certainly seems like someone was trying to intimidate him for some reason. Whether that someone was the Ripper or not, who knows, but I'd suspect not.

[Bridewell]

I'm not sure what else it could be other than real or prank. If it was a hoax someone went to a lot of trouble to get part of a human kidney and took the risk of ending his career before it had even begun.

Would a gang of East End thugs be bothered about the Vigilance Committee?

[GUT]

I lean towards real.

The only other option I can envisage is Lusk sent it himself

[Rosella]

I've always liked to think it was real, possibly because in my mind it is the sort of communication that I can imagine the Ripper sending. If it was penned by the killer it repudiates the name given to him by the Press, 'Jack the Ripper'.

However, the letter's authenticity stands and falls by that of the accompanying piece of kidney, doesn't it? Evidence that this particular half a kidney came from Eddowes has always been ambiguous, at best.

[DJA]

I have absolutely no doubt that it was Eddowes's half left kidney.

[Harry D]

The only other option I can envisage is Lusk sent it himself

To what end?

I've always liked to think it was real, possibly because in my mind it is the sort of communication that I can imagine the Ripper sending. If it was penned by the killer it repudiates the name given to him by the Press, 'Jack the Ripper'.

However, the letter's authenticity stands and falls by that of the accompanying piece of kidney, doesn't it? Evidence that this particular half a kidney came from Eddowes has always been ambiguous, at best.

Hello, Rosella.

Yeah, I understand that the tests on the kidney were inconclusive.

Do you think any of the shifty characters involved with Lusk were the Ripper? Namely, the man who asked for his address at the newsagent, or the one who approached him in the pub?

I think it's ironic how the moniker 'Jack the Ripper' has become the official name for the killer despite the consensus agreeing that the letters were in all probability a hoax. It really was a work of genius from the original author. I wonder what we'd be calling him if not for 'Dear Boss'? The Whitechapel Murderer just doesn't have the same ring to it.

[GUT]

To what end?

Probably the same end as people do similar things today.

Attention!

[Harry D]

Probably the same end as people do similar things today.

Attention!

Lusk doesn't strike me as a publicity seeker. Wasn't he initially reluctant to come forward with the letter?

I find it interesting that you'd jump from genuine straight to a Lusk hoax.

[Rosella]

Poor old Lusk seems to have been badly frightened by several things at that time. He received several hoax letters, believed his house was being watched and he was threatened, etc.

However, although it's intriguing that Emily Marsh omitted the number of Lusk's house to the man who came in and asked for his address and there was also no number on the box containing the kidney, there are some problems with this man being the Ripper, IMO.

He was about forty five years old, a bit elderly for JTR. He also spoke with what Emily thought was an Irish accent and was 'fully six feet in height. He also had a dark beard and moustache. No-one of that appearance was ever seen near any of the victims. Of course, that doesn't mean he wasn't Jack, it just seems unlikely.

[Wyatt Earp]

He was about forty five years old, a bit elderly for JTR. He also spoke with what Emily thought was an Irish accent and was 'fully six feet in height. He also had a dark beard and moustache. No-one of that appearance was ever seen near any of the victims. Of course, that doesn't mean he wasn't Jack, it just seems unlikely.

Perhaps an accomplice? People have commented on the "Irish accent" in the Lusk letter. While you wouldn't expect a man with an Irish accent to write that way, one can imagine a killer who was around a guy with an Irish accent perhaps having a little fun and writing it that way.

[c.d.]

Perhaps an accomplice? People have commented on the "Irish accent" in the Lusk letter. While you wouldn't expect a man with an Irish accent to write that way, one can imagine a killer who was around a guy with an Irish accent perhaps having a little fun and writing it that way.

It also could have been somebody that the author bribed with the promise of a few drinks to deliver the package.

c.d.

[Natasha]

If the Ripper never wrote the letter to Lusk, do you buy into the theory it was a prank, possibly by medical students, or some other explanation?

I think it was probably some crook, or a gang of crooks, in the area whose toes were being stepped on by the Vigilance Committee. We know that Lusk thought he was being stalked by someone, and there was that whole scene in the pub where a shady guy wanted to 'ave a word in private. It certainly seems like someone was trying to intimidate him for some reason. Whether that someone was the Ripper or not, who knows, but I'd suspect not.

Hi Harry,

I think that the extraction of the kidney was carefully done, while the rest of the body was hacked up. This contrast makes me wonder weather someone other than the killer had taken the kidney. Otherwise it would appear that the killer was only really interested in the kidney.
Why kill specifically to get a bit of kidney to send to Lusk? What is the significance of that?

[GUT]

Lusk doesn't strike me as a publicity seeker. Wasn't he initially reluctant to come forward with the letter?

I find it interesting that you'd jump from genuine straight to a Lusk hoax.

So he said, one reason I am very open to as Lust Hoax.

[GUT]

It also could have been somebody that the author bribed with the promise of a few drinks to deliver the package.

c.d.

I would imagine plenty of people around who'd do a delivery for a drinky poo or two.

[Rosella]

Wasn't the parcel sent through the post, with a barely decipherable post mark on it (London E) ? Yes, he could have been Jack's accomplice but a man six feet or more in height would have been very unusual in a working class district in those days. If he was working as an accomplice to Jack (look-out etc) you'd think that would have drawn attention of passersby, not been helpful!

I'd like to know whether other hoax letters didn't bear Lusk's complete address, either. It would be good to know the profession of this Irish bloke, too. If he was an undertaker or anything to do with the medical fraternity he could have had access to a kidney.