The GSG - Did Jack write it? POLL

[etenguy]

Beat me to it, Sam.

Also, ironically, some of those killers mentioned may have been influenced by the unsubstantiated belief that JTR communicated with the police/press.

That's an insightful observation, and may be the case, at least for some.

[Sam Flynn]

Apologies for messing up in my first post to the site with a bad example.

Not at all, etenguy. It was an interesting post, which has stimulated discussion. It had never occurred to me that different types of killer might have different propensities for leaving messages, so thanks for the inspiration!

A pretty good first post by any standards

[Callmebill]

Rader

But there are serial killers who did leave messages.
BTK, didn't he post messages in cereal packets? He wrote poetry about his murders.

[etenguy]

But there are serial killers who did leave messages.
BTK, didn't he post messages in cereal packets? He wrote poetry about his murders.

BTK went overboard - yes there was a cereal packet message, and poems and he sent some of the victim's possessions with some of them (cf the kidney allegedly sent by JTR). In fact, that was how they caught him. They traced one of his messages back to a computer that linked him to the crimes.

[Herlock Sholmes]

Wasn't it William Heirens who left a message saying something like 'please stop me before I kill again?' A strange one considering he could have handed himself in.
We can't really judge if Jack was the 'type' to leave a message. We don't know if any of the letters were genuine and he didn't leave any other chalked messages after the other murders.
I still think that if we knew a) that the message definately wasnt there at 2.20 and then b) where did Jack go after he left Mitre Square, then we might be on firmer ground if we could then say 'why did he go to Goulston Street (with all the inherent risks) carrying a clue that he could have already have disposed of?'

[Joshua Rogan]

We don't know if any of the letters were genuine and he didn't leave any other chalked messages after the other murders.

Maybe he did leave messages after previous murders, but nobody linked them to the killings, hence he left a piece of apron in Goulston Street?

[Sam Flynn]

But there are serial killers who did leave messages.

Indeed. Perhaps, as per John G's suggestion, he was inspired by the Jack the Ripper case?

[Pcdunn]

Who inspired Jack?

Indeed. Perhaps, as per John G's suggestion, he was inspired by the Jack the Ripper case?

Hmm... Who or what inspired Jack to write letters or leave messages after his murders? An interesting research question for a determined Ripperologist.

Did any murderers prior to the Autumn of Terror crimes contact the authorities or leave notes with their corpses?

[Sam Flynn]

Hmm... Who or what inspired Jack to write letters or leave messages after his murders?

On the letters front, I think that Dear Boss, almost certainly an enterprising journalist's invention, was the inspiration for all the others. (I wonder if the Ripper case was the first in history to have generated hoax letters to newspapers?)

As to who/what inspired any messages he may have left after the murders... what a useful segue back to the GSG

[etenguy]

The poll outcome to date is that twice as many voters believe the Ripper did not write the GSG than believe he did. That's interesting.

If not him, then who?

PC Long trying to make a name for himself?
It was just general graffiti that no-one reported having seen previously?
A hoaxer who stole the apron segment from the crime scene?

I guess we'll never know, but I still err on the side it probably was the murderer.

[Herlock Sholmes]

Maybe he did leave messages after previous murders, but nobody linked them to the killings, hence he left a piece of apron in Goulston Street?

Hi Joshua,

That's a good point. Do we know how prevalent graffiti was at the time?

[Sam Flynn]

That's a good point. Do we know how prevalent graffiti was at the time?

Given that there are surviving examples of graffiti dating back to Roman, even Ancient Egyptian, times, it seems to have been prevalent throughout history. It was certainly common in Victorian times.

[GUT]

Hi Joshua,

That's a good point. Do we know how prevalent graffiti was at the time?

Well I've seen it in plenty of Victorian photos in certain areas, so I don't think you can say it was uncommon by any stretch.

[Herlock Sholmes]

Any previous messages would have had to have been more obvious in content for them to have been noticed. If the GSG message had been written but no apron deposited it's unlikely that anyone would have connected it to the murder in Mitre Square. Everything is down to the apron, why it was taken away from Mitre Square and why it was dropped in that doorway (after an unexplained gap of time?)

[Abby Normal]

Hi Joshua,

That's a good point. Do we know how prevalent graffiti was at the time?

hi HS

there was no mention of any other graffiti in the immediate area. I'm sure graffiti was some what prevalent at the time, but not so much so that points to the coincidence that a bloody apron was found under graffiti that disparages jews on a night when the killer was interrupted by jews while trying to kill.

Too much of a coincidence-the killer wrote it.