Jack Invented by Journalists?

[Cap'n Jack]

The most telling point here is that there were other brutal and murderous attacks made on women in the Whitechapel area in 1888, some every bit as horrendous as the unsolved series of crimes that we know as the Whitechapel Murders.
But the attackers in these cases were captured by the police for their crimes, and then dealt with by the criminal justice system, so we know that these crimes were not part or parcel of a series of murders, but rather isolated events with no connective tissue.
Such is not true of theWhitechapel Murders, because they all remain unsolved and unresolved, which is what makes them different, and unusual. Ergo we know the women were murdered but we don't know who murdered them, so we have an unsolved string of murders spinning right through Whitechapel at the exact time we have other similar murders resolved by the police, which to me says the press had absolutely nothing to do with the situation but the police did.

[perrymason]

The most telling point here is that there were other brutal and murderous attacks made on women in the Whitechapel area in 1888, some every bit as horrendous as the unsolved series of crimes that we know as the Whitechapel Murders.
But the attackers in these cases were captured by the police for their crimes, and then dealt with by the criminal justice system, so we know that these crimes were not part or parcel of a series of murders, but rather isolated events with no connective tissue.
Such is not true of theWhitechapel Murders, because they all remain unsolved and unresolved, which is what makes them different, and unusual. Ergo we know the women were murdered but we don't know who murdered them, so we have an unsolved string of murders spinning right through Whitechapel at the exact time we have other similar murders resolved by the police, which to me says the press had absolutely nothing to do with the situation but the police did.

Hi AP,

I agree with most of your comments, but surely the press had some share of the blame for the reputation being built for this Jack fellow.

All the best AP.

[Cap'n Jack]

Agreed Michael, but we don't discuss reputation here, we discuss the unsolved murders of at least seven women.
It is possible to view the murder of Stride as something that has been caught up in a massive incoming tide of press interest in previous murders, and then being swamped by that... but it is difficult to resolve the murder of Tabram in a similar fashion.
You know what?
I see in this futile and useless exercise, I mean Cook's book, just yet another sad attempt to fade out Mary Kelly as a likely victim of the Whitechapel Murderer, simply because it tallies better then with some wild and madcap theory that the Ripper was a yank who had been locked up before her death.
Trust me.

[perrymason]

Agreed Michael, but we don't discuss reputation here, we discuss the unsolved murders of at least seven women.
It is possible to view the murder of Stride as something that has been caught up in a massive incoming tide of press interest in previous murders, and then being swamped by that... but it is difficult to resolve the murder of Tabram in a similar fashion.
You know what?
I see in this futile and useless exercise, I mean Cook's book, just yet another sad attempt to fade out Mary Kelly as a likely victim of the Whitechapel Murderer, simply because it tallies better then with some wild and madcap theory that the Ripper was a yank who had been locked up before her death.
Trust me.

Hi again AP,

This "yank" was possibly out on bail though wasnt he? Just to be sure Im catching the reference correctly.

My best regards Mr W.