Which Modern Era Killer Shares Most Similarity with Jack the Ripper?

[JackDaw]

Hi all,

I've been trying to find serial killers who shared similarities with the Ripper as a means to understand his actions and possibly the type of person who could kill like that.

I don't know why, but I've always felt that William 'The Mutilator' MacDonald shred some kind of connection in terms of the randomness of the crimes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William...(serial_killer)

http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/weird/macdonald/index_1.html

MacDonald killed men of course but he seemed mostly interested in taking their genitals and hacking away savagely at their bodies.

The lack of any definitive evidence of sexual activity with the bodies in the Jack the Ripper case has intrigued me as this seems slightly unusual for killers. Even a nutter like Richard Trenton Chase sodomized one of his victims if I recall.

I don't think the chessboard killer in Russia involved in any sexual activity with the bodies of his victims either.

The Monster of Florence took the genitals of his female victims but he is kind of like the Zodiac Killer in his targeting of couples rather than individuals like Jack

I've always found it interesting that William MacDonald felt that he could only kill in Sydney and that was the reason he returned there from when he fled to Melbourne after his last killing so as to continue killing.
I wonder if Jack the Ripper had similar feelings?
Also interesting that MacDonald's last victim was the only one he killed in the relatively safe environment free from interruption (his shop) as opposed to public toilets, etc. Another Ripper /Mary Kelly similarity? Or am I just clutching at straws? http://forum.casebook.org/images/icons/icon5.gif

The way he targeted drunks and homeless, sudden frenzied attacks in areas that in some cases where close to passing pedestrians and his mutilation and taking of organs makes me think of Jack.


Anyway, my main question is this: Which Serial Killer shares most similarity with Jack the Ripper in terms of victim type, MO and general location?

[kensei]

One would have to know Jack's motivations to give a firm answer, and how much he was actually responsible for. If he really did write the letters there would of course be traces of the Zodiac and BTK in him. In general though, in his choice of victims and probable menial job of some kind, I'd compare him to Peter Sutcliffe. He covered a much wider area, but then Jack did not live in the era of motor vehicles.

[protohistorian]

I vote for Henry Lucas. Dave

[Scorpio]

The criminal career of Peter Sutcliffe has many similarities with that of JtR.
Sutcliffe victims were mostly prostitutes, who,he claimed,offended his morals to the point of indignant rage. I am certain Jack would may have rationalised his crimes in a similar fashion,but it might be more accurate to consider them convenient vessels of his innarticulated anger. The only real difference in the crimes is the level of mutilation and the removal of organs from victims bodies. Sutcliffe did not plunder his victims bodies,but Andre Chickatillo,who was a victim of psycho sexual problems, did.

[Garza]

Has to be the Rostov Ripper - Andrei Chikatilo.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrei_Chikatilo

[sdreid]

Shawcross - I guess it depends on what you define as modern

[Abby Normal]

Hi all,

I've been trying to find serial killers who shared similarities with the Ripper as a means to understand his actions and possibly the type of person who could kill like that.

I don't know why, but I've always felt that William 'The Mutilator' MacDonald shred some kind of connection in terms of the randomness of the crimes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William...(serial_killer)

http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/weird/macdonald/index_1.html

MacDonald killed men of course but he seemed mostly interested in taking their genitals and hacking away savagely at their bodies.

The lack of any definitive evidence of sexual activity with the bodies in the Jack the Ripper case has intrigued me as this seems slightly unusual for killers. Even a nutter like Richard Trenton Chase sodomized one of his victims if I recall.

I don't think the chessboard killer in Russia involved in any sexual activity with the bodies of his victims either.

The Monster of Florence took the genitals of his female victims but he is kind of like the Zodiac Killer in his targeting of couples rather than individuals like Jack

I've always found it interesting that William MacDonald felt that he could only kill in Sydney and that was the reason he returned there from when he fled to Melbourne after his last killing so as to continue killing.
I wonder if Jack the Ripper had similar feelings?
Also interesting that MacDonald's last victim was the only one he killed in the relatively safe environment free from interruption (his shop) as opposed to public toilets, etc. Another Ripper /Mary Kelly similarity? Or am I just clutching at straws? http://forum.casebook.org/images/icons/icon5.gif

The way he targeted drunks and homeless, sudden frenzied attacks in areas that in some cases where close to passing pedestrians and his mutilation and taking of organs makes me think of Jack.


Anyway, my main question is this: Which Serial Killer shares most similarity with Jack the Ripper in terms of victim type, MO and general location?

HI JD
In my opinion, no serial killer is like JtR. The closest one i have found is Bill Suff, the Riverside (California) Prostitute Killer.

[FrankO]

In my opinion, no serial killer is like JtR.

I agree with you there, Abby. No known serial killer is like JtR. Besides William MacDonald, Richard Trenton Chase & Andrei Tjikatilo, I'd say Lucian Staniak (The Red Spider), Gordon Cummins (The Blackout Ripper) and Samantha Bisset's murderer Robert Clive Napper do come close.

Best,
Frank

PS The case of Bill Suff, though disturbing of course, is interesting too with regards to that of the Ripper.

[Scorpio]

Otto Steve Wilson, the LA ripper, as his name suggests,is very similar in his crime scene behaviour. A victims wounds apparently bore an especially close resemblance to Cathy Eddowes.

[JTRSickert]

I'm surprised no one on here has mentioned Zodiac.

Think about it, people:

1. his identity is unknown, just like Jack

2. He wrote letters to the newspapers (although the Ripper letters are considered fake, they remain an integral part of the story)

3. Like the Ripper, one of the physical clues Zodiac left was a blood-stained piece of garment from one of his victims (which he mailed along with one of his letters).

4. Both killers were able to avoid getting a lot of blood on them from the killing.

5. All of the killings took place in public areas, out in the open (except for the Ripper's mary Kelly killing).

6. No effort was made to try to hide the bodies.

There may be other similarities but that is all I can think of right now. If I think of any in the future (or if any of you can), I'll post them.

[Fisherman]

Stan writes:

"Shawcross - I guess it depends on what you define as modern"

I have sometimes thought about Arthur Shawcross as a possible parallel too - but in such a case, I tend to rule Tabram out. What Shawcross did, was that he killed a couple of children, went to jail for it and got a long time to think about what he would do when he got out. When he eventually did, he started to kill women instead, arguably responding to urges that had developed in jail.

This makes for an interesting comparison with the Ripper; if we theorize that he was sent down for a couple of years för some violent but not lethal offense against a woman, then he would have a large time space to put his act together and perfect a way of killing quickly, allowing for the mutilation phaze.

It is often argued that the Ripper would have made practice rounds - Ada Wilson is often suggested as one such round - but maybe this is a viable alternative explanation.

Anyhow, I believe that Tabram was that practice round. But if that is wrong, then maybe ...

The best,
Fisherman

[Garry Wroe]

This makes for an interesting comparison with the Ripper; if we theorize that he [Shawcross] was sent down for a couple of years för some violent but not lethal offense against a woman, then he would have a large time space to put his act together and perfect a way of killing quickly, allowing for the mutilation phaze.

During an era when a man could be sentenced to as little as three weeks’ imprisonment for raping a woman, Fish, it is difficult to think of any female-directed offence other than murder that might have incurred a lengthy jail term.

On the subject of Shawcross’s antecedents, it may be worth remembering that he claimed to have killed and mutilated a number of Vietnamese women before his child murders. If so, the developmental process you have proposed may require a rethink.

Regards.

Garry Wroe.

[Fisherman]

Garry Wroe:

"During an era when a man could be sentenced to as little as three weeks’ imprisonment for raping a woman, Fish, it is difficult to think of any female-directed offence other than murder that might have incurred a lengthy jail term."

It could have been any kind of crime, Garry. If it was violence combined with robbery, for example, we would be looking at something quite viable. A little imagination and we´re there.

"If so, the developmental process you have proposed may require a rethink."

If so, yes. And if not, no. And the thing I am after is not Shawcross as a unique example, but instead the suggestion that the Ripper´s methodology may have been formed in a situation where he could perfect it theroretically without being able to test it in practical life.

I hope you see what I´m after now.

The best,
Fisherman

[nugnug]

I do belive one of robert nappers murders was desrcribed by the police as being almost exactlyl the same as the work of jack

[Tom_Wescott]

My thought is that Zodiac happened too long ago to be considered 'modern era', which should reasonably apply only to the last 20 years. I must say there has never been another serial killer who was really comparable to Jack.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott