JtR's Ideal Victim Type

[Mycroft]

Even if he had a preferred look of victim, it would have been rather hard to identify hair colour etc, in the dark streets and alleys, unless he had followed them from a well lit place like a pub or knew of them, which I doubt. Personally, I don't think he cared what they looked like, just as long as they were the type of female he despised and the opportunity was there .

[Garza]

I think you are underestimating how many people actually lived in the area. One source tells me 74.400 people in Whitechapel. There was 1200 prostitutes alone. I can't find any exact numbers of how many pubs were in Spitalfields, but one dissertation offhandedly mentions that there was hundreds of pubs in the east end.

I'm not, i'm well aware that there was tens of thousands living in Spitalfields. We will never know if they knew of it each other. I'm just saying the five victims lived only a couple of streets away from each other, ther would have been 10 pubs in the recent vincinity. It is possible they knew each other, even just my reputation (although the only victims I can see having a rep is Liz Stride and Mary Jane Kelly).

Like I said we will never know. But I do smile imagining Kate Eddowes and Liz Stride bumping into each other on Flower and Dean Street, saying sorry and walking on, not knowing their names will become entangled for eternity.

[Robert]

I think they had to be women, drunk or hungover, ill or in some way weak. I think he did Kelly but hadn't intended to.

[Lord-z]

I would have loved to know if any of the victims knew each other or knew "of" each other. I mean there was a lot of people living in spitalfields, but they more than likely visited all the same pubs.

I think you are underestimating how many people actually lived in the area. One source tells me 74.400 people in Whitechapel. There was 1200 prostitutes alone. I can't find any exact numbers of how many pubs were in Spitalfields, but one dissertation offhandedly mentions that there was hundreds of pubs in the east end.

[Barnaby]

The "IVT" is that his victims were poor, vulnerable, female prostitutes who were willing to accompany/lead him to relatively isolated spots for (supposed) sex. Any similarities in appearance are probably more due to the lifestyle/economic realities of these women than a conscious choice by Jack. As the murderer probably could not afford either the money or the risk associated with killing a woman of higher means, he took what was readily available: poor, desperate women under the influence of alcohol and willing to do practically anything for money. In Whitechapel, that's like shooting fish in a barrel. With respect to perceived IVTs: Mary Kelly wasn't middle-aged. Catherine Eddowes wasn't "stout."

[The Good Michael]

I think it was a small world. I imagine many of the 'unfortunates' knew each other as competitors and comiserates. Just as costermongers knew each other by sight at the very least, why not prostitutes.

Mike

[Garza]

Joseph,

Kelly's hair could have been dark. We don't know. Also, I suggest that Stride looked younger than her years. Kelly may well have looked older than her years. If the killer knew all the women, he would have known ages, but that's surmise. I think these were just easy victims in JTR's hunting areas.

Mike

I would have loved to know if any of the victims knew each other or knew "of" each other. I mean there was a lot of people living in spitalfields, but they more than likely visited all the same pubs.

[The Good Michael]

Joseph,

Yes. We do have to use the information at hand... as I have.

Mike

[JosephDurham]

Well if we throw in all of "might have", "possiblies", "could have," et cetera all of our victims "could have" looked just alike. We have to go by the information and photographs that we have available to us and base our information on that.

Joseph

[The Good Michael]

Joseph,

Kelly's hair could have been dark. We don't know. Also, I suggest that Stride looked younger than her years. Kelly may well have looked older than her years. If the killer knew all the women, he would have known ages, but that's surmise. I think these were just easy victims in JTR's hunting areas.

Mike

[JosephDurham]

Mary Jane Kelly is the only one that does not fit the standard: she did not have "dark hair" and her "age" was considerably younger than that of the other canonical victims. Perhaps it really wasn't MJK that was murdered.

I do not believe that he was killing these women at random choice, but there was a very clear motive behind the killing spree.

Joseph

[Phil H]

To slightly edit an earlier post:

Polly Nichols - 44, 5ft 2, dark hair, more than a little the worse for wear for drink, probably staggering somewhat
Annie Chapman - 47, 5ft, dark hair, unwell, possibly tipsy (at least) and perhaps shambling
Catherine Eddowes - 46, 5ft, dark auburn hair, probably hun-over and staggering a bit (even if more sober than earlier).

I no longer believe Stride or MJK were victims of JtR so have omitted them.

Tabram might fit much the same bill as the three detailed above.

Phil

[Lord-z]

I believe Jack to have been a opportunist, praying on easy victims. Prostitutes, who he could easily lure into an alley with promise of money. Eddowes, even if she was not in the act of prostitution, was drunk and easy to grab, and Kelly was sleeping it off in apartment where he had, one way or another, gained access.

They say that rape is not about sex, it is about power. Likewise, I think that Jack was going for people that he could dominate. People at their weakest.

[bolo]

Hello Garza, all,

the murderer's preferred (I hestitate to call them ideal) victims were poverty-stricken female prostitutes who happened to cross his path when he roamed the streets of Whitechapel or accosted him (which may have been one of his prerequisites). There must have been other easy targets available at that time and place, like beggars sleeping in railway arches or senselessly drunk sailors he could have acted out his urges on as well, yet our man stuck to (low-class) women.

I think that is the closest I can get to the murderer's IVT. It's difficult to tell wether appearance played a role as well, we only have a bunch of postmortem photographs, some medical reports and witness testimonies with details on body measurements, hair color, etc., noone knows for sure how the victims looked like when they were still alive. Judging from the few ascertained facts we know about them and their lifes, the only similarities between the victims are gender (female), habits (alcohol, occasional or full-time prostitution) and living conditions (East End, very poor to semi-nomadic).

Jack may have been a Lustmörder but could have been a missionary type or criminal misogynist as well, at least the nature of his victims seems to allow several starting points for psychological assessments like that.

Regards,

Boris

[Garza]

I think the only conclusion we can make with certainty is his perceived ability to physically do the murder. We cannot say with certainty much else, particularly regarding the time needed to commit the crime, as that feature is going to vary widely by psychological state. Whether he was a buff lad 4 and 1/2 ft tall or a tall adult male we cannot say. In his mind however,it is a fairly solid conclusion to say that he had enough perceived confidence to launch the attack. Dave

True, hardly anything is certain in these cases.