The Elusive Jack

[Rin]

hello, I'm a new member who hasn't been able to read and purge every corner of this site yet. But I have taken an interest in this JTR case while working on a project regarding criminal profiling.

I don't know if this is mentioned on this site. but what if Jack the Ripper was a sailor?
it would explain why the murders happen on only weekends, and never during the same days the cattle ship arrives or departs. only during the days its on the docks. as in, never during unloading or packing. so no one on the ship would actually notice his absence.

also, JTR seems to have skipped one month without killing anyone just after the double murder of Elizabeth stride. could it be that he got paranoid and decided to lay low for a month to throw anyone off his trail? there are of course many explanations for the one month absence (such as illness, jail, travel etc.) i remember reading on this very site that Strides body was still warm when she was found, meaning the Ripper was still in the vicinity and only just managed to conceal himself.
Ive also backtracked to the very first victim and read the autopsy report. for a first victim, Jack really didn't show any hesitance when slicing her, meaning this wouldn't be the first time he shed blood. however, i did notice an increase in the mutilations after every victim. which is bigger proof she was the first victim. ending with Mary Kelly who was mutilated beyond recognition. in otherwords, Jack the ripper may have been a butcher on the cattle ships. it would also explain the limited anatomical knowledge the killer supposedly possessed, and the way he would mutilate the victims and remove organs just as though they were cattle.
im just brainstorming atm, so feel free to punch holes in the theory .

[Mike Covell]

Hi Rin,
The theory that Jack the Ripper was a sailor is as old as the case itself.

Edward Knight Larkins put forward the thoery that the killer used Cattle Boats in and out of London Docks and went so far as to draw up lists of the boats that were berthed during the murders.
The information about Knight can be found in "The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Sourcebook- An Illustrated Encyclopedia" by Stewart P. Evans and Keith Skinner. This is one of the best, if not the best book on the subject, covering the files from the murders.

A more recent theory was put forward in Trevor Marriots book, "Jack the Ripper, The 21st Century Investigation", in which, he selects a suspect based on the location of the suspects vessle during the murders.

I believe Queen Victoria also asked the question "Are the cattle boats being checked?" or something along those lines.

Good luck with your research and welcome to the Casebook.

[Rin]

howcome that theory isn't still as populare? isnt it the most plausable? sorry for asking dumb questions, but im abit of a newbe to this

[Monty]

Rin,

The thing is that your question is not dumb, its a very valid one.

I myself cannot answer you.

There are other, just as plausible theories.

Monty

[perrymason]

I think Rin that for far too long a supposition that a demented blood thirsty madman ran amok in the East End has existed, and as a result, most efforts have been to find someone who might fit that mentally ill profile. People have scoured Mental Institutions records, and keyed to documents that suggest he was caught and institutionalized.

But you, smart fellow or gal...are looking at Opportunity, Proximity, and the sporadic kill cycle. Thats a great approach.

As far as the "escalation" of his attack, you can suggest that reasonably from Polly, to Annie, to Kate. Liz's murder is certainly not an escalation of violence, quite the opposite, and Mary Jane is new levels of violence, but without the prior regional focus.

Use all that data...time of night for killing, locations of kill sites, periods of inactivity, before choosing to assess victims specific wounds, or before you conclude that you are looking for a blood thirsty madman.

Because there is only one murder on Jacks list that fits a bloodthirsty madman, without objectives beyond just cutting.

Regards and welcome to the jungle.

[Doctor X]

Indeed, and even the caught serial killers--while maybe not "healthy" psychologically--tend to not be "barking raving mad" as popularly supposed.

Yours truly,

--J.D.

[Mitch Rowe]

howcome that theory isn't still as populare? isnt it the most plausable? sorry for asking dumb questions, but im abit of a newbe to this

I think the theory is popular. Only with newbies to case. I myself came to the conclusion that JTR could have been a Sailor before I even heard of Larkins.

It seems a logical conclusion. It explains why the murders took place on weekends and why the murders stopped.

The reason the theory has been ignored by me as of late is because from what I understand this Man Larkins was so adament about JTR being a sailor that he was even considered somewhat of a nuisance by Police.

I also understand that Larkins had three suspects in mind that he was convinced were guilty of the crimes. And from what I understand Police checked them out and found nothing.

Also...From a modern profiling point of view it seems most likely that JTR was a local Man who knew the area quite well. Probably a loner type with a deep seated complex concerning Women.

So there you have it..The Sailor theory being a sound and logical one in my mind. But something I could assume was checked by Police in a thorough manner. But you have piqued my interest in the theory again and I think I shall do some more studying on the subject. If only to become more familiar with the idea for when the next newb comes along and asks the same question. Wich I know will happen again as its one of the first logical conclusions a person can come up with regarding these murders.

[Dan Norder]

Hi Rin,

I would think the theory that Jack was a sailor is still very plausible. Trevor Marriott first suggested that it was some unknown sailor and then picked Carl Feigenbaum. The sailor known as "Frenchy" caused a fair amount of interest in the last several years, and to a lesser extent so did the story of a sailor named "John Anderson." There's also "Alaska" and "Fogelma" and so forth and so on.

As far as why it may not seem to be popular, there are a few reasons for that. People who are suspect oriented want a name to try to hang the murders on, and "a sailor" typically isn't good enough for them. People who aren't suspect oriented generally accept a wide range of possibilities, and a sailor would be just one of many plausible options. In short, the more dramatic and unrealistic something is the more it tends to attract true believers who will make it their mission to convince others they are right. Popularity often isn't a very good judge of anything.

[bolo]

I think the then expressed belief (or chauvinism) that surely no Englishman could have been responsible for the East End murders had a considerable influence on suspicions against Jews, sailors and foreigners in general.

[Paddy Goose]

Edward Knight Larkins put forward the thoery that the killer used Cattle Boats in and out of London Docks and went so far as to draw up lists of the boats that were berthed during the murders.
The information about Knight can be found in "The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Sourcebook- An Illustrated Encyclopedia" by Stewart P. Evans and Keith Skinner. This is one of the best, if not the best book on the subject, covering the files from the murders.

A more recent theory was put forward in Trevor Marriots book, "Jack the Ripper, The 21st Century Investigation", in which, he selects a suspect based on the location of the suspects vessle during the murders.

Hello Mike,

It must have been luck when sadly, one of our local independent bookstores was going out of business and had that very Evans & Skinner book on sale for $1.95. But what a find!

Reading the part about the ships and such made my eyes glaze over, and one can see why the police threw up their hands and said "No more, this is taking too much time!" But it is intriguing just because it IS so difficult.

Nice to connect with you on something like this, even at the most basic level. Best to you.

Paddy

p.s the Marriots book sounds very interesting. Thanks for the tip.