Rich man, poor man, beggarman, farmer?

[curious4]

While perusing my Mrs Beeton, I came across the following, which reminded me of the way Jack killed his victims:

"There was no species of slaughtering practised in this country so inhuman and disgraceful as that, till very lately, employed in killing this poor animal; when, under the plea of making the flesh white, the calf was bled day by day, till, when the final hour came, the animal was unable to stand. This inhumanity is, we believe, now everywhere abolished, and the calf is at once killed, and with the least amount of pain; a sharp-pointed knife is run throught the neck, severing all the large veins and arteries up to the vertebrae."

Perhaps Jack really did mean to give his victims a merciful death, despite what he did with them afterwards. Cutting right through to the vertebrae was common to most, if not all of his victims, something not necessary when just cutting the throat to kill.

Best wishes,
C4

[Phil H]

Are you going to suggest Mrs eaton in the thread about the most unlikely Ripper, then?

Phil

[curious4]

Mrs Beeton dunnit

Hello Phil,

You could have a point there - she was said to have contracted syphilis from her husband later in her life. Maybe she went on a rampage with a carving knife to revenge herself on the ladies of the night who gave it to him!

Cheers,
C4

[Phil H]

I think you may have something there.

Phil

[curious4]

Mrs B

Hello Phil,

Yes, I wonder that I haven't thought of it before. Mid-forties by then, coming up to the age when women often lost their marbles before HRT, beefed up after years of good eating, possibly working at an eating house, having left her philandering husband, leaps out on her victim and then dives back into the eating house where no-one would be surprised by a bloody knife in the kitchen.

Give me some time and I'll explain the deer-stalker hat as well.

Good wishes,
C4

[curious4]

Mrs B

Of course she died in 1865, but a good conspiracy theory would deal with that.

[Graham]

Given the quantities of sugar and lard in a lot of her recipes, she was probably indirectly responsible for the demise of quite a few more than the Whitechapel Killer.

G