Why the Gap?

[John Wheat]

It's a hypothesis based on identification evidence.

Yes supposition.

[PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR 1]

So it's supposition then.

It's a hypothesis based on identification evidence.

[John Wheat]

My conviction that the murderer was a sailor is based on eyewitness evidence.

I have long suspected that he was a foreigner, and of course the area abounded with foreign sailors who naturally came and went.

That would explain why the murders stopped after 10 weeks.

So it's supposition then.

[PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR 1]

Could we have some evidence of this or is it all supposition?

My conviction that the murderer was a sailor is based on eyewitness evidence.

I have long suspected that he was a foreigner, and of course the area abounded with foreign sailors who naturally came and went.

That would explain why the murders stopped after 10 weeks.

[Aethelwulf]

Could we have some evidence of this or is it all supposition?

let me oblige John, here it is:

[John Wheat]

There was speculation in the newspapers at the time that the murderer was a sailor who was coming and going and whose arrival was always at the same time each month, thus explaining the patterns of dates on which the murders were committed.

That's why I went to the British Newspaper Library and checked the dates that ships docked at London Port.

They were away for so long that it became obvious to me that the theory did not stand up.

That's how I became convinced that he was in London for the duration of the series of murders.

I still think he was a sailor, but he stayed in Spitalfelds, without work, for the purpose of committing the crimes and then, in order to be certain of escaping justice, he recommenced his career as a merchant seaman.

Could we have some evidence of this or is it all supposition?

[c.d.]

And I keep going on about the mindset of the killer. Did it run like clockwork or was it triggered by unforeseen circumstances?

Exactly. Could the gap have a physical explanation like increased police patrols or ship schedules? Absolutely. But as Scott rightly points out the voices in his head could have taken a short vacation. We just don't know.

c.d.

[PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR 1]

wait your seeming to agree with trevor that he was away at sea during october, but then you say you believe he was in london tje whole time? please explain.

ive often wondered if all the murders being committed in the beginning or ending of the month had anything to do with him being away at sea and or travel in the middle part of the month.

There was speculation in the newspapers at the time that the murderer was a sailor who was coming and going and whose arrival was always at the same time each month, thus explaining the patterns of dates on which the murders were committed.

That's why I went to the British Newspaper Library and checked the dates that ships docked at London Port.

They were away for so long that it became obvious to me that the theory did not stand up.

That's how I became convinced that he was in London for the duration of the series of murders.

I still think he was a sailor, but he stayed in Spitalfelds, without work, for the purpose of committing the crimes and then, in order to be certain of escaping justice, he recommenced his career as a merchant seaman.

[Abby Normal]

the problem with reading too much into the dates is that it assumes the ripper had a 1:1 strike rate - every time he went out hunting he found a victim and was successful. I very much doubt that was the case. If we knew all of the dates of near misses where the ripper was put off by police etc the dates would very likely look a lot less interesting.

aren't serial killers supposed to have a cooling off period after each success? If you factored that in, with the very large increase in police presence after the double event, women being more careful, the october gap is probably just a red herring for the sailor suspecters to try and catch. total dead end IMO.

Hi Wulf
i agree with everything you say. I was more talking about the middle of the month gaps than the october gap. and he was seen wearing a sailors cap and described as appearance of a sailor. so ive often wondered if he was indeed a sailor.

[Darryl Kenyon]

300 questioned, 80 detained for further questioning after the double event. It wouldn't surprise me at all if Jack was one of these men who was possibly questioned again after Mary's murder. [ Sutcliffe nine times during the Yorkshire rippers killings ], and that's why he stopped at that time.

Regards Darryl

[Losmandris]

the problem with reading too much into the dates is that it assumes the ripper had a 1:1 strike rate - every time he went out hunting he found a victim and was successful. I very much doubt that was the case. If we knew all of the dates of near misses where the ripper was put off by police etc the dates would very likely look a lot less interesting.

aren't serial killers supposed to have a cooling off period after each success? If you factored that in, with the very large increase in police presence after the double event, women being more careful, the october gap is probably just a red herring for the sailor suspecters to try and catch. total dead end IMO.

I agree. I am sure there were a number of 'attempts' or near misses for additional murders. There could well have been several in October. The thing is we will never know. As I have mentioned before it is probable that there is some truth in one or two of these family tales we sometimes hear about along the lines of 'Your Gran was nearly a victim of Jack the Ripper'. There are so many examples from modern serial killers where potential victims got away. Often they only come to light once the killer has been apprehended. Certainly thinking about that poor chap who had a run in with Dennis Nielsen here. And was surprised to find out (all be it from watching the Netflix series) that there were a few with Jeffrey Dahmer. One guy saved by the intervention of Dahmer's Grandmother. When these are taken into consideration the chances of near misses with JtR, at least in my eyes seem like an inevitability.

[Aethelwulf]

its no more of a red herring than your explantion

www.trevormarriott.co.uk

you would say that trev. how much time, effort and money have you put into a sailor suspect and start crying whenever anyone pokes at the precious little theory that is backed up by precisely nothing?

[Trevor Marriott]

the problem with reading too much into the dates is that it assumes the ripper had a 1:1 strike rate - every time he went out hunting he found a victim and was successful. I very much doubt that was the case. If we knew all of the dates of near misses where the ripper was put off by police etc the dates would very likely look a lot less interesting.

aren't serial killers supposed to have a cooling off period after each success? If you factored that in, with the very large increase in police presence after the double event, women being more careful, the october gap is probably just a red herring for the sailor suspecters to try and catch. total dead end IMO.

its no more of a red herring than your explantion

https://www.trevormarriott.co.uk

[Aethelwulf]

ive often wondered if all the murders being committed in the beginning or ending of the month had anything to do with him being away at sea and or travel in the middle part of the month.

the problem with reading too much into the dates is that it assumes the ripper had a 1:1 strike rate - every time he went out hunting he found a victim and was successful. I very much doubt that was the case. If we knew all of the dates of near misses where the ripper was put off by police etc the dates would very likely look a lot less interesting.

aren't serial killers supposed to have a cooling off period after each success? If you factored that in, with the very large increase in police presence after the double event, women being more careful, the october gap is probably just a red herring for the sailor suspecters to try and catch. total dead end IMO.

[Abby Normal]

Which brings me back to my belief that he was a sailor, or to be more specific, a merchant seaman.
The idea was mentioned in newspapers at the time that he might have been a sailor who went away to sea and came back.
I once went to the British newspaper library and looked at the newspapers from the period of the murders.
I looked at all the records of ships arriving in the Port of London and leaving.
The thing that struck me was how long it took for them to come back, even when they had only gone to a European port.
That's why I'm convinced that he was in London for the entire period of the murders and that he lay low following the double event.
I did read once that after the double murder, prostitutes we're going around in pairs, and this obviously would have made his job impossible.

He may have chosen 9 November because he thought that the police would be distracted by the preparations for the holiday.
I think he was just biding his time and waiting for the opportunity to murder someone indoors in a suitably secluded spot.

wait your seeming to agree with trevor that he was away at sea during october, but then you say you believe he was in london tje whole time? please explain.

ive often wondered if all the murders being committed in the beginning or ending of the month had anything to do with him being away at sea and or travel in the middle part of the month.