Did the Ripper want to be caught?

[Damaso Marte]

I think Whitechapel was so crowded he tried very hard not to get caught in an area that was not easy to do this. In killing late at night in dark alleyways it seemed he tried very hard to avoid capture, and he did. We're racking our brains to this day trying to find the guy.

I have often thought, as I watch my cats kill birds and yet remain innocent of a heinous act, that there is a part of the brain in some people who kill without recognizing the wrong of it.

Some call it the cave man part of the brain, or call it crazy but sometimes I wonder what if it is just some kind of instinct, like animals have, that has nothing to do with civilized progress, or taught morals.

What if some brains have the same instinct to kill as an animal does. What if these people have no ability to ever recognize it as wrong morally, emotionally. They may know what others think and the consequences society lays on them, so they hide it for their own survival.

I'm confident that the killer knew that what he was doing was wrong...or at least that it would be seen as wrong by the rest of the world. I think this is why he was never caught, and why this forum exists...because he knew he would be punished if caught and took steps to avoid being caught.

Again, even if you believe in a suspect who was eventually captured, it was never red-handed at a murder scene.

[JTRSickert]

Hi Nick,

One thing we have to remember about these murders is that, while JTR intended to murder his victims, it was not he who lured them in the spots where his victims were murdered; rather, it was the victims themselves.

Thinking they had secured a client, they would take him to a spot that was secluded so that they could complete their "transaction" in a spot where they were not likely to be disturbed. JTR took advantage of this and used it to take the lives of his victims...and still get away with it.

Would this kind of killer be able to get away with this today? Probably not, due to the advances in criminal investigation we have at our disposal. But back then, JTR probably knew , at the very least, the cops were gonna have a tough time catching him ("Catch me when you can."

[Cogidubnus]

Hi all...I'm with Dale and Tom on this...of course he didn't want to get caught, and as Dale comments, it's not as if most students even believe the letters originate with the killer (except, just possibly, "From Hell").

All the best

Dave