Why weren't there any killings in October 1888?

[Jane Coram]

Hi All,

One slightly more controversial idea that I have heard bandied around, is that if Mary Kelly was his last intended victim, he had wait for the opportunity to get her on her own.

Joe had only very recently left Mary and may well have been sleeping in her bed every night until the end of October Julia and or Maria Harvey were there at other times The night of Friday the 9th might have been the first opportunity he had to kill her.

Not saying I subscribe to the theory, although it's an interesting one. My best guesses are:

That he could only get away at certain times of the month - or was out of the country

That he had a dose of something fairly unpleasant that kept him tucked up with his hot water bottle.

That the police presence was a bit off putting to kill on the streets, and the kind of women he picked as victims were the most vulnerable that didn't have a room of their own, so he was a bit ***gered.

That he had been spotted by Lawende and stayed off the streets in case he got collared.

That he did try to kill a victim, but she got lucky and wasn't exactly going to let anyone know that she had seen JtR.

Okay, I'll shut up now.



Hugs

Jane

xxxx

[Paddy Goose]

...could "Jack" have been in another area at this time. Paris maybe? Ireland maybe?

He was in Bavaria for Oktoberfest.

[Yasmin B.]

october

i haven't exactly heard of a theory for that but since the killings mostly took place between friday and Sunday some people think JtR had a (decent?) secure job and that would give him excuses for skipping October.

1- he was also just a human being. he could have been sick.
2- he couldn't find his victim (maybe he liked killing in order?)
3-he was fired from the job and had to search for a new one (he had to pay his victims!)
4- He simply thought that he needed a break.
5- He was satisfied enough to take a break
6- It was just too much fun for him to see the police and prostitutes freaking out

those are just some random excuses. he was only a human being so tecnically he could have chosen one

[CraigInTwinCities]

The Whitehall Mystery took place Oct. 3, 1888, although few attribute this kill to Jack's canon.

[Elias]

There was a certain schedule that Jack worked to - weekends and public holidays. Obviously this has led people to believe he was in full time employment. So I do think he was able to curb and plan his attacks if he absolutely had to. I think either his circumstances at work changed during October - maybe he had to work weekends temporarily. Or perhaps he lied low for a few weeks to observe the new escalation in police presence, to see how many new coppers were on the beat and where it took them.

[celee]

Possibly, Brad.

But if that wasn't the case, and Kelly was the victim of an intruder (or perhaps a visitor), it wouldn't have required a month's planning to pull it off.

Best regards,
Ben

Hi Ben,

Possibly, Ben.

I agree Ben, it would not have required a month of planning to kill Kelly even if the Ripper was an intruder or a visitor.

Your friend, Brad

[Ben]

Again, I believe he killed Kelly indoors just by chance. Kelly worked from her room and she took him there

Possibly, Brad.

But if that wasn't the case, and Kelly was the victim of an intruder (or perhaps a visitor), it wouldn't have required a month's planning to pull it off.

Best regards,
Ben

[celee]

Hi all
Remember the fact that he now went from killing outdoor to indoor (probably to get more time for his mutilatons). This is an importon change, and my guess is that he used october to plan this.

Hi,

Again, I believe he killed Kelly indoors just by chance. Kelly worked from her room and she took him there. I do not believe he used the whole month of October to plan an indoor killing.

I think the increased police patrols and local residents who also took up the chase made it difficult for him to play his funny little games.

Your friend, Brad

[MrRippel]

Hi all
Remember the fact that he now went from killing outdoor to indoor (probably to get more time for his mutilatons). This is an importon change, and my guess is that he used october to plan this.

[Observer]

Hi

From the Times commenting on the use of bloodhounds

"The morning trial was reported to be a much better one for scenting purposes than had been Monday's trials. In all, half a dozen runs were made, with Sir Charles Warren himself twice acting as the hunted man. In every instance, the dogs hunted persons who were complete strangers to them. The Times for 10th October reported that Sir Charles expressed satisfaction at the result of these trials."

The trials took place on the 4th October, could the perpetrator of the Whitechapel atrocities have been wary of possible capture by bloodhound

all the best

Observer

[Roy Corduroy]

Diana, that is interesting, the medical angle.

Neal Shelden was pondering something similar. On the Just a thought about MO thread under General Discussion. A little different in the timeline, but same concept of the risky behavior.

Roy

[diana]

Incarcerated

Two other possibilities.

Rummaging around inside a dead body is not the healthiest of pursuits. There are all sorts of microbes waiting, especially since these ladies did not have the healthiest of lifestyles. If he even nicked himself during the struggle they would have had a point of entry. The normal human intestine is full of EColi where it usually does not cause trouble. But EColi can cause a lot of trouble elsewhere in the human body. He cut open Kate's intestines and handled them. He could have spent October being very very sick.

Jack was not a very nice person. He may have engaged in other less spectacular criminal pursuits, been caught, tried, and sentenced to spend a month in the "slammer".

[SapphireElric]

Thank you all so much for your theories! They've given me so many different possibilities to work with now and think about. All of these theories make complete sense to me

[Jon Guy]

Lawende I.D.

Building on the increased police activity premise for October, it may well have been the Ripper with Eddowes at Church Passage, and he knew he had been identified, or at least, the police had a reasonable decription of him.

[mikey559]

Stalking his victims....

I agree with Chris on this issue. I'm inclined to believe that he stalked each victim before he killed them. Therefore there may have been victims that he didn't kill because the opportunity did not present itself or the "trigger" was never released. It's also quite possible that the increased police presence stifled the urge on one or more occasions.

Mikey