Did JtR murder on his days off work?

[Rosella]

Prostitution was one. Mary Kelly had her own room!

Seriously, though if Jack was in some gainful regular employment, around the docks, markets, horse slaughterer, butcher, cab driver etc., rooms would be available for a single man, some of them with their own entrance, for only a few shillings a week.

If Jack had no dependants a single room at about 3 shillings a week wouldn't be too much of a stretch for a man earning an average income for the area.

I've often wondered if he lived over a business, either his or a relatives. I can't see him grubbing about in common lodging houses, either. Too much chance of someone noticing something, especially at the height of the terror.

[GUT]

Prostitution was one. Mary Kelly had her own room!

Seriously, though if Jack was in some gainful regular employment, around the docks, markets, horse slaughterer, butcher, cab driver etc., rooms would be available for a single man, some of them with their own entrance, for only a few shillings a week.

If Jack had no dependants a single room at about 3 shillings a week wouldn't be too much of a stretch for a man earning an average income for the area.

I've often wondered if he lived over a business, either his or a relatives. I can't see him grubbing about in common lodging houses, either. Too much chance of someone noticing something, especially at the height of the terror.

Except MJK was way behind in her rent and her and Joe had been booted previously seemingly when he was in regular work.

[Rosella]

Maybe Joe's work at the market was VERY irregular and patchy. Maybe both he and Mary were boozing and being noisy at their previous lodgings and the other tenants were becoming annoyed. Perhaps Mary broke another window!

I can't see Jack living with anyone or causing any kind of ruckus. That doesn't mean that he wasn't a drinker. A lot of East Enders at the time were, and I can't see why he would have been an exception. I can't see him as a noisy drunk or wanting to fight though, not enough to draw attention to himself.

[John G]

Isn't it just as likely that JtR made a living out of street robberies, i.e robbing street prostitutes? Either alone or as part of a gang? Horsnell, Smth, Haynes and Hames were all victims of vicious street assaults. In fact, Hames and Smith, who new each other well-Hames gave evidence at Smith's inquest- were attacked on the same day. And perhaps he progressed from assaulting street prostitutes to murdering them.

[Errata]

There are any number of jobs that aren't 9-5 5 day a week things. Sailors worked shifts on board, but got shore leave every other weekend I think. And the Victorian Era was the first to introduce the the 24 on 48 off shift. Servants certainly didn't get weekends off. They might get a day or two a month, but usually just the day not the night. Then there is fishing, baking, third shift factory workers, janitors, etc. who all work odd hours. And when you work with the sick or the dead your hours are both odd and unpredictable.

It's not really binary that Jack either wasn't working or was using his days off. He could have been killing while working, or on his way to work, or on his way home.

[Abby Normal]

Isn't it just as likely that JtR made a living out of street robberies, i.e robbing street prostitutes? Either alone or as part of a gang? Horsnell, Smth, Haynes and Hames were all victims of vicious street assaults. In fact, Hames and Smith, who new each other well-Hames gave evidence at Smith's inquest- were attacked on the same day. And perhaps he progressed from assaulting street prostitutes to murdering them.

Hi johnG
I doubt it. Serial killers like to work alone, especially the post mortem kind.
and even their prior criminal activity tends to be alone.


But its totally possible and actually an intriguing idea.

[Sleuth1888]

This is because journalists at the time seemed to propose he killed on his days off.

Oh well if journalists proposed this then it must be right.

[Sleuth1888]

I've always believed that Jack the Ripper killed on days he wasn't working, such as weekends, public holidays and days off.

What convinces me most is how, if he worked on the days he killed, he managed to arrive at work without raising suspicion.

Surely if he killed on his route to work he would surely find it hard to maintain his composure and keep calm when butchering a woman possibly only minutes before.

[Pcdunn]

Keeping a job while "working" at murder-- possible?

I've always believed that Jack the Ripper killed on days he wasn't working, such as weekends, public holidays and days off.

What convinces me most is how, if he worked on the days he killed, he managed to arrive at work without raising suspicion.

Surely if he killed on his route to work he would surely find it hard to maintain his composure and keep calm when butchering a woman possibly only minutes before.

This is an excellent point, Sleuth 1888, and one of my main concerns with the Lechmere suspect theory. Granted, he doesn't seem to have taken a trophy from Polly, so doesn't have to find a place to stash it while making his deliveries of meat, but the composure is a point. I've been told it's because psychopathic serial killers are smart and cool and don't react like normal people. Maybe, but still... Lechmere had a wife and a brood of children. Hiding trophies and weapons from them in the close living quarters of Whitechapel, even if they were lucky enough to have a house they didn't have to share-- could it be done?

Even if Jack was a single working man, people lived all crowded together in multiple-occupancy houses, as observed from some of the other sites. I just don't know about an employed Ripper...

[GUT]

This is an excellent point, Sleuth 1888, and one of my main concerns with the Lechmere suspect theory. Granted, he doesn't seem to have taken a trophy from Polly, so doesn't have to find a place to stash it while making his deliveries of meat, but the composure is a point. I've been told it's because psychopathic serial killers are smart and cool and don't react like normal people. Maybe, but still... Lechmere had a wife and a brood of children. Hiding trophies and weapons from them in the close living quarters of Whitechapel, even if they were lucky enough to have a house they didn't have to share-- could it be done?

Even if Jack was a single working man, people lived all crowded together in multiple-occupancy houses, as observed from some of the other sites. I just don't know about an employed Ripper...

And there is no PROOF Lechmere delivered meat.

[Rosella]

If JTR had a room at the back of his butchers premises or even if he had a room of his own in a house with older relatives, hiding souvenirs wouldn't be too much of a problem, especially if you never invited others into your room.

People like horse slaughterers or abbatoir workers might not have started shifts early in the mornings. They might have had to wait for consignments of horses to be delivered to the premises. I think too, that people who worked in those trades wouldn't have put on clean clothing every day. Probably some jackets, pants and shirts had bloodstains and splashes on them, semi-permanently.

[Wickerman]

Using the days he killed as a guide to indicate his work schedule may be misleading. The times and dates he killed only reflect his successes, there may have been other failures that we do not know about.
You may recall the stories given by Lewis & Kennedy about a man who attempted to entice one of them down a dark ally, but they both refused to go.
There could have been any number of those scenario's played out before he found one willing to comply.

[GUT]

Using the days he killed as a guide to indicate his work schedule may be misleading. The times and dates he killed only reflect his successes, there may have been other failures that we do not know about.
You may recall the stories given by Lewis & Kennedy about a man who attempted to entice one of them down a dark ally, but they both refused to go.
There could have been any number of those scenario's played out before he found one willing to comply.

That's the point is it not.

When did he hunt but not kill?

Did he have kills that were not added to the list?

[Scott Nelson]

If JTR had a room at the back of his butchers premises or even if he had a room of his own in a house with older relatives, hiding souvenirs wouldn't be too much of a problem, especially if you never invited others into your room.

People like horse slaughterers or abbatoir workers might not have started shifts early in the mornings. They might have had to wait for consignments of horses to be delivered to the premises. I think too, that people who worked in those trades wouldn't have put on clean clothing every day. Probably some jackets, pants and shirts had bloodstains and splashes on them, semi-permanently.

Excellent insight.

[WingsUnchained]

So my question is, based on this journalist's account of dates here, what sort of class of person would JtR have been to meet the above criteria?

Have you factored the grapes in?