Did Jack the Ripper even exist?

[Mike Covell]

It has been suggested before that Jack was a media creation on the back of several murders in the locale, there is a new book out on that theory later this month or next, stating the newspaper's where effective in creating the myth.

I agree with the others that the murders had too much in common to be random individual acts.

[sdreid]

How often are police looking for a serial killer and they later discover that the murders were actually independent events? I can't think of a single case. In fact, they more often than not find out that the guy killed more than they thought after he's captured and begins to spill.

[kensei]

I'm going to agree with Mitch. The Ripper definitely existed. Remember, there were witnesses involved with some of these crimes, and a young man in a dark overcoat and peaked cap was a general running theme, seen gently talking to the witnesses minutes before the murders. This, combined with the similarity of the wounds- especially between Chapman and Eddowes- as well as just the extreme overkill which Kelly was the ultimate example of, all point toward a serial killer. I would guess that the victims of pimps wanting to spread terror would have been mostly just beaten as with Emma Smith, with maybe a little cutting for dramatic effect.

[Nothing to see]

Jack as a figment of someone's imagination?

Please.

[Nicola]

I'm a social worker and have met pimps before,unfortunately. Pimps tend to want to poach new prospects,because they are all about money. I don't think they've changed all that much throughout time. A rabid pimp slashing through Whitechapel seems odd to me. I could possibly buy the idea of one particularly vicious pimp trying to put the fear of God into his women,but five times?

The crimes have too much in common and a personal element of enjoyment,at least for me,for it to have been different killers or a pimp/thug out to teach a very harsh lesson.

[truebluedub]

The idea that JTR was actually a moral panic isn't that outlandish. Peter Turnbull was the first to make that argument and Jan Bondenson has also looked at it. Even if we accept all of the c5 as his victims we can still see this in how later victims were attributed to JTR, and a number of suspects such as William Grant were put forward on a similar basis.
It also wouldn't be as atypical as Mitch suggests.

Chris Lowe

[Mitch Rowe]

Then it would have been all different kinds of murders with hardly anything in common. Thats not what we have here. What we have is a series of bizzar events that are so in common with each other the chances more than one person committed them are very slim. My opinion is nearly imossible.

In short.. What we would be seeing would be entirely different than what we see today/then or ever.

[Grim]

or was it just a bunch of pimp thugs who were trying to teach the working girls of whitechapel a lesson or two?

What do you think?