Jacob Levy?

[Slinky9]

Hello to everyone
Just wondering if anybody knows much about Jacob Levy? I have read whats on this site but he seems to be looked over alot.
Sorry if there are old post about him but im new here and have not seen any

[babybird67]

welcome to Casebook slinky

try this:

http://forum.casebook.org/showthread.php?t=628&highlight=Jacob+Levy

There is also a search facility if you look at the top of this page, for you to find other relevant threads.

I did a search on Jacob Levy and this page came up:

http://forum.casebook.org/search.php?searchid=264135

happy perusing!

[Slinky9]

Hello and thankyou

[dixon9]

been doing a bit of research on Jacob,when he was 'delivered' to London Lunatic asylum he details were height 5' 3' and he weighed 9st 3lbs,now with alot of eye witness' saying jack was stout/stocky,can you be that if you only weigh a little over 9st?
I realise he was short but stocky/stout?

[Radical Joe]

been doing a bit of research on Jacob,when he was 'delivered' to London Lunatic asylum he details were height 5' 3' and he weighed 9st 3lbs,now with alot of eye witness' saying jack was stout/stocky,can you be that if you only weigh a little over 9st?
I realise he was short but stocky/stout?

Hi,

From the little research I've undertaken, Jacob Levy seems to me as plausible a candidate for Ripperhood as any known suspect, and more likely to have commited the murders than many of the more prominent suspects. His address (bang in the middle of the crime scenes), his mental condition, his trade (butcher) and the 'fact' that he contracted syphilis (suggesting he used prostitutes, and may have resented them) all fit a basic profile of the type of man the WM may have been. He had the opportunity, the knowledge of the locale and the prostitutes, the anatomical knowledge (assuming we accept the theory that JTR posessed some anatomical knowledge), and the motive to have been the main man himself. Of course, the appparent lack of information on him hinders further investigation - possibly why he isn't further up the pecking order of likely suspects.

Regards his physical description compared to those given of JTR, IMO there is little to discount Levy on this basis, yet plenty to further implicate him. I confess to not being as au fait as many on here as regards witness statements, but as I understand it, JTR has been described as dark looking, possibly Jewish (as Levy was), relatively short (Levy was 5'3) and that the victims seemed comfortable in his company (as mentioned, Levy was alocal who likely knew and used prostitutes).

The suspect being referred to as 'stocky' or stout' need not imply that JTR was 'fat'. Leaving aside the accuracy of any statements, we need to consider what 'stout' meant to the witnesses. In a poverty stricken area where mal-nourished people were likely the norm, could 'stout' not refer to someone of what we might consider to be a reasonably healthy build? Likewise, could 'stout' imply a 'thick-set', or muscular man, as opposed to a slim man? Levy was, after all, a butcher, who's work would have involved much lifting and other manual labour. In adition, he may have had the opportunity to feed himself more than others of his social class (he was also convicted of stealing beef from his employers in 1886!). And, lastly, while a man weighing 9.3 stones (at the time of his commital, lest we forget) would unlikely been considered 'stout' or 'stocky', considering he was only 5'3 in height, his proportions may have gave the appearance of such a man.

Regards,

Joe.

[dixon9]

nice post joe,Levy probably did use pro's as he died in Essex County Asylum,due to general paralysis of the insane brought on by the serious sexually transmitted disease syphilis.
I was not trying to imply that Jacob Levy was 'fat' just even back in the 1880's i find it hard for someone of 9st to be classed as stout/stocky,but things were probably alot different back then

[Radical Joe]

nice post joe,Levy probably did use pro's as he died in Essex County Asylum,due to general paralysis of the insane brought on by the serious sexually transmitted disease syphilis.
I was not trying to imply that Jacob Levy was 'fat' just even back in the 1880's i find it hard for someone of 9st to be classed as stout/stocky,but things were probably alot different back then

I accept that, and apologise. I guess I was trying to make a leap as to what you might class as 'stout' or 'stocky' - they are pretty ambiguous terms after all, and open to interpretation.

Regards the possibility of Levy being JTR, I was also intrigued by Mark King's theories on this forum. He suggests that the witness Joseph. H. Levy (who saw someone with Catharine Eddowes) may have refused to give testimony because he knew the suspect personally, that he was protecting a fellow Jew (or the Jewish community from the inevitable backlash should a Jew be convicted) or, indeed, that he was a relative of the suspect. It's highly speculative, of course (we don't even know, for example, that it was Joseph Levy who refused to testify), but it provides food for thought. Likewise, if we accept the idea that, following the Eddowes murder, JTR headed homewards, it's interesting to note that the bloody apron he discarded was in Goulsten Street, which runs parallel with, and is only yards from, Middlesex Street (where Jacob Levy resided) - and were both in the same direction (north-east) from the crime scene.

This said, I am not making a case for Levy being JTR (as I said above, the evidence is lacking), yet what 'evidence' there is, regarding Levy, the crimes and JTR himself, all seem to point to Levy as being a plausible candidate.

BTW, thanks for saying my (first ever) post was 'nice' - as a newbie it means a lot!

[panicatticmind]

Jacob Levy turns out to be the Ripper in the game Sherlock Holmes vs Jack The Ripper. Very good Ripper related game. I recommend it...even though I just ruined the ending for you.

[John Wheat]

It was Paul Roland who first suggested Jacob Levy. He presents a case for Jacob Levy being the Ripper in his book The Crimes of Jack the Ripper. It's quite a good read however the case for Jacob Levy being the Ripper is not as strong as Roland suggests. Roland also examines a number of other Ripper suspects in a slightly sensational but more sensible manner than many other authors of Ripper books.

[dmann30]

I just finished the game. I enjoyed the puzzles, and liked the logic part of the investigation. I thought it was great to be able to see the London of then (at least in the minds of the game creators). I was kind of surprised at the naming of Jacob Levy, but it did make me seek out more information regarding this person, and brought me to other information I had not yet read.

[Debbie B]

[QUOTE=Radical Joe;979


In adition, he may have had the opportunity to feed himself more than others of his social class (he was also convicted of stealing beef from his employers in 1886!).


Hi Joe,
Am just starting researching on JTR and found details of this conviction on the Old Baily online website, ref t18860405-419 and for any one interested in Jacob Levy it's well worth a look. Just one point however, it is not his employer he is convicted of stealing from but a fellow Jewish butcher Haymon Sampson whose shop was next door to Levy's on Middlesex Street. For this he got 1 year hard labour which would have ended around April 1887 about a year and a half before the first victim Mary Ann Nichols was found. I'm not sure that this has any great significance to the case against Levy, unless it had a devistating effect on him, but it does give an insight into his life at the time.

[Radical Joe]

Hi Joe,
Am just starting researching on JTR and found details of this conviction on the Old Baily online website, ref t18860405-419 and for any one interested in Jacob Levy it's well worth a look. Just one point however, it is not his employer he is convicted of stealing from but a fellow Jewish butcher Haymon Sampson whose shop was next door to Levy's on Middlesex Street. For this he got 1 year hard labour which would have ended around April 1887 about a year and a half before the first victim Mary Ann Nichols was found. I'm not sure that this has any great significance to the case against Levy, unless it had a devistating effect on him, but it does give an insight into his life at the time.

Hi,

Thanks for the correction; I was trying to recall the info from an article I'd read on here and got that part arse upwards! My fault for not double checking. Thanks also for the info regarding the OB site - I'll check it out sometime. BTW, is it true that, despite being sentenced to hard labour, he was actually sent to an asylum to serve his sentence?

Jacob Levy turns out to be the Ripper in the game Sherlock Holmes vs Jack The Ripper. Very good Ripper related game. I recommend it...even though I just ruined the ending for you.

I've never heard of the game before I came on here, but had a look at it on Youtube. It seems pretty impressive, although there seems to be a lot of pretty menial tasks along the way. Are you allowed to wonder the streets at will - or are you bound within the confines of the tasks?

This is from the last part of the game, where the Ripper's identity is revealed. I must say, for a computer reproduction of a human simulating his murders, the scene in the room with Holmes seems pretty haunting to me!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvElxpBbhMI

[Mrs. E. Nigma]

Sherlock vs. Jack

Jacob Levy turns out to be the Ripper in the game Sherlock Holmes vs Jack The Ripper. Very good Ripper related game. I recommend it...even though I just ruined the ending for you.

Agreed! Just finished this game myself. Always liked Jacob Levy for JtR, and I was actually enthused, I guess you could say, that the game turned out that way.

[Beatwolf]

i also finished the game some time ago. It was ok but i must admist i used a walkthrough for some of the puzzles.
It was fun though to see how victorian London might have looked.

I was also intrigued by Jacob Levy as the suspect. Kudos to the developers for not choosing one of the typical suspects. Does anyone know where to get some more information on Jacob Levy? He seems a very plausible suspect to me. Would be nice if some of the better known ripperologists would do some research on him.

[tji]

Hi Beatwolf

There are some good dissertations on this site with facts about Jacob Levy, they are worth reading

tj