A general consensus as to what the Ripper may have looked like?

[Sister Hyde]

How much did Lawende see, even if the man was "Jack"?

I do not think we have anything to go in in terms of facial features or height, build, or attire, so it would be a waste of time (probably impossible) to reach a concensus.

Phil

Well considering the time of Lawende's sight, it is still pretty likely to have been the Ripper. But you're right, we could never reach a concensus on that field, especially that there are different schools on "genuine" witnesses, and since all witnesses gave different description (even those who were together and saw the same thing), it would turn in another endless and sterile argument.

[Phil H]

I would agree with Errata - are there any RELIABLE witness descriptions?

Mrs Long may have been mistaken - especially if Chapman was killed earlier - in line with the timing of the Nichols killing.

How much did Lawende see, even if the man was "Jack"?

I do not think we have anything to go in in terms of facial features or height, build, or attire, so it would be a waste of time (probably impossible) to reach a concensus.

Phil

[Fleetwood Mac]

Based on all the eyewitness accounts, can we narrow down factors in common with all of the men the witnesses saw?

For example, an average height, average build, an average hair color, an average skin tone, etc--A composite of all traits common in most or all of the men the witnesses' face?

No matter WHO he was, it'd help to know what he generally looked like, a composite from various witness sightings.

I'll go with Lawende's description.

10 minutes before the body was found, and a fella doing no more than making his way home.

I think it's a good bet that Lawende saw the ripper and gave a straight up description.

[Errata]

I'm not entirely convinced that any witness actually saw Jack the Ripper. It is entirely possible that either the witnesses did not actually see the victims, or saw men with the victims too early for it to make sense for them to be the murderer.

[Sister Hyde]

A lot of it depends on which victims you attribute to the ripper. I'm particularly struck, for instance, by the superficial physical similarity between Ada Wilson's attacker and later descriptions of the supposed "canonical five" murderer.

Yes, that caught my attention too. So anyway should we try to narrow down physical aspects, it still would be very vague, 5'7", in his thirties, with a mustache... I guess that's as good as it gets, and such an entry in a database would surely give thousands of matches.

[Ben]

Hi RipperNoob,

It would be rather difficult to base the ripper's likely appearance on all the eyewitness accounts, as this would encompass a great many, including some that were patently bogus and others that clearly weren't of the real killer. If we narrow the accounts down to those that continued to be taken seriously by the police and involved a sighting with a victim, there does appear to be some degree of correlation amongst them. The age of 30, or thereabouts, crops up rather frequently, while an average or slightly below average height and a thickset/stout build appear more than once. As to complexion and dress, there is marginally more variance, but I'm persuaded most by the evidence of Joseph Lawende who saw a couple believed to be Eddowes and her killer just ten minutes before the former's body was discovered. He referred to a "rough and shabby" appearance and a fair complexion. It seems the police took his evidence particularly seriously. Most, if not all, eyewitnesses attest to the presence of a moustache.

A lot of it depends on which victims you attribute to the ripper. I'm particularly struck, for instance, by the superficial physical similarity between Ada Wilson's attacker and later descriptions of the supposed "canonical five" murderer.

All the best,
Ben

[Sister Hyde]

Hi Mister Noob,

I think the only physical detail given from witnesses we can generally accept is his height, given as being around 5'7".

[RipperNoob]

Based on all the eyewitness accounts, can we narrow down factors in common with all of the men the witnesses saw?

For example, an average height, average build, an average hair color, an average skin tone, etc--A composite of all traits common in most or all of the men the witnesses' face?

No matter WHO he was, it'd help to know what he generally looked like, a composite from various witness sightings.