Jack was well-prepared, knew the area and police beats, was bold, strong and had excellent night vision
The description of Moloney - from Wikipedia, articles and his book - matches the above description of Jack.
Moloney was described as thick set and determined looking, had a taste for adventure and was as “hard as nails”.
He was a member of the Royal Geographical Society, renown as an explorer of Africa, was an accomplished sportsman, yachtsman and a good shot (member of Royal Naval Artillery Volunteers).
When Captain Boldon died, and Captain Stairs was incapacitated from illness, Moloney decisively took control of the Congo expedition.
Moloney also had opinionated views, as David Saffery’s Introduction to “With Captain Stairs to Katanga” outlines :
Jack may have targeted prostitutes as he caught syphilis from one
Moloney's death certificate lists cause as “aortic disease” which is an aneurysm - a balloon like bulge in the artery which can rupture, causing internal bleeding and / or a stroke.
In the Victorian era / early 20th Century (before penicillin was invented), syphilis was a frequent cause of aortic aneurysms.
Wikipediadescribes how the syphilis infection inflames the outside layer of the blood vessels, thickening the walls and restricting blood flow, and leading to an aneurysm.
“Aortic Aneurism in the Army”, a paper by Francis H. Welch in 1875, outlines how the increase of aortic aneurisms in soldiers is linked to the syphilis infection.
Syphilitic aortitis occurs in the tertiary stage of syphilis, which is typically between 3 - 15 years after the initial infection. "Cardiovascular syphilis usually occurs 10–30 years after the initial infection. The most common complication is syphilitic aortitis, which may result in aortic aneurysm formation" Wikipedia
As Moloney died in 1896, this supports the hypothesis that he may have caught syphilis from a prostitute in Whitechapel ten years earlier in 1886 which became his motive to kill.
JTR had a triggering event in 1888 that was the catalyst for the murders and another reason to cease
Joseph's father, Jeremiah, died (of bronchitis, aged 72 years) on August 20, 1888 which was 11 days before the first Ripper murder of Nichols on August 31. However, this was after the Tabram murder on August 7.
Another possibility is that he caught syphilis from Mary Kelly, and the killings therefore finished once he killed her.
Jack was motivated by a hatred of older, drunk, prostitutes
Moloney provides some sexist and misogynist comments in his book :
These comments show a lack of respect for women.
Tried to blame the jews or get them involved
As mentioned above, Moloney was critical of the Jews in his book. It's possible he wrote "The juwes are the men who will not be blamed" to incite local rage.
The description of Moloney - from Wikipedia, articles and his book - matches the above description of Jack.
Moloney was described as thick set and determined looking, had a taste for adventure and was as “hard as nails”.
He was a member of the Royal Geographical Society, renown as an explorer of Africa, was an accomplished sportsman, yachtsman and a good shot (member of Royal Naval Artillery Volunteers).
When Captain Boldon died, and Captain Stairs was incapacitated from illness, Moloney decisively took control of the Congo expedition.
Moloney also had opinionated views, as David Saffery’s Introduction to “With Captain Stairs to Katanga” outlines :
- “Moloney is an uneasy guide for a modern reader. Hostile towards black people, Jews and Germans, and demonstrating a patronising tolerance of the French, Moloney’s habitual use of the word ‘******’ was berated at the time of this book’s original publication by no less a critic than Henry Morton Stanley, who described it as ‘ugly and derisive”.
- “Moloney’s bigotry and anti-Semitism pervade the narrative; perhaps unconsciously reflecting the desperate personal insecurity of a young, middle-class Irish Catholic attempting to build a career in a Victorian society where Catholics were still viewed with suspicion and mistrust”
Jack may have targeted prostitutes as he caught syphilis from one
Moloney's death certificate lists cause as “aortic disease” which is an aneurysm - a balloon like bulge in the artery which can rupture, causing internal bleeding and / or a stroke.
In the Victorian era / early 20th Century (before penicillin was invented), syphilis was a frequent cause of aortic aneurysms.
Wikipediadescribes how the syphilis infection inflames the outside layer of the blood vessels, thickening the walls and restricting blood flow, and leading to an aneurysm.
“Aortic Aneurism in the Army”, a paper by Francis H. Welch in 1875, outlines how the increase of aortic aneurisms in soldiers is linked to the syphilis infection.
Syphilitic aortitis occurs in the tertiary stage of syphilis, which is typically between 3 - 15 years after the initial infection. "Cardiovascular syphilis usually occurs 10–30 years after the initial infection. The most common complication is syphilitic aortitis, which may result in aortic aneurysm formation" Wikipedia
As Moloney died in 1896, this supports the hypothesis that he may have caught syphilis from a prostitute in Whitechapel ten years earlier in 1886 which became his motive to kill.
JTR had a triggering event in 1888 that was the catalyst for the murders and another reason to cease
Joseph's father, Jeremiah, died (of bronchitis, aged 72 years) on August 20, 1888 which was 11 days before the first Ripper murder of Nichols on August 31. However, this was after the Tabram murder on August 7.
Another possibility is that he caught syphilis from Mary Kelly, and the killings therefore finished once he killed her.
Jack was motivated by a hatred of older, drunk, prostitutes
Moloney provides some sexist and misogynist comments in his book :
- “The Wagogo damsel assumes all the airs of an enchantress during the short season of her comeliness. As with most African tribes, this ceases with the twentieth year, and a female of thirty has degenerated into a repulsive crone. They seldom live later than sixty, and death must happen as a merciful release, since the thrifty community turns them out to starve when they can drudge no more”
- “As for the women, they seemed a peculiarly slatternly and unwholesome set, wearing next to no clothing, and much addicted both to the smoking and chewing of tobacco"
- "The women had a fair allowance of good looks, and wore spiral circlets round the neck and arms; but their morals were to seek. Curiously enough they did not eat goat-flesh or fowls; but whether from religious causes, or as a sign of their inferiority to the males, we were unable to discover."
- “Accordingly she came to lay her grievances before the Great White Chief; and this she did with amazing volubility. The scene was amusingly reminiscent of an East End row; the same gestures, the same shrill invective on the part of the female, the same surly and brief rejoinders from the superior sex”
These comments show a lack of respect for women.
Tried to blame the jews or get them involved
As mentioned above, Moloney was critical of the Jews in his book. It's possible he wrote "The juwes are the men who will not be blamed" to incite local rage.
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