Favoured Suspect...

[John Wheat]

hi john
re bury and profile/ personality...i mentioned it on the stride thread on the question of how the stride murder was so un ripper like and how could a seemingly cunning planning killer also be so thug like- sounds just like Bury to me. a con man who was also at times losing his temper and being violent and abusive.

Hi Abby

Thanks for the info. I agree with what you are saying. I think some people think that Jack the Ripper was some kind of criminal mastermind. I think that unlikely.

[Mortis]

I don't buy Kosminski as the Ripper at all. Its worth noting that Bury fits all the psych profiles of the Ripper better than any other suspect. I don't know what profiles you are referring to but as I said Kosminski just doesn't seem like the Ripper and neither does Levy.

I don't understand why you would think that. The killing of his wife should be a very big question mark. It was amateurish and his behavior pre and post is not really indicative of what Jack would be. He was someone obviously looking for attention. And if we assume his wife was the final jigsaw he wanted, similar to Ed Kemper and his mother, she would have been butchered even worse than Kelly, yet all we see is a pale imitation of what Jack did suggesting as vile as he was, he didn't really have the stomach to go to the lengths Jack did with his victims which generally requires extreme psychopathy and delusion.

I don't think Kosminski is a great suspect, to be honest none of the named suspects are, but he is the best of a bad bunch. He fits the general mould of what I expect the Ripper would have been. Someone who was extremely mentally deteriorating and not all there, enveloped in paranoia and all sorts of delusions and was barely verging on sanity. Think of someone like Richard Chase or Albert Fish. These are the type of people who would play and do all sorts of sick things to a corpse because their brains are wired 'wrong' and their extreme paranoia, delusion and hallucinations causes them to think they've got to do something in a specific way otherwise they'll die. The person who did the murders, and especially the final one, is not simply your typical run off the mill psychopath, but a complete lunatic in every sense of the word.

[John Wheat]

I don't understand why you would think that. The killing of his wife should be a very big question mark. It was amateurish and his behavior pre and post is not really indicative of what Jack would be. He was someone obviously looking for attention. And if we assume his wife was the final jigsaw he wanted, similar to Ed Kemper and his mother, she would have been butchered even worse than Kelly, yet all we see is a pale imitation of what Jack did suggesting as vile as he was, he didn't really have the stomach to go to the lengths Jack did with his victims which generally requires extreme psychopathy and delusion.

I don't think Kosminski is a great suspect, to be honest none of the named suspects are, but he is the best of a bad bunch. He fits the general mould of what I expect the Ripper would have been. Someone who was extremely mentally deteriorating and not all there, enveloped in paranoia and all sorts of delusions and was barely verging on sanity. Think of someone like Richard Chase or Albert Fish. These are the type of people who would play and do all sorts of sick things to a corpse because their brains are wired 'wrong' and their extreme paranoia, delusion and hallucinations causes them to think they've got to do something in a specific way otherwise they'll die. The person who did the murders, and especially the final one, is not simply your typical run off the mill psychopath, but a complete lunatic in every sense of the word.

But if Bury did to his wife what had been done to Kelly he would have definitely been hung as the Ripper. As it is he nearly got away with his wife's murder. You seem to have very set ideas about what Jack would be like. You seem to think he would be a criminal mastermind. But then you also think a possible Jack would go to town on his wife this makes no sense whatsoever. It's worth noting Bury mutilated his wife's abdomen sometime after strangling her. Also I'm correct that Bury fits all the pysch profiles better than pretty much every other suspect.

[Abby Normal]

I don't understand why you would think that. The killing of his wife should be a very big question mark. It was amateurish and his behavior pre and post is not really indicative of what Jack would be. He was someone obviously looking for attention. And if we assume his wife was the final jigsaw he wanted, similar to Ed Kemper and his mother, she would have been butchered even worse than Kelly, yet all we see is a pale imitation of what Jack did suggesting as vile as he was, he didn't really have the stomach to go to the lengths Jack did with his victims which generally requires extreme psychopathy and delusion.

I don't think Kosminski is a great suspect, to be honest none of the named suspects are, but he is the best of a bad bunch. He fits the general mould of what I expect the Ripper would have been. Someone who was extremely mentally deteriorating and not all there, enveloped in paranoia and all sorts of delusions and was barely verging on sanity. Think of someone like Richard Chase or Albert Fish. These are the type of people who would play and do all sorts of sick things to a corpse because their brains are wired 'wrong' and their extreme paranoia, delusion and hallucinations causes them to think they've got to do something in a specific way otherwise they'll die. The person who did the murders, and especially the final one, is not simply your typical run off the mill psychopath, but a complete lunatic in every sense of the word.

hi mortis

i try to avoid saying things like what a serial killer would or wouldnt do. theyre weird and do unpredictable things. if you stick to the evidence, burys wifes murder bears many of the hallmarks of the ripper killings, gashed abdoman and post mortem mutilation being the main ones. he was a person of interest by the police at the time.

do you think someone who was "barely verging on sanity " and a "complete lunatic" could ruse women during the height of the ripper scare into going into a secluded space for paid sex let alone get away with the double event ??

btw chase was obviously and visably insane and his murders didnt involve any type of ruse. albert fish wasnt obviously insane and did ruse his victims and their families, so i dont see your point in comparing them to a ripper who you think was a complete lunatic. and koz was able to argue his case in court about having an unmuzzled dog in 1889, so im not sure when and how long his bouts of insanity lasted, perhaps during the ripper murders he was lucid enough to ruse women.

[Lewis C]

I agree, but that would imply a rapid change of style in a matter of 3 months. It's possible, but a bit of a stretch all things considered. There's also the fact that Cox describes the clothes of Blotchy as being shabby, like what someone from a poor background would wear, while Bury was described as being of respectable appearance. At any rate, as I said, Blotchy could be virtually anyone. His appearance suggests nothing out of the ordinary from the area - he was poor, downtrodden, lived a bad lifestyle. Fits what the Ripper most likely was, imo. If you're asking me why I put Kosminski there instead of Bury, I don't buy Bury as the Ripper really. He seems like a guy who was not all that experienced in ways of murder, judging by his wife's murder, and strikes me as a bit of a poser. A depressed, alcoholic wreck trying to garner attention to himself by "connecting" himself to the JTR legend and mystery. As I said, Kosminski from the known suspects fits the Ripper profile best, along with Jacob Levy. Someone who is rapdily deteriorating mentally, has fantasies and delusions about having to do things or people out to get him, poor and skilled with a knife and most likely has a job involving the usage of a blade.

My two cents is that Blotchy is someone who we've never even heard about, but would fit that description. The description Cox gives suggests someone who is not really taking care of himself well beyond just being poor.

Hi Mortis,

I don't see why we should expect Aaron K. to have been any more skilled with a knife than other suspects. As far as his job involving use of a blade, he probably would have done some shaving, but shaving is a very different way of using a blade than what the Ripper did.

[GBinOz]

i try to avoid saying things like what a serial killer would or wouldnt do. theyre weird and do unpredictable things. if you stick to the evidence, burys wifes murder bears many of the hallmarks of the ripper killings, gashed abdoman and post mortem mutilation being the main ones. he was a person of interest by the police at the time.

Hi Abby,

I concur with your caution on predicting what JtR would or wouldn't do, but we do have historical evidence of what he did and didn't do. He did cut his victims throats, and he didn't (as far as we know) kill family members.

At the trial the defence presented medical evidence that the wife's death was a result of an extended suspension suffocation consistence with hanging from a low suspension point such as a door knob, rather than a garrotting consistent with a murder. Had Bury gone straight to the police and claimed his wife committed suicide he may well have been acquitted. But instead he mutilated the body and kept it in a box on which he played cards with his friends over the next few days. When he did go to the police, he said that he had mutilated her because he was afraid that he would be suspected of being JtR....Huh??

I am inclined to agree with Mortis that it was attention seeking, and fantasy enactment. JMO.

As for a favoured suspect, I don't have one. However, I do have some persons of interest (in no particular order):

Britannia Man/Bethnal Green Botherer
William Grant Grainger
Frederick Deeming
Jacob Levy
Hyam Hyams
Francis Thompson
Jacob Isenschmid
Charles Lechmere
Leon Goldstein
G.Wentworth BellSmith

Given that there were 11 Whitechapel murders, I don't subscribe to the infallibility of "The Canonical Five".

Cheers, George

[Holmes' Idiot Brother]

I have no favorite/favored suspect; however, I suspect that The Ripper was quite possibly some unnamed individual that was overlooked during the investigation, or possibly never even suspected at all. While I would love for the Ripper to be some maniacal Harley Street surgeon, replete with top hat and cape, I'll settle for him being someone familiar with human anatomy, say a mortuary assistant/failed medical student. I would be very disappointed if The Ripper turned out to be some common laborer, like a butcher. I agree with Sugden when he opined, "I doubt we will find our man amongst the laboring poor."

Having said that, here is a list of who I am confident was not The Ripper (and I could be wrong....)

1. Ostrog (why he is even on the list is beyond me. We need to expunge just about anything Melville McNaugten has to say about the matter).

2. Walter Sickert (Patricia Cornwell has clearly documented mental illnesses and is an erratic individual. Her opinions my be safely ignored.)

3. Lewis Carroll (What in the actual F%$#??? Whoever came up with him must have been smoking some goooooood stuff!)

4. Kosminski (At the time of the murders, he was clearly a pathetic paranoid schizophrenic, living partly in the streets and eating food from the gutters. His mind was FUBAR at the time, hardly a likely punter for the poor victims. I think he can be safely dismissed.)

5. Druitt (ol' Melville couldn't even get his occupation or age correct! He was likely a homosexual who got involved with his students, was discovered, then topped himself in the Thames.)

6. Prince Albert Victor/Dr. Sir William Gull/John Netley (the Royal Conspiracy needs to disappear along with Melville and Cornwell!)

7. Dr. Tumbelty (I originally liked him a lot, and he is a better suspect than the aforementioned here, but he was too tall and too flamboyant to be ol Jacky. Too bad, because otherwise he would have done nicely.)

8. George Chapman (Even great detectives like Abberline can make mistakes. Chapman could have done it, but I'm not feeling him. Still possible, though.)

9. Michael Bruneio (This is my real name, and I must go on record and state that I am tired of being accused of these heinous crimes!! (Not by anyone here; you're all lovely!) I have an alibi, being born 80 years after these crimes, but that's not good enough for some people!!

[Mortis]

But if Bury did to his wife what had been done to Kelly he would have definitely been hung as the Ripper. As it is he nearly got away with his wife's murder. You seem to have very set ideas about what Jack would be like

But he got hung for his wife's murder... And if he expected to escape after the police found his wife mutilated corpse and the JTR graffitti, that makes him even more of a buffoon. I do not understand how you can say he 'nearly' got away, there was zero chance in hell he was ever going to escape his wife's murder unless he managed to destroy his wife's body and she was never found. And even then he seems like too much of an idiot to escape the police scrutiny.

See, the only reason why people are saying that Bury might be JTR is literally just because he mutilated his wife and tried to attract himself attention as a JTR suspect. But neither of the two hold under scrutiny. If we assume Bury was JTR, why was the mutilation of his wife so lackluster compared to what the other victims received? Jack was escalating his crimes and this was a severe de-escalation. Even Nichols received a lot more injuries than Bury's wife did and generally speaking that doesn't make sense because his wife would be the object of his frustration (if we assume he was Jack) and thus someone he would have been most angry about. And as GBinOz, pointed out the garroting does not really mesh with what Jack did. the graffiti? Why would Jack name himself looking for attention with the graffiti? Doesn't really fit with what we know of Jack. Even if the Goulston graffiti was written by Jack, it wasn't to bring any attention to himself like the Zodiac, he was sending a message. Bury, on the other hand, looks nothing more than someone looking for attention.

You seem to think he would be a criminal mastermind. But then you also think a possible Jack would go to town on his wife this makes no sense whatsoever. It's worth noting Bury mutilated his wife's abdomen sometime after strangling her. Also I'm correct that Bury fits all the pysch profiles better than pretty much every other suspect.

Quite the contrary, I don't think the Ripper was in anyway a mastermind, but he was experienced criminal and knew what and what not to do and what not to do and Bury doesn't really shows any of that forethought in his wife's murder. I also do not believe the Ripper would be the type to bring attention to himself or parade his crimes in a similar way that Bury tried to associate himself with the Ripper murders. The Ripper was not the Zodiac, he sought no notoriety, he only wanted to indulge in his sick fantasies. The only possible evidence of that might be the 'From Hell' letter which to me reads like something of a personal nature rather than trying to get attention. From the killing of his wife to the 2-3 days Bury had no idea what he was doing, to going to the police and claiming his wife was killed by someone else showcases someone who had very little experience in the way of murder.

hi mortis

i try to avoid saying things like what a serial killer would or wouldnt do. theyre weird and do unpredictable things. if you stick to the evidence, burys wifes murder bears many of the hallmarks of the ripper killings, gashed abdoman and post mortem mutilation being the main ones. he was a person of interest by the police at the time.

do you think someone who was "barely verging on sanity " and a "complete lunatic" could ruse women during the height of the ripper scare into going into a secluded space for paid sex let alone get away with the double event ??

btw chase was obviously and visably insane and his murders didnt involve any type of ruse. albert fish wasnt obviously insane and did ruse his victims and their families, so i dont see your point in comparing them to a ripper who you think was a complete lunatic. and koz was able to argue his case in court about having an unmuzzled dog in 1889, so im not sure when and how long his bouts of insanity lasted, perhaps during the ripper murders he was lucid enough to ruse women.

But it's only superficial. Again, as GBinOz pointed out, during these years there were lots of murders in Whitechapel or its immediate vicinity that carried the traits of Ripper murders. Only 5 of them are recognized as Ripper murders because they carry the "full package" so to speak. As far as the second part, yes I do believe that. Even someone as insane as Richard Chase, who would fit the mould of what the Ripper most likely was, had moments of lucidity and pretending to be normal. And I do not believe the Ripper himself was that far off the deep end as Chase was, but paranoid schizophrenics do not act insane all the time. They are perfectly capable of appearing normal for a period of time in order to get what they want. Furthermore nothing in the crimes suggests that Jack was organized or an extremely suave predator. His victims were women at the bottom of society who were barely living day to day. It's safe to say they were not the type to turn down a client because of what the newspapers wrote. Keep in mind that the most "well off" & attractive victim in Mary brought home with her someone like Blotchy whose appearance definitely doesn't signal much trustworthiness. These women were beyond desperate and I don't think any of them placed any value on the Ripper aside of 'hmm, that's a neat story, but can't happen to me' attitude. As far as Albert Fish, he was absolutely insane and even practiced self-mutilation. He suffered from delusions and thinking he was killing for God. You might say he was lying, but the self-mutilation he practiced says otherwise.

Hi Mortis,

I don't see why we should expect Aaron K. to have been any more skilled with a knife than other suspects. As far as his job involving use of a blade, he probably would have done some shaving, but shaving is a very different way of using a blade than what the Ripper did.

Sure, I absolutely agree with this. But it would still be somewhat helpful to be accustomed to blades than not. For example, one thing we can notice is that Jack very quickly dispatched his victims with a slice to the throat. Experience with holding a blade, used for shaving or ordinary knife, would help a lot in steadying your nerves and knowing how to precisely incapacitate the victim without a blunder. It's not a prerequisite of being the Ripper, but it would help.

If we analyze Kosminski as a suspect, my main problem with him is that he was way too young at the time being 23 (I think) while I believe the Ripper would be most likely in his late 20s or early 40s. But even then you cannot dismiss him because of that. It was Victorian England where everyone had some form of beard or mustache and lived a hard, unforgiving life which would age you in appearance a great deal.

[John Wheat]

Hi Mortis

I think you are largely wrong. The fact that Bury murdered his wife in a similar way to the C5. Strangulation followed by post mortem mutilation makes him an extremely strong suspect just for that. Add in the chalk messages and he becomes an even stronger suspect. He also matches the psych profiles more than any other suspect. Again you seem to be assuming things about Jack the Ripper which as myself and others have pointed out is not particularly sensible. Compared to Kosminski or any other suspect apart from maybe James Kelly, Bury is head and shoulders sbove him as regards suspect status.

Cheers John

[Mortis]

Frankly I don't buy the theory that the Ripper strangled anyone given the nature of his crimes. The only evidence of that is the bruising on Nichols's jaws that suggest more to me of someone tried to hold her from emiting any kind of noise. Strangulation would necessarily lead to a struggle and the majority of the victims were big women. There is nothing in the crimes scenes that suggest that. And Bury didn't really strangulate his wife with his bare hands anyway, he did it with a rope.

You place too much emphasis on the mutilation aspect and the graffiti and I feel in doing so are missing the bigger picture. The mutilation of his wife was only superficial and the graffiti is not what Jack would write. It's hard to believe that the man who would do the damage he did to Eddowes and later Kelly would go back to even pre-Nichols in terms of de-escalation. It's also hard to believe that a man who never actively tried to communiate with the police in his murders or otherwise, unless you believe the 'Dear Boss' and 'Saucy Jack' letters are genuine, would seek attention in such a pathetic manner. The only likely corresspondance from the killer would be the 'From Hell' letter and the Goulston graffiti and neither of the two showcase a need for attention, instead they carry a very vindictive and to the point type of message. Or the killer never sent anything to the police and Goulston just happened to be were the killer left the apron and the 'From Hell' letter was not from the killer. Either way, no matter how you look at it, it's not a guy who had a desperate need for attention like Bury showcases. I also do not understand how he matches the profile of the Ripper in any way. He was a drunk and a failure who took his own frustrations by beating his wife. You're basically describing every 3rd man in the area at the time.

[John Wheat]

Frankly I don't buy the theory that the Ripper strangled anyone given the nature of his crimes. The only evidence of that is the bruising on Nichols's jaws that suggest more to me of someone tried to hold her from emiting any kind of noise. Strangulation would necessarily lead to a struggle and the majority of the victims were big women. There is nothing in the crimes scenes that suggest that. And Bury didn't really strangulate his wife with his bare hands anyway, he did it with a rope.

You place too much emphasis on the mutilation aspect and the graffiti and I feel in doing so are missing the bigger picture. The mutilation of his wife was only superficial and the graffiti is not what Jack would write. It's hard to believe that the man who would do the damage he did to Eddowes and later Kelly would go back to even pre-Nichols in terms of de-escalation. It's also hard to believe that a man who never actively tried to communiate with the police in his murders or otherwise, unless you believe the 'Dear Boss' and 'Saucy Jack' letters are genuine, would seek attention in such a pathetic manner. The only likely corresspondance from the killer would be the 'From Hell' letter and the Goulston graffiti and neither of the two showcase a need for attention, instead they carry a very vindictive and to the point type of message. Or the killer never sent anything to the police and Goulston just happened to be were the killer left the apron and the 'From Hell' letter was not from the killer. Either way, no matter how you look at it, it's not a guy who had a desperate need for attention like Bury showcases. I also do not understand how he matches the profile of the Ripper in any way. He was a drunk and a failure who took his own frustrations by beating his wife. You're basically describing every 3rd man in the area at the time.

Hi Mortis

I think it's widely recognised that the Ripper strangled his victims it's what the evidence suggests in a number of the C5. So I'm putting too much emphasis on strangulation and post mortem mutilation. Which is what happened to 4 of the C5. That's not logical at all. Post mortem mutilation is also extremely rare. Bury matches the psych profiles of the Ripper extremely well maybe you should look at the actual psych profiles? Bury was not just a drunk who beat his wife he also murdered her. Actual murder is not as common as you claim. I believe William Beadle found that in two the years leading up to the Whitechapel murders there were relatively few murders in Whitechapel in his book Jack the Ripper Unmasked.

Cheers John

[Abby Normal]

Frankly I don't buy the theory that the Ripper strangled anyone given the nature of his crimes. The only evidence of that is the bruising on Nichols's jaws that suggest more to me of someone tried to hold her from emiting any kind of noise. Strangulation would necessarily lead to a struggle and the majority of the victims were big women. There is nothing in the crimes scenes that suggest that. And Bury didn't really strangulate his wife with his bare hands anyway, he did it with a rope.

You place too much emphasis on the mutilation aspect and the graffiti and I feel in doing so are missing the bigger picture. The mutilation of his wife was only superficial and the graffiti is not what Jack would write. It's hard to believe that the man who would do the damage he did to Eddowes and later Kelly would go back to even pre-Nichols in terms of de-escalation. It's also hard to believe that a man who never actively tried to communiate with the police in his murders or otherwise, unless you believe the 'Dear Boss' and 'Saucy Jack' letters are genuine, would seek attention in such a pathetic manner. The only likely corresspondance from the killer would be the 'From Hell' letter and the Goulston graffiti and neither of the two showcase a need for attention, instead they carry a very vindictive and to the point type of message. Or the killer never sent anything to the police and Goulston just happened to be were the killer left the apron and the 'From Hell' letter was not from the killer. Either way, no matter how you look at it, it's not a guy who had a desperate need for attention like Bury showcases. I also do not understand how he matches the profile of the Ripper in any way. He was a drunk and a failure who took his own frustrations by beating his wife. You're basically describing every 3rd man in the area at the time.

"the majority of the victims were big women" ?

[Lewis C]

Sure, I absolutely agree with this. But it would still be somewhat helpful to be accustomed to blades than not. For example, one thing we can notice is that Jack very quickly dispatched his victims with a slice to the throat. Experience with holding a blade, used for shaving or ordinary knife, would help a lot in steadying your nerves and knowing how to precisely incapacitate the victim without a blunder. It's not a prerequisite of being the Ripper, but it would help.

If we analyze Kosminski as a suspect, my main problem with him is that he was way too young at the time being 23 (I think) while I believe the Ripper would be most likely in his late 20s or early 40s. But even then you cannot dismiss him because of that. It was Victorian England where everyone had some form of beard or mustache and lived a hard, unforgiving life which would age you in appearance a great deal.

My main problem with Aaron as a suspect is that the case against him is mostly that someone with last name was who Anderson and Swanson thought was the culprit, and was one of Macnaughton's top 3 suspects, and there are good reasons for thinking that Aaron was probably the Kosminski that they were referring to. Beyond that, Aaron was just a young man that lived in the area, and a lunatic, if one believes that JtR was a lunatic. So it mostly comes down to how significant are the Kosminski references by contemporary policemen. I think they're enough to make him one of the top 10 suspects, but not enough to make him the top suspect.

[Lewis C]

I have no favorite/favored suspect; however, I suspect that The Ripper was quite possibly some unnamed individual that was overlooked during the investigation, or possibly never even suspected at all. While I would love for the Ripper to be some maniacal Harley Street surgeon, replete with top hat and cape, I'll settle for him being someone familiar with human anatomy, say a mortuary assistant/failed medical student. I would be very disappointed if The Ripper turned out to be some common laborer, like a butcher. I agree with Sugden when he opined, "I doubt we will find our man amongst the laboring poor."

Having said that, here is a list of who I am confident was not The Ripper (and I could be wrong....)

1. Ostrog (why he is even on the list is beyond me. We need to expunge just about anything Melville McNaugten has to say about the matter).

2. Walter Sickert (Patricia Cornwell has clearly documented mental illnesses and is an erratic individual. Her opinions my be safely ignored.)

3. Lewis Carroll (What in the actual F%$#??? Whoever came up with him must have been smoking some goooooood stuff!)

4. Kosminski (At the time of the murders, he was clearly a pathetic paranoid schizophrenic, living partly in the streets and eating food from the gutters. His mind was FUBAR at the time, hardly a likely punter for the poor victims. I think he can be safely dismissed.)

5. Druitt (ol' Melville couldn't even get his occupation or age correct! He was likely a homosexual who got involved with his students, was discovered, then topped himself in the Thames.)

6. Prince Albert Victor/Dr. Sir William Gull/John Netley (the Royal Conspiracy needs to disappear along with Melville and Cornwell!)

7. Dr. Tumbelty (I originally liked him a lot, and he is a better suspect than the aforementioned here, but he was too tall and too flamboyant to be ol Jacky. Too bad, because otherwise he would have done nicely.)

8. George Chapman (Even great detectives like Abberline can make mistakes. Chapman could have done it, but I'm not feeling him. Still possible, though.)

9. Michael Bruneio (This is my real name, and I must go on record and state that I am tired of being accused of these heinous crimes!! (Not by anyone here; you're all lovely!) I have an alibi, being born 80 years after these crimes, but that's not good enough for some people!!

You certainly are right about Ostrog and Prince Albert Victor (and yourself ). Those 3 have alibis. And there's no reason at all to suspect Lewis Carroll. As far as William Gull, I really doubt that JtR was a 71 year old who had had a stroke. I don't see any reason to suspect Sickert either, and he is known to have been in France at least part of the time when the murders occurred. Tumblety's a better suspect than the others I've mentioned so far, but that's a low bar. I don't think that JtR was a tall, 55 year old homosexual, and there's a good chance that he was in jail when Kelly was murdered.

I wouldn't rule out Kosminski, Druitt, or Chapman. I think that being suspected by the top police of the time counts for something.

There's a large number of ridiculous suspects such as Joseph Merrick and David Lloyd George that could be added to your list.

[Holmes' Idiot Brother]

You certainly are right about Ostrog and Prince Albert Victor (and yourself ). Those 3 have alibis. And there's no reason at all to suspect Lewis Carroll. As far as William Gull, I really doubt that JtR was a 71 year old who had had a stroke. I don't see any reason to suspect Sickert either, and he is known to have been in France at least part of the time when the murders occurred. Tumblety's a better suspect than the others I've mentioned so far, but that's a low bar. I don't think that JtR was a tall, 55 year old homosexual, and there's a good chance that he was in jail when Kelly was murdered.

I wouldn't rule out Kosminski, Druitt, or Chapman. I think that being suspected by the top police of the time counts for something.

There's a large number of ridiculous suspects such as Joseph Merrick and David Lloyd George that could be added to your list.

While I cannot definitively rule out anyone, I am satisfied that Kosminiski was wayyyy too far gone mentally to have the wherewithal to commit the murders. Druitt is a suspect of convenience, and I find it far more likely that he killed himself for the reasons I listed above. Chapman is the strongest of the lot, and while most murderers do not change MOs so drastically, it does happen.

You wrote: "I think that being suspected by the top police of the time counts for something." These men were suspected by the top police administration of the time! Abberline dismisses Druitt and (I believe) Kosminiski, and so did many of the other detectives on the ground. I'll take their street smarts and "ground truth" over the opinions of "desk jockeys" like Anderson and MacNaughton any day of the week and twice on Sunday! Hell, Melville wasn't even working for the Metropolitan Police at the time of the murders! And when he did, he still managed to get Druitt's age and occupation wrong! When I was in Corrections, I worked for people like this and they were clueless. I'll bet money neither Anderson nor MacNaughton ever laid their hands on a criminal in their lives. Well, maybe Anderson did....but the point is, ground truth counts for a lot. For example: if you want to know what's going down in the mean streets of the barrio, who do you consult? The mayor??? As I have belabored this point so often before: we need to discard the writings of MacNaughten and go back and see what the detectives on the streets thought.