Was JTR a local?

[Harry D]

One commonly held view among Ripperologists is that the Ripper had to be a local to explain his familiarity with the mazy streets and back-alleys of Whitechapel. Of course, this doesn't have to be the case. Some believe the Ripper was from a higher social class and prone to regularly 'slumming it' in the East End, thus explaining his knowledge of the neighbourhood. Notwithstanding the argument that serial killers rarely poop on their own doorstep. Perhaps that can be said for modern serial killers, but did the Ripper have much choice in the matter?

It does intrigue me that the Ripper was active in such a concentrated area. The Whitechapel victims were all killed within an area of roughly one square mile. Does this support the idea that the Ripper was a local or not? I can't decide.

With the police and local vigilantes pooling resources in order to catch the fiend, it's interesting that he stuck to the same stomping ground. Whitechapel suited his needs no doubt but it was becoming riskier and riskier to operate. Are you telling me that there weren't other seedy parts of London he couldn't have switched to? Why wouldn't the Ripper feasibly move further afield? With the benefit of hindsight we can say that he didn't have to, because he got away with it, but at the time he must've known that he was living closer and closer to the edge. Unless that fear of getting caught was all part of the buzz that came with these murders.

[Rosella]

I do believe that Jack was a local. Many serial killers do start by remaining close to home and then gradually and cautiously expand away but still remain in the same topographical area.

It no doubt provides a feeling of comfort to such killers. It's here that they work, pass their daily lives.

Jack may even have drunk in local pubs with prostitutes and they may have provided him with sexual partners on occasion. I don't believe that he did this on a regular basis before he began his killing spree, however, or he would have been remembered as a regular punter.

It's got to be remembered too, that for purely practical reasons, unless he possessed or had complete access to a horse and cart, cab, carriage etc., ranging far and wide over London would have been difficult. None of the C5 show any signs of a vehicle being used. Train tickets cost money.

It is just possible IMO that he may have been an ex local who chose his old home ground to conduct his murders. However, how much easier to kill a woman very close to your bolt hole with no travelling involved especially with the first murder. I also think Jack joined the crowds around murder scenes afterwards to hear what locals were saying about him.

[Amanda]

Whitechapel residents.....

Hi Harry,
Let's not forget that Whitechapel residents were not all of a lower social class.
Just as an example, Dr. Morgan Davies was born in Whitechapel, lived most of his life in Whitechapel and worked at the London Hospital in Whitechapel. I should imagine that he knew the backstreets pretty well, but it doesn't make him a suspect.
However, the point I'm trying to make is that there were probably lots of other gents of similar age and higher social class living in the vicinity at the time.

I agree with Rosella about Jack watching and listening in the crowd. After such a sensational and horrific murder, I reckon he would want to bask in the glory of the gossip and speculation going on around him.

Amanda

[John Wheat]

I don't believe Jack was necessarily a local but maybe a frequent visitor. Someone who knew the terrain well.

[martin wilson]

Hi all

I went off Google maps from the Whitechapel road to the murder sites, walking times are as follows.

Bucks Row/Durward Street. 5 minutes.
Hanbury Street. 8 minutes.
Berner Street/Henriques Street. 9 minutes.
Mitre Square. 15 minutes.
Dorset St/Whites Row 12 minutes.

Make of that what you will, imho, supernatural Jack is nonsense, the longest time back to a busy street is 15 minutes and lost in the crowd.
All the best.

[pinkmoon]

Our killer might well not have been local he might have simply choosen the area because he knew women would have been very easy to pick up also would people in the area come forward if they saw him during his attacks?

[Spider]

Mary Ann “Polly” Nichols - Friday 31 August 1888
Annie Chapman - Saturday 8 September 1888
Elizabeth Stride - Sunday 30th September 1888
Catherine ‘Kate’ Eddowes - Sunday 30th September 1888
Mary Jane Kelly - Friday 9th November 1888

I'm with the police who suspected someone from out of town, not local. He was free to travel at weekends to his killing ground. I don't buy the local who couldn't carry out the murders because of work commitments. There would possibly have been more murders and on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday had he been local.

Regards

[pinkmoon]

Mary Ann “Polly” Nichols - Friday 31 August 1888
Annie Chapman - Saturday 8 September 1888
Elizabeth Stride - Sunday 30th September 1888
Catherine ‘Kate’ Eddowes - Sunday 30th September 1888
Mary Jane Kelly - Friday 9th November 1888

I'm with the police who suspected someone from out of town, not local. He was free to travel at weekends to his killing ground. I don't buy the local who couldn't carry out the murders because of work commitments. There would possibly have been more murders and on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday had he been local

Regards

Yes more murders full stop if our killer was bumping into these women every night then certainly more murders and certainly no six week lay off.why not go home after been disturbed when killing Liz stride and try next night instead of going out of way to kill eddowes maybe he was on way home when he met eddowes and found the situation just to tempting.

[Harry D]

I'm not sure on this whole idea of Jack visiting the murder scenes for kicks. The Ripper couldn't be sure that no one saw him that night, in fact, we know there's a good chance that several witnesses spotted him on separate occasions. What if one of them happened to spot him in the crowd? He might have ended up being lynched.

[pinkmoon]

I'm not sure on this whole idea of Jack visiting the murder scenes for kicks. The Ripper couldn't be sure that no one saw him that night, in fact, we know there's a good chance that several witnesses spotted him on separate occasions. What if one of them happened to spot him in the crowd? He might have ended up being lynched.

Did any witnesses who lived locally mention that they had seen him before in the area?

[Amanda]

Maybe......

Mary Ann “Polly” Nichols - Friday 31 August 1888
Annie Chapman - Saturday 8 September 1888
Elizabeth Stride - Sunday 30th September 1888
Catherine ‘Kate’ Eddowes - Sunday 30th September 1888
Mary Jane Kelly - Friday 9th November 1888

I'm with the police who suspected someone from out of town, not local. He was free to travel at weekends to his killing ground. I don't buy the local who couldn't carry out the murders because of work commitments. There would possibly have been more murders and on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday had he been local.

Regards

Perhaps Jack was free to travel around or trawl Whitechapel streets at the weekend because his wife was away...
She might have had a sick relative, someone in an asylum she needed to visit or went fruit picking...
Just a thought.
Amanda

[Ben]

He was free to travel at weekends to his killing ground.

Why travel to the same killing ground every time, though, Spider?

[GUT]

Why travel to the same killing ground every time, though, Spider?

Anyone of maybe a dozen reasons.

[Ben]

I'd be looking specifically at reasons that have some sort of precedent in terms of known serial killer behaviour, i.e. in the way that continued commuting into the same very small area (and despite the rapidly intensifying police presence and focus after each murder) tends not to have, for obvious reasons.

[Spider]

Why travel to the same killing ground every time, though, Spider?

As GUT says there are any number of reasons, such as visiting family, and therefore having familiarity with the area, possibly business, though unlikely.

Regards