discussion of Aaron Kosminski's psychological profile

[JtRMordke]

Interesting conclusion Greg.
From what we know of Jack, it appears unlikely that he was overly concerned with being caught by the police since there were a great many incidences where he was just moments from being detected. This certainly points to a murderer who was disorganised in aspects, yet knew what he was doing in others. In fact, his main concern would have been the mutilations and that is what he overtly cared about. Being a psychopath under the onset of a schizophrenic episode would have most certainly called for interesting results, and if this be the case, we can see the effects of those combined. Saying Kozminski was the Ripper, I agree that the sick mentality of the murders was arguably not of delusion alone. Like what Errata said, since we are unaware of exactly what his delusions were telling him, we cannot be sure if this was the main aspect leading the killer inside of him. Chances were there was another level to this. Lust murders are committed by the enactment of a sexual fantasy that would have been for Kozminski, one that developed (maybe) through a disturbing misfortune in his childhood somehow. Unfortunately coming from the outermost rungs of society, we have no documentation of his actions before the asylum so we can only guess at what trouble he got up to. Like you said, the crimes he committed would have started off small and become increasingly more violent and/or sexual as time went on and he failed to reach satisfaction. This supports the idea that JtR's crimes evolved over time and were able to reach this new level of pleasure for him as his schizophrenia erased the hold of reality that prevented him from doing this.

[Errata]

This supports the idea that JtR's crimes evolved over time and were able to reach this new level of pleasure for him as his schizophrenia erased the hold of reality that prevented him from doing this.

This is a really interesting statement. I haven't thought about it before, and it is entirely possible. However, morality in delusion is the same without, unless there is a an almost lawyer like argument for being excused from conventional morality. Which absolutely happens. And would be known to any treating physician. Schizophrenics wax and wane in their delusions. Good days and bad days. It is very rare for a schizophrenic to slip into delusion and never come out. Although possible in other conditions.

I would like to pose an alternate theory, that if schizophrenia was involved, the murders would occur after reattaining lucidity. When a schizophrenic "comes out of it" there is an incredible amount of psychic anguish. Psychotic delusions, even when terrifying are still often comforting. The rules and relationships are much more clear in a delusion, even if less satisfying or even frightening. Delusions explain feelings or mysteries. A person hears voices, catches movements out of the corner of their eye, is paranoid... A delusion that the CIA is tapping their brain explains all of this. It removes the mystery. Take away the delusion, and you have the same symptoms, only with no explanation. Much scarier. A schizophrenic who is normalizing is in a very fragile state. They are scared, angry, depressed, confused... I think this is when someone is most likely to act on impulse. The same impulse every time. During a delusion the rules are different. When fully lucid self control is much easier. And sliding into delusions is awful, they can feel themselves slipping, and actually hold themselves together much more tightly. I think it's the coming out of a delusion, a world of absolutes and known rules, back into random scary reality that it would happen. It would require the murderous impulse to be a part of the lucid personality, but I can see that working.

[JtRMordke]

Thanks Errata!
But reading your psychological input, I think your alternative theory is extremely plausible! We know that Aaron went through phases of extreme mood swings in the asylum, ranging from what appears to be him acting depressed and unsure, to excitable and often troublesome. Aside from an attack of schizophrenia in 1888, we do not know at which time in the year he was suffering from the delusions, so by the time we get into Autumn, he may well have been in a state of returning to reality, in which case, the murders could have been impulsive actions. I am wondering, is it possible to become 'burnt out' while normalising? And at what stage in the schizophrenic cycle does this most occur? It is something I am extremely curious over.

[Abby Normal]

Hi Greg,

This is obviously a very important question. To start, I think your point about the coexistence of psychopathy and schizophrenia (ie. psychosis) is very likely. The more I read about this, it seems that violent schizophrenic serial killers are more likely to be motivated to violence by a combination of the two than by positive schizophrenic symptoms alone (ie. command hallucinations, orders to kill etc.)

The more I read about schizophrenic serial killers, the more likely it seems to me that JTR may have been in this category. So I am talking about people like Robert Napper, Herbert Mullin, Tsutomu Miyazaki, Richard Chase, Ottis Toole, Hadden Clark, Marc Sappington, James Clayton Lawson. The common denominator of all these serial killers is that they did post-mortem mutilation on the victims, and would be classified as "lust murderers." They take organs from the victims, and target their mutilation at the sexual organs and breasts, they eviscerate the victims, they engage in cannibalism. So, yes... there is a great similarity between schizophrenic serial killers, and what is known about Jack the Ripper. Robert Napper is, perhaps, one of the best direct parallels, and his murder of Samantha Bissett is said to have had a striking similarity to the Mary Kelly murder and mutilation (as just one example).

Rob H

Hi Rob

But isn't it true that there are more serial killers who did post-mortem mutilations who were not schizophrenic?





Just received your book from Amazon-can't wait to read!!

[Abby Normal]

A couple quick points.

Greg: I have recently been speculating as to whether the workshop behind Isaac's house was the place where Aaron might have slept, and it also may have been a place where he could get rid of bloodstains undisturbed.

JTRmordke - the family changed their name to Abrahams on arrival in London, many years before the murders.

Also, you wrote:
"Obviously if what happened in the Pale is true to his village and he did witness the rape of a family member, and maybe even the possible period incident you touched on when he was little in your report Rob, the early association with blood/violence and sex combined with the schizophrenia and/or other mental health problems would have left a very clear indication of how his twisted view on women had occurred. "

This comes from my earlier (2004?) article in Ripperologist. Unfortunately, I was apparently wrong here, since the western part of the Pale where the Kozminskis lived did not have any pograms to speak of... at least not that I have discovered. The part about witnessing menstrual blood etc. was utter and rather reckless speculation on my part. I wish I had never written it.

My basic thesis is that the intolerant and rather brutal anti-semitic environments Kozminski experienced in Russia, and later in the East End would have left him generally resentful of society and authority figures, and that "victim turned victimizer" type fantasies might have arisen from such treatment. Being unfairly blamed and scapegoated etc. It is more in depth than this, but that is it in a nutshell.

Errata - I do not think I would agree that Kozminski's delusional views were centered on cleanliness and purification. To be blunt, I think it impossible to state with any certainty exactly what they were all about, although general paranoia seems a likely factor. I do not think that his psychosis would have prevented his being a killer, but I also assume that other psychological factors may have played a larger role in motivating him to kill (if indeed he was the ripper.)

Jeff - I honestly don't understand how or why Dr. Davidson came to the conclusion of Hebephrenic schizophrenia as opposed to other types of the disorder. Also, I do not see the point in saying that schizophrenics are "no more likely than other members of society to commit violent crime." First of all, this does not mean they are less likely either. Secondly, most recent research would dispute this claim. The most interesting study I have seen showed an increase in the incidence of violence committed by schizophrenics who also had co-morbid psychopathic traits. To me this suggests that the true motivation for the violent or homicidal tendencies would lie in the psychopathy, and the schizophrenia may just confuse matters... but not necessarily motivate violence. In MOST cases... there are some cases where violence is indeed related to positive psychotic symptoms like command hallucinations. But even in these cases, it may be that the command hallucinations are linked to underlying psychological factors... such as resentment, feelings of victimization, hatred of women or people in general, etc.

It is really not a simple question. I do not know of any study that looks specifically at schizophrenic serial killers. There might be one, but I do not know of it. But many of the assumptions about how a schizophrenic serial could would act are probably (in my opinion) a bit off the mark.

RH

Hi Rob

To me this suggests that the true motivation for the violent or homicidal tendencies would lie in the psychopathy, and the schizophrenia may just confuse matters... but not necessarily motivate violence.

Totally agree. the psychopathy is the important issue here in terms of motivation to kill. The schizophrenia (if AK was JtR) is what ended the murders and got him off the streets.

[JtRMordke]

About Aaron being a psychopath - a point that I hear so many people use against Kozminski is that he wouldn't have been able to lure and seem like a trustworthy customer for the prostitutes, so therefore he couldn't have been Jack the Ripper. One of the key points I noticed while reading about psychopaths was that more often than not, they will seem particularly agreeable and make a distinctly positive impression when first encountered. What's more, they may seem easy to talk with but can be lying and deceitful. I remember correctly how one of the witnesses heard JtR say, "You will be alright for what I have told you.'" If these traits were common with Aaron, then this may explain how despite being unmistakably afraid of Jack the Ripper, he managed to gain the prostitutes' trust and seem like a friendly, genuine customer.

[Errata]

Thanks Errata!
But reading your psychological input, I think your alternative theory is extremely plausible! We know that Aaron went through phases of extreme mood swings in the asylum, ranging from what appears to be him acting depressed and unsure, to excitable and often troublesome. Aside from an attack of schizophrenia in 1888, we do not know at which time in the year he was suffering from the delusions, so by the time we get into Autumn, he may well have been in a state of returning to reality, in which case, the murders could have been impulsive actions. I am wondering, is it possible to become 'burnt out' while normalising? And at what stage in the schizophrenic cycle does this most occur? It is something I am extremely curious over.

I have a confession to make here. I don't think Kosminski was actually schizophrenic. Obviously I can't swear to that so I entertain the possibility. What I think he may have had is somewhat immaterial to this discussion, but I felt it would be disingenuous of me to represent this as my view, rather than as my view if Jack the Ripper were schizophrenic.

Now my knowledge of schizophrenia come from personal experience. Friends and acquaintances with the disease. I have taken several psych classes, and live with a psychologist. To say this is armchair expertise would be giving me way too much credit. So all caveats aside, here we go.

Schizophrenia is cyclical. But there is not the regulated change you would find in someone who has say, Seasonal Affective Disorder. One friend of mine is typically delusional for anywhere from 2 months to 10 months, normal for about 4, and transitional for about a month on either end. Another friend has been delusional for longer and longer each episode, so far his normal period hasn't changed significantly, but might. And my ex-boyfriend has a few months normal, is transitional for up to a year, and fully psychotic for a couple of months. So not only is there no standard cycle, the may be no standard cycle within an individual sufferer. So where would a schizophrenic be in a cycle during the fall of 1888? What stage of a cold would he be in? There is no way of knowing.

I am not exactly sure what you mean by 'burning out'. There is a tendency in schizophrenics to have what are called "flat affects". They exhibit very little emotion. It is hard to tell whether their emotional response is blunted, or whether their emotions are. Both happen. Clearly if a person's emotions are suppressed, it could easily affect their morality. However, it would remove the lion's share of motive.

If I were to choose a time when I considered it most likely, it would be the normalising period right before normality. There tend to be some residual symptoms, even though the delusions are gone. It is somewhat akin to waking up from a dream. The images are still in your head, you are confused, you may still be frightened, But you are aware that the fog you are coming out of is not real. If a person who feels that fear and tension believes that killing someone will make them feel better, they very well might do it.

[Abby Normal]

About Aaron being a psychopath - a point that I hear so many people use against Kozminski is that he wouldn't have been able to lure and seem like a trustworthy customer for the prostitutes, so therefore he couldn't have been Jack the Ripper. One of the key points I noticed while reading about psychopaths was that more often than not, they will seem particularly agreeable and make a distinctly positive impression when first encountered. What's more, they may seem easy to talk with but can be lying and deceitful. I remember correctly how one of the witnesses heard JtR say, "You will be alright for what I have told you.'" If these traits were common with Aaron, then this may explain how despite being unmistakably afraid of Jack the Ripper, he managed to gain the prostitutes' trust and seem like a friendly, genuine customer.

Hi
As a pschopath yes
as a schizo no

[GregBaron]

Isaac Koz?

Interesting stuff you all on schiz and psycho characteristics. If you haven’t you may want to reread the Koz dissertations. They’re very interesting especially Rob House's and Scott Nelson’s. I find the idea of Isaac Kozminski to be very intriguing. There are so many contradictory statements about Aaron and the case that possibilities abound. The fact that this other Koz family lived right on Ghouston St. near the apron drop is very telling indeed. And though we can’t reconcile the psycho vs. schizo diagnosis there are some other things about Aaron’s candidacy that invite questioning. One thing I’ve wondered about is age. I don’t recall any descriptions mentioning a man that might be 23 years old. Let’s assume for a second that Aaron Koz was able to look fairly respectable. Would a 23 year old be a likely candidate for employing washed up forty year old hookers? I’m just asking the question. I know the women were desperate and drunk but I just wouldn’t think 23 years olds would be their typical clients. Maybe I’m wrong, perhaps they would just be flattered, who knows? But again, if their typical client was a greasy forty year old like themselves a young man might invite suspicion. I think Isaac Kozminski was about forty. This is more of an age I would expect of the ripper and more in line with witness statements I believe. I think he was also a cobbler, a profession that would use knives certainly. The dissertation goes into the possibilities of the eyewitness identification that open up new ideas. Just wondering what some of you all think of this Isaac Koz character and also about the age question in particular.



Greg

[Errata]

Would a 23 year old be a likely candidate for employing washed up forty year old hookers? I’m just asking the question. I know the women were desperate and drunk but I just wouldn’t think 23 years olds would be their typical clients. Maybe I’m wrong, perhaps they would just be flattered, who knows? But again, if their typical client was a greasy forty year old like themselves a young man might invite suspicion.

I think he was also a cobbler, a profession that would use knives certainly.
Greg

Younger prostitutes simply didn't ply their trade in Whitechapel. They still had youth and theoretical looks on their side and could command higher prices. Which then put them out of the price range of young poor men. Young men picked up older prostitutes all the time. There was no pretension with streetwalkers that customers were interested in anything more than the sex act itself.

I used to work with a cobbler. And they use tiny, tiny knives. Like Exact-o knife tiny. Now If one is of the opinion that the knife work on these women is skilled, being a cobbler simply doesn't help a guy wield a large knife with any finesse. On the other hand if one is of the opinion that the knife work on these women is sloppy, or bizarre and inconsistent, then a familiarity with tiny knives could easily explain it.

[Errata]

So I just remembered something... Didn't Kosminski only speak Yiddish? I mean, assuming he arrived in London sometime between 1880 and 1885, that would give him some time to learn English, but would he have? Wasn't he a largely ignored insane derelict eating food out of gutters? Certainly plenty of people in Whitechapel spoke Yiddish.

Which is completely beside the point I was going to make which is this. Schizophrenia, not surprisingly takes a huge physical toll on it's sufferers. Even today the life expectancy of a Schizophrenic is reduced by about 15 years. Kosminski died when he was about 65. Which is about average for healthy people at the time, and astonishing given his diet. It certainly is not proof that he was not schizophrenic, but it is suggestive.

[Chris]

So I just remembered something... Didn't Kosminski only speak Yiddish?

No, the reports of his 1889 court appearance show that he spoke English, albeit imperfectly.

[GregBaron]

Age?

Good stuff Errata on the knives and prostitutes. Thank you. Koz probably did speak Yiddish and English with an accent but I don't think that disqualifies him from candidacy. Also, I think Rob will attempt to dispel the gutter eating imbecile image in his book. And of course Koz's illness may have been a descent from better days. Also, my arithmetic puts Koz's death at 54/55. Not bad for the time period. Life expectancy in Whitechapel late 19th century wouldn't have been high - probably mid 40's. I imagine his diet varied while incarcerated. A few witnesses spoke of foreigners which was apparently often a euphemism for Jews. The ages described were typically older than Aaron hence my interest in the mysterious uncle/father Isaac? I may start a thread to debate what age JTR was likely to have been?


Greg

[robhouse]

A couple quick replies. Aaron died when he was 54, in 1919. According to his asylum documentation he could read and write English.

Regarding Isaac Kozminski of Goulston Street, there is no evidence that he was closely related to Aaron Kozminski. (Not that anyone suggested that recently, but it has been suggested in the past.) Also, I would caution anyone who is planning on reading my older articles on Kozminski, as there is some stuff I wrote there that is simply incorrect, and or misleading.

Rob H

[Errata]

my math is really terrible. It's like once I took the required math for college I ditched all of it in favor of star wars trivia or something. I'm back down to the skills of a three year old. Mea Culpa.