The Jack the Ripper Mystery is Finally Solved — Scientifically

[GBinOz]

If penning edgy poetry while intoxicated was indicative of a murderer then I'm afraid we're all buggered, mate

Mate??? Do you come from the land down under?

[Mike J. G.]

If you throw in the time factor you will be standing on the doorstep of Trevor's theory.

You'll have to explain this one, GB. I'm aware that Trevor is of the opinion that the killer didn't remove any organs, I don't tend to believe that.

But I don't tend to believe the killer was a mad doctor, either.

[Mike J. G.]

Mate??? Do you come from the land down under?

I'm from the Pool of Livers. Ironically round the corner from Sir Jim.

[GBinOz]

You'll have to explain this one, GB. I'm aware that Trevor is of the opinion that the killer didn't remove any organs, I don't tend to believe that.

But I don't tend to believe the killer was a mad doctor, either.

The alternative to the killer having any dissection skills is that those skills were possessed by someone after the event, which is basically what Trevor is proposing. I don't tend to believe the killer was a mad doctor either, but I entertain Prosector's opinion that he was a medical student. I also suspect that he was a student who became obsessed with dissection, but am not convinced that he was responsible for all of the ripper murders. JMO.

[GBinOz]

I'm from the Pool of Livers. Ironically round the corner from Sir Jim.

I guess you're talking about Liverpool, but who is "Sir Jim"?

[Mike J. G.]

The alternative to the killer having any dissection skills is that those skills were possessed by someone after the event, which is basically what Trevor is proposing. I don't tend to believe the killer was a mad doctor either, but I entertain Prosector's opinion that he was a medical student. I also suspect that he was a student who became obsessed with dissection, but am not convinced that he was responsible for all of the ripper murders. JMO.

I don't necessarily discount that the killer had experience in cutting up bodies, I just don't feel confident stating the manner in which he gained that experience. I think he was interested in innards, like Dahmer was. He could have been a knackerer, a butcher, a mortician's apprentice, etc.

It's the medical knowledge angle I'm mostly opposed to, simply because we just don't know. It'd be great if we did.

[Mike J. G.]

I guess you're talking about Liverpool, but who is "Sir Jim"?

I'm not sure you want to go down that rabbit hole, mate.

M*ybrick

[Herlock Sholmes]

Thompson was a drug addict. You might care to read his poem "The Nightmare of the Witch Babies" to get an idea of the workings of his mind and his fantasy of the noble knight ridding the world of demon-ridden witches:

http://www.dxsuperpremium.com/2012/0...ch-babies.html

But you could say the same of any writer of horror fiction George. Would we suggest that Shaun Hutson was serial killer material? I’d always be wary of equating works of imaginative fiction with what the writer actually thinks or feels.

[Mike J. G.]

But you could say the same of any writer of horror fiction George. Would we suggest that Shaun Hutson was serial killer material? I’d always be wary of equating works of imaginative fiction with what the writer actually thinks or feels.

We could say the same about Barrett!

[Herlock Sholmes]

We could say the same about Barrett!

Can you hear the distant boos Mike?

[Lewis C]

bingo Lewis
totally agree...good post!

Thanks, Abby!

[Lewis C]

I can't locate the reference, but I seem to recall reading that Bury told police that he had mutilated his wife because he was afraid that he would be suspected of being the ripper (make sense of that if you can). I recall that he also said that he limited his mutilation because he was squeamish. Doesn't tally with the eviscerations of Chapman, Eddowes and Kelly. Does tally with a fantasist.

If police thought that they had proof that Bury was the ripper I would have supposed that they would have announced, vociferously, that they had solved the crime. But they were still investigating McKenzie as a possible victim. You are suggesting that the chances of more than one serial killer are virtually zero, but McKenzie, and others, were murdered after Bury was hanged, so you are statistically eliminating your own suspect.

We seem to have drifted off topic - isn't this a Thompson thread?

If we assume that everything that Bury said to the police is true, that would tend to exonerate him as the Ripper, but I don't think that we can assume that.

I don't think that anyone is saying that the police thought that they had proof that Bury was the Ripper. I do think that there's a good chance that McKenzie was a Ripper victim, and if she was, Bury couldn't have been the Ripper. Bury is my top suspect because I consider McKenzie as a Ripper victim to be just a strong possibility, not a near certainty.

[Lewis C]

Its not a question of being in the minority or majority when it comes to to "Factual Evidence ". Like yourself, Herlock and Lewis have failed to grasp the reality of Thompsons exact knowledge and procedure of how Mary kellys heart was removed which he himself was able to perform.

So unless you have the "same evidence" that suggest Bury could also perform such a procedure, he still , as I've suggested is a poorer suspect than Thompson in that regard alone .

I no longer wish to debate the what ifs and maybes , I merely present the facts as that which we know to be true. All else is speculative jabbering as far as I'm concerned.

I talked about motive. What you're talking about here has nothing to do with motive.

[Lewis C]

The alternative to the killer having any dissection skills is that those skills were possessed by someone after the event, which is basically what Trevor is proposing. I don't tend to believe the killer was a mad doctor either, but I entertain Prosector's opinion that he was a medical student. I also suspect that he was a student who became obsessed with dissection, but am not convinced that he was responsible for all of the ripper murders. JMO.

George, if we accept your premise that the killer had to have had the dissection skills of a trained surgeon, I think that would mean that there are only 3 named suspects worthy of any consideration: Thompson, George Chapman, and Oswald Puckridge. There may be other trained surgeons, but they can be ignored for other reasons. Is it your intent to reject the possibility of the Ripper being anyone but one of these three, unless it was someone that we're not aware of? Or unless we accept Trevor's argument?

[Abby Normal]

the medical experts were divided then as they still are as to how much, if any, surgical skill the ripper had. there really isnt even a consensus to this day. therefore, its foolish imho to rule out any suspect who didnt have surgical, or even medical experience. but its definitely a check mark in favor of a suspect if they did.

I agree with rj, its no surprise the drs of the time tried to distance tje ripper from their profession, and ive said it many times.
I also agree with herlocks chess analogy that the killer might have been doing what was working without knowing it professional/technically and either got lucky and or had some previous experience with cutting up bodies and or looking at anatomy books.
You would be surprised how many serial killers with no medical experience whatsoever accomplished in their post mortem mutilations.

But i also held alot of respect for Prosectors opinion also. And contemp police were looking for suspects with medical knowledge. So bottom line is we still just dont know...opinion still divided among experts.

Re Thompson vs Bury?

Bury by a mile. similar sig of post mortem mutilation via knife to the midsection, so also probably same motive (as lewis said ). the same motive all post mortem mutilating serial killers have... they enjoy it. its their sick fantasy acted upon. He Lived in the area. police person of interest. frequented prostitutes, history of violence. he spoke of the ripper.

But i also dont think thompson is a ridiculous suspect, but i would mark him as a long shot. he had the medical background, probably was in the area, maybe even near millers court. history with prostitutes. his poetry may indicate a real sick bloody fantasy. but no real connection to case, no history of violence. like i said... long shot.

but great thread!