asphyxiation/strangulation
It certainly wasn't asphyxiation since that would have produced unmistakeable signs that the medical examiners really could not have missed.
Manual strangulation can choke off the supply of blood to the brain and cause unconsciousness within mere seconds. It is possible for this to be done without leaving particularly noticeable marks since the force required need only compress the blood vessels for seconds and need not break anything. I have always suspected the Whitechapel murderer used some type of choke hold to get his victims to pass out silently before cutting their throats - hence the lack of noise in the attacks and lack of defensive wounds on the victims, except perhaps Mary Kelly who may have had some defensive wounds on her hands. Given that the simplest type of choke hold to knock someone out is done with the attacker standing behind the victim, it might be that Mary Kelly's killer had a more difficult time trying to strangle her as she lay in the bed.
It certainly wasn't asphyxiation since that would have produced unmistakeable signs that the medical examiners really could not have missed.
Manual strangulation can choke off the supply of blood to the brain and cause unconsciousness within mere seconds. It is possible for this to be done without leaving particularly noticeable marks since the force required need only compress the blood vessels for seconds and need not break anything. I have always suspected the Whitechapel murderer used some type of choke hold to get his victims to pass out silently before cutting their throats - hence the lack of noise in the attacks and lack of defensive wounds on the victims, except perhaps Mary Kelly who may have had some defensive wounds on her hands. Given that the simplest type of choke hold to knock someone out is done with the attacker standing behind the victim, it might be that Mary Kelly's killer had a more difficult time trying to strangle her as she lay in the bed.
Comment