The cut in the throat

[Hunter]

There were not that many killings in London, Whitechapel in 1888. Extensive research from people like Colin Roberts has confirmed that. We are talking about a peculiar series of events that had never happened before.. or since... for that matter. London... and eventually the whole civilized world were in an uproar over these murders for some reason. What happened in the East End that year was unprecedented. It is fine to theorize... we all do it... but the facts can not be altered.

Richard,

As far as the press report you quoted is concerned, it is inaccurate as to the wound received by Elizabeth Stride. That some professionals may not have thought the same murderer killed both women is not unusual in unsolved crimes such as these. Early on in Ted Bundy's series of murders, the authorities were not in agreement as to whether the same hand was involved in those murders. It was only after his capture and interrogation that many of the murders were traced back to him.

And the fact that the killer of any of these women was not aprehended may be for the same reason it is still difficult to catch killers of this type even today. The 'Green River Murderer' would probably never have been caught without the advent of DNA testing... and this was years after Ridgeway has ceased his rampage. Until then, the authorities here, as well, were not in agreement on who may have perpetrated the crimes.

[lynn cates]

satori

Hello Richard.

"In my opinion, the reason why ''Jack'' was never caught is for the simple reason he never existed as a sole killer for all the murders."

Now, you're talking!

Cheers.
LC

[lynn cates]

I was born a travellin' man

Hello Velma. 'Twas good old Jacob Isenschmid. During his pergrinations about London he stopped and stayed in a vacant house in Clerkenwell for awhile. Interesting that he always carried his butcher's knives with him.

Cheers.
LC

[curious]

Which police suspect was found in a house in Clerkenwell around mid-August, but then released? (Hint: he was listed as a violent lunatic.)

So my question to you is, "Is this the work of 'Jack'?"

Cheers.
LC

Lynn,
My question to you is which suspect?

[lynn cates]

Jack or no?

Hello Sally.

"And actually, how many killings were there?"

Well, a good many; but, not to fret over exact numbers, permit me to exhibit one from "The Echo" August 16, 1888. It involves a cut throat--down to the spine--and an attempt to separate the head.

Now, it does indeed occur in Clerkenwell. But here's a question. Which police suspect was found in a house in Clerkenwell around mid-August, but then released? (Hint: he was listed as a violent lunatic.)

So my question to you is, "Is this the work of 'Jack'?"

Cheers.
LC

[lynn cates]

small counts

Hello (again) Velma.

"What I was looking for was consistency. Would a killer stab through garments one time, then lift the garments the next time?"

There are some things that we do quite deliberately. Other things, far from it. Take putting on clothing. Mine is stereotypical--left sock, left shoe; right sock, right shoe. Never changes. Same with most people pouring coffee. Same hand, cup; same hand, carafe. We just never think about such things.

I would say the same about ideas involving mutilation. If I were to (heaven forbid) stab and rip, I daresay it would be instinctively in and down. No thought taken. It simply would not occur to me to go in and up--as in Eddowes' slaying. I think we may say the same about clothing. Typical would be to cut through the dress.

I think we disregard the minutiae at our peril.

Cheers.
LC

[lynn cates]

maybe not

Hello Velma.

"I've been looking for information about the blood in Brady Street the night Polly Nichols was murdered"

Wasn't that story later debunked?

Cheers.
LC

[Sally]

Hello Sally.

"How to explain the murder spree of 1888 if we don't attribute it to a single killer who yet remains unidentified? "

There were MANY killings in London, Whitechapel, in 1888. Are you suggesting one for ALL of them?

Cheers.
LC

OH No Lynn, not at all.

The trip wires of history don't catch me that easily.

There are killings, and then, there are killings, aren't there?

There may well have been MANY killings. But not ALL of them involved throat cutting and mutilation. And actually, how many killings were there?

Clearly, clearly, the Autumn of Terror was one big deal. Ergo, we must presume it to have been an unusual sequence of events. Unfortunate too.

[richardnunweek]

Hi.
In my opinion, the reason why ''Jack'' was never caught is for the simple reason he never existed as a sole killer for all the murders.
I would suggest the 24th September letter which proceeded the historic ''Dear Boss'' may indeed have been a confession to the murders of Chapman, Nichols and Tabram, leaving Stride a victim of some hit and run drunk, and with the coincidental background of Kate Eddowes with that of the last victim Mary Kelly, along with the mutilations, which could indicate mistaken identity, making Mary Kelly the intended target.
Its all food for thought.
Regards Richard.

[curious]

Hello Frank. My point was that her clothing was torn. It is not clear to what extent.

Of course, the sketch has extensive cutting through her dress.

Cheers.
LC

Frank, Lynn,
What I was looking for was consistency. Would a killer stab through garments one time, then lift the garments the next time? (Actually, I'd think maybe if he wanted to accomplish something specific).

But Martha Tabram seems to have been a mad frenzy. The later killings more thoughtful.

Then maybe go back to the first way?

or does the difference indicate a different killer?

Curious

[curious]

Hello Sally. Odds are difficult to calculate. What are the odds to the human genome arising? Yet here we are, pleasantly conversing with one another.

Cheers.
LC

Sally, Lynn,
I've been looking for information about the blood in Brady Street the night Polly Nichols was murdered that led people to believe her body had been moved from Brady Street to Buck's Row (the two streets intersect). However, I can't find that thread so I don't know if the woman who was carried bleeding to the hospital lived or not.

But what would be the odds of two women in adjoining streets bleeding so that their blood could be temporarily confused?

I started believing that it was very unlikely that Whitechapel had two killers working at the same time . . .

Now, I'm not convinced of much of anything, just wondering.

[lynn cates]

one size fits all

Hello Sally.

"How to explain the murder spree of 1888 if we don't attribute it to a single killer who yet remains unidentified? "

There were MANY killings in London, Whitechapel, in 1888. Are you suggesting one for ALL of them?

Cheers.
LC

[lynn cates]

sketch

Hello Frank. My point was that her clothing was torn. It is not clear to what extent.

Of course, the sketch has extensive cutting through her dress.

Cheers.
LC

[Sally]

Yes but..

It isn't just the 'Double Event' is it? How to explain the murder spree of 1888 if we don't attribute it to a single killer who yet remains unidentified?

Several killers all decide to do in a couple of unfortunates at the same timeat by random? You want a theory to explain that one.

Or, of course, you could plump for conspiracy. It's by far the better option, statistically. It's a bit too cloak and dagger for me, though.

[FrankO]

Hello Velma. For what little it is worth, the sketches show wounds in her dress. But, oddly, her legs were opened. Does that suggest that her dress was lifted for the lower abdominal cuts?

Hi Lynn, Velma,

According to both PC Watkins and Dr. Brown Eddowes' clothes were drawn up above the abdomen/her waist. From the official list of Eddowes' clothes and possessions it has always seemed to me that he cut her waistbands so that he could more easily lift her skirts.

All the best,
Frank