Average Age of Whitechapel Prostitutes?

[cappuccina]

Pragmatically, i think he was going for:

1) ...women he could pay for who were in his local geographic "comfort zone"....who in these areas of the East End would tend to be older more "down and out" women; and

2) ...the more "down and out" women would put up less of a fight, and would be less likely to be "missed" by friends and relatives, as many were homeless and estranged from their families in the first place...

He risked a younger, healthier woman putting up more of a fight or getting away from him...

[Sam Flynn]

Pragmatically, i think he was going for:

1) ...women he could pay for who were in his local geographic "comfort zone"....

Agreed, Caps. [Edit:] Apart from the "could pay for" bit - I doubt that he'd have cared whether he could pay or not, nor even that a victim would necessarily charge him, by which I mean he might well have gone for non-unfortunates as well, given the opportunity. My impression of Jack is that he was nothing if not an opportunist.

who in these areas of the East End would tend to be older more "down and out" women

Certainly more "down and outs"... but why would more of them be "older", necessarily?

2) ...the more "down and out" women would put up less of a fight, and would be less likely to be "missed" by friends and relatives, as many were homeless and estranged from their families in the first place...

Some slum dwellers were estranged from their families, but still had roofs over their heads - indeed, one or two of them seemed to be living in Miller's Court itself.

He risked a younger, healthier woman putting up more of a fight

What if she were tired, tipsy and caught off-guard?

or getting away from him...

All the better if she were trapped in a small space, then, and he standing in the way of the only exit.

[perrymason]

I think homelessness is the key ingredient....although as I said, middle aged seems statistically to be undeniably a fine group for him to work with.

When you have nowhere to go to escape the streets, you are on them regardless of how many killers are out at night. These were women who had no choices....they were trapped on the streets with him in a very real way.

And Dixon, glad that helped...your most welcome.

Best regards