Was Martha Tabram obese?

[Defective Detective]

A rather distasteful question to ask, I know, but one that might actually prove relevant (for instance, on whether or not her killer would have been able to lower her to the ground, as seems to have been the case in most of the other Whitechapel murders).

She looks obese in the mortuary photograph, but it could be an unflattering angle. And it's impossible to tell from no more than a head. If she was significantly overweight, it might suggest an explanation for the more 'frenzied', less methodical nature of this murder vis-a-viz the 'canonical' Ripper slayings: that Jack had not the physical strength to knock her out the way he would with his later victims, and so was forced to overpower her with rapid blows.

[I do believe Tabram to be the first victim of "Jack The Ripper", but the problem posed by her weight would hold just as well for a soldier if he were her murderer, too.]

[Fisherman]

A rather distasteful question to ask, I know, but one that might actually prove relevant (for instance, on whether or not her killer would have been able to lower her to the ground, as seems to have been the case in most of the other Whitechapel murders).

She looks obese in the mortuary photograph, but it could be an unflattering angle. And it's impossible to tell from no more than a head. If she was significantly overweight, it might suggest an explanation for the more 'frenzied', less methodical nature of this murder vis-a-viz the 'canonical' Ripper slayings: that Jack had not the physical strength to knock her out the way he would with his later victims, and so was forced to overpower her with rapid blows.

[I do believe Tabram to be the first victim of "Jack The Ripper", but the problem posed by her weight would hold just as well for a soldier if he were her murderer, too.]

You should read the inquest reports to find answers to questions like this one. Dr Killeen said that the body was "very well nourished", and I think thatīs as informative as it is gonna get. Combine it with her 5 ft 3 length, and you will need a weight of around 170 pounds to reach BMI obesity.

Whether she was actually medically obese or not remains unanswered, but we can conclude from what we have that she was reasonably a heavy woman.

All the best,
Fisherman