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I have often thought about what evidence possibly could come to light which could solve the crime.. if any.
1 - a confession (diary, memoir or similar) - a long shot, would require Jack to actually write down his deeds, the document to have been preserved somewhere up until now, and for it to have details that convinced us that only Jack could have written it
2 - something modern science can use, but which was useless back then - obviously DNA comes to mind but after all this time issues like degradation and contamination, let alone provenance, would make this quite unlikely (did I hear someone say shawlgate?)
3 - contemporary police records - I have wondered if perhaps, with the benefits of hindsight, whether something such as a police constable's original note book might shed new light on the case. Something that was overlooked at the time but with the improved data storage techniques (we can cross reference things easily now) modern examiners might be able to deduce more from it.
4 - more photos - we have so few pictures of the crimes/victims/crime scenes. Perhaps if other images ever came to light then we could use them to help us understand the situation more. It is unlikely this could lead to a definite solution, but what if an additional MJK image, or a shot of Annie's body in the yard at Hanbury Street turned up? (think "From Hell"s suggestion that amateurs might have taken snaps from rooftops or nearby windows.. it is not impossible...)
5 - later recollections - a memoir of someone involved that sheds new light or suggests new theories (like the Swanson Marginalia)
We have so many disadvantages from this point in time. No living witnesses, many records lost or destroyed, others never taken (no GSG photo etc), Victorian attitudes (accounts toned down for "sensitive ears", bodies moved to make them decent, antisemitism, class bias etc), few original locations still standing, very few contemporary images, lack of records for poor Londoners and so on.
But we do have a few advantages over the policemen of 1888, just a wee few.
We have access to a good chunk of the remaining JTR information via the internet, meaning researchers all over the world can see facsimiles of original documents, correlate reports and compare statement etc in ways that the Victorian police just could not. We also have many excellent books dedicated to every aspect of the subject, in great detail. The police in 1888 could draw on the expertise of quite a small number of men. We can access and utilize vast numbers of people, experts in all sorts of fields, all over the world.
We have over 100 years of other, similar crimes to draw on. We can compare to known killers. We can apply the vast wealth of forensic knowledge gained since 1888 to help assess the meager scraps of evidence we have.
And we have some modern technology that can be used to help us extract additional information that would have stunned our Victorian ancestors. We can create 3d models of places, can track the movement of shadows and clouds to date pictures. We can use computers to analyze vast quantities of records to look for patterns and trends.
Is there something out there that could convince us who the murderer (or murderers) was? It seems rather unlikely but I guess I would like to think there just might be.. one day.
But are there things out there, waiting to be discovered, that will shed a tiny bit of light on one or more of the many sub-mysteries of this case? Oh, I definitely think so. A box in an attic, an old lady leaving a dusty book to a relative, a folder of papers being spotted in a book shop, someone coming forward with a long-dead relatives "weird" belongings.
We may be too far away now to ever be able to solve this mystery. But I am convinced there is still a lot to be learned as we continue to peer through the lens we have turned onto this short moment in time.
1 - a confession (diary, memoir or similar) - a long shot, would require Jack to actually write down his deeds, the document to have been preserved somewhere up until now, and for it to have details that convinced us that only Jack could have written it
2 - something modern science can use, but which was useless back then - obviously DNA comes to mind but after all this time issues like degradation and contamination, let alone provenance, would make this quite unlikely (did I hear someone say shawlgate?)
3 - contemporary police records - I have wondered if perhaps, with the benefits of hindsight, whether something such as a police constable's original note book might shed new light on the case. Something that was overlooked at the time but with the improved data storage techniques (we can cross reference things easily now) modern examiners might be able to deduce more from it.
4 - more photos - we have so few pictures of the crimes/victims/crime scenes. Perhaps if other images ever came to light then we could use them to help us understand the situation more. It is unlikely this could lead to a definite solution, but what if an additional MJK image, or a shot of Annie's body in the yard at Hanbury Street turned up? (think "From Hell"s suggestion that amateurs might have taken snaps from rooftops or nearby windows.. it is not impossible...)
5 - later recollections - a memoir of someone involved that sheds new light or suggests new theories (like the Swanson Marginalia)
We have so many disadvantages from this point in time. No living witnesses, many records lost or destroyed, others never taken (no GSG photo etc), Victorian attitudes (accounts toned down for "sensitive ears", bodies moved to make them decent, antisemitism, class bias etc), few original locations still standing, very few contemporary images, lack of records for poor Londoners and so on.
But we do have a few advantages over the policemen of 1888, just a wee few.
We have access to a good chunk of the remaining JTR information via the internet, meaning researchers all over the world can see facsimiles of original documents, correlate reports and compare statement etc in ways that the Victorian police just could not. We also have many excellent books dedicated to every aspect of the subject, in great detail. The police in 1888 could draw on the expertise of quite a small number of men. We can access and utilize vast numbers of people, experts in all sorts of fields, all over the world.
We have over 100 years of other, similar crimes to draw on. We can compare to known killers. We can apply the vast wealth of forensic knowledge gained since 1888 to help assess the meager scraps of evidence we have.
And we have some modern technology that can be used to help us extract additional information that would have stunned our Victorian ancestors. We can create 3d models of places, can track the movement of shadows and clouds to date pictures. We can use computers to analyze vast quantities of records to look for patterns and trends.
Is there something out there that could convince us who the murderer (or murderers) was? It seems rather unlikely but I guess I would like to think there just might be.. one day.
But are there things out there, waiting to be discovered, that will shed a tiny bit of light on one or more of the many sub-mysteries of this case? Oh, I definitely think so. A box in an attic, an old lady leaving a dusty book to a relative, a folder of papers being spotted in a book shop, someone coming forward with a long-dead relatives "weird" belongings.
We may be too far away now to ever be able to solve this mystery. But I am convinced there is still a lot to be learned as we continue to peer through the lens we have turned onto this short moment in time.
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