Jack the Ripper

     Much of the controversy surrounding her death is a matter of when she died. Many witnesses have claimed to have talked to her after the time of her death.

     Also, she was the most horrifying scene when she was discovered. The surfaces of her abdomen and thighs were removed and the abdominal cavity was emptied of its viscera. Her breasts were cut off, arms mutilated, and the tissues of her neck were severed down to the bone. Her clothing was at the corner of the bed, saturated in blood (Barnard, 1953).

     It left the police, ultimately, stumped.

Suspects

     The first suspect was Montague John Druitt, who was educated at Winchester College and achieved scholarships at many other schools. He was self-confident and had a competitive spirit. During his last years, he was dismissed from the Blackheath school, probably for homosexual tendencies or just acting strangely. He was last seen alive on the first of December, 1888. Although writers and experts usually favor him as a top suspect, there is no real reason to connect him with the murders (Rumblelow, 1975).

     Aaron Kosminski is another suspect. He was a poor wretch who looked for bread in the gutters.  It is hard to believe that this is the man who murdered prostitutes and then disappeared without a trace. Then it was found out that he had not been sent to Colney Hatch (an insane asylum) in 1889 but actually in 1891, so it was unlikely that he could have been the Ripper since the murders stop in 1889. (Rumblelow, 1975).

     Michael Ostrog was the third suspect named. He was an elusive Russian, custom to living under many aliases. There has only been one time when he was seen to be violent. When he was arrested, he pulled a gun, but was quickly disarmed. There is no logical reason why he would be the Ripper. The only reason he was named as a suspect was that he was known to be insane, and he had the anatomical knowledge.(Rumblelow, 1975)

     Then there was Dr. Roberty Donston Stephenson, or Roslyn D’Onston, a man who studied chemistry in Munich and medicine in Paris. He was an alleged doctor, army officer, Garibaldian freedom-fighter and a black magician, who actually went to great lengths to convince two women that he was the Ripper. Although he could have very likely been the killer as he was in the area during the murders, the strongest indication that he was not was found in his own writings. He made several wrong deductions about the murders, something the real killer would not have done.

Francis J. Tumblety

     Francis J. Tumblety was born around Canada in 1833 and at a young age he was moved to Rochester, New York with his family. He sold newspapers on the corner until 1850, and then disappeared. He returned ten years later as a physician.

     He had a certain hatred for women as well. When he still a young man, he fell in love with a woman. They married and he was quite taken with her. When he thought she was flirting with other men, he confronted her and she called him a “dear jealous fool”, and he believed her. Then one night, as he was walking home, he saw his wife and a man enter a gloomy-looking house. He found that before he married her, she had been a prostitute. (Harris, 1987)

     Tumblety arrived in Liverpool around June 1888. It is sure that in London he was involved in unusual sexual activities, as he would appear and disappear for no good reason.

     It is assumed that he is the one who killed the prostitutes, as he had a strong hatred for women – especially prostitutes.

     He returned to the United States at the beginning of January 1889. He died in 1903.

     The police, after some investigation, are almost certain that he was Jack the Ripper. He had the history, the hatred of women. He was present during the murders, and then when he returned home to America, the murders stopped.

References

Barnard, Allen (1953). The Harlot Killer Jack the Ripper. New York: Dodd, Mead & Co.

Evans, S. & Gainey, P. (1995). Jack the Ripper: First American Serial Killer. New York: Kodansha International.

Harris, Melvin (1987). Jack the Ripper – the Bloody Truth. Columbus Books.

Rumbelow, Donald (1975). The Complete Jack the Ripper. W. H. Allen.