Jack the Ripper - Unsolved Mysteries of the World

It’s late at night, the moon a bare sliver of light. Clouds cover any sign of the stars in the night sky. You’re a woman in your mid-forties. You’ve left your husband and kids in 1880 and now walk the streets of a district in East London, known as Whitechapel. The only way to survive is to sell your body for a few moments in a back alley for a few pieces of shiny silver. Your name is Mary Ann Nichols and on the night of August 31st, 1888 in search of fourpence to pay for the rooming house that night you will cross paths with a stranger looking for your company with a name that will live in infamy known as Jack the Ripper.

During the period of September to November that year, there would be the murders of Annie Chapman, Liz Stride, Catherine Eddowes and last, Mary J. Kelly. These five murders out of eleven that occurred between April 1888 and February 1891 occurred in the Whitechapel district. The authorities attributed these murders to an individual who wrote the Central News Agency shortly after the murder of Annie Chapman and gave themselves the name that we would remember them by. Originally dismissed as one of the many hoax letters the authorities received, it identified that a future victim would have one of her ears cut-off. When they discovered the body of Catherine Eddowes with similar wounds as the other victims, plus part of an ear missing, the letter gained more credibility.

Over the years, there have been several theories about who Jack the Ripper really was. A killer known for cutting the throats of his victims and then mutilating the bodies. The coroner identified that the first victim not only had her throat cut, but had also been disemboweled. This fate would occur to four of the ripper’s victim’s. One of the five victims did not suffer this fate. Historians believe Jack was interrupted during the process by someone entering the laneway on horseback.

Over the years since the murders, the authorities have focused on over one hundred suspects. They have ranged from shoemakers, barbers, doctors, authors, painters and others of significant means. Many an author trying to paint a vivid scene for their readers might turn to this story. The brutality of the murders. That no one was ever brought to justice to be held accountable for the crimes. An idea of someone sinister stalking their prey at night is enough to cause many a reader to turn to the next page.

So who do you think Jack the Ripper was?