# So who WAS Jack the Ripper? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 24, 2001, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-was-jack-the-ripper/51568 "2001-01-24T16:20:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-was-jack-the-ripper/51568/1 "2001-01-24T16:20:01Z")
I figured this would have been covered before, but I didn’t see it in a search of the boards (although it has been addressed tangentially in some other threads). I’m also of the opinion that this could qualify for Great Debates, so if a mod feels the need to move it, please go ahead. Who was Jack the Ripper? I saw a History Channel program last night on the murders, and they interviewed three “Jack” historians throughout the show. All three had a different person fingered for the crimes. Jack left a few clues behind (notes, style of murder, etc.) that should provide some help in identifying him. So who was he? Cecil has pretty well ruled out Lewis Carroll as the culprit, but other than that … ---
**Author:** ![wooba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/aeb1de/32.png) [@wooba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wooba)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-was-jack-the-ripper/51568/2 "2001-01-24T16:33:28Z")
I’ve seen two films on this. One was the made for TV film that starred Michael Caine back in 1988 and I rented one last year sometime. It had nobody famous in it. According to the 1988 film, it was the Queens doctor. I recall there being some message at the end about it being surpressed so as not to alarm the public. The film I saw more recently had an actual member of the royal family portrayed as the killer. I cannot say which is true (or even if one is true). But i’m a believer that the ripper was some how involved with the royal family. ---
**Author:** ![wolfstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d6d6ee/32.png) [@wolfstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfstu)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-was-jack-the-ripper/51568/3 "2001-01-24T16:42:57Z")
This is probably not the sort of answer you’re looking for, but , here goes: According to a television series from the late 1960’s called ‘Star Trek’, Jack the Ripper was the name given by the people of London to an energy-being of sorts that derives it’s sustenance from the negative emotions of humans, etc. The being went on to kill in Russia, the Martian Colonies, and several other planets. Good luck with your search. ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-was-jack-the-ripper/51568/4 "2001-01-24T17:00:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by wolfstu \* > \*\*This is probably not the sort of answer you’re looking for, but , here goes: > > According to a television series from the late 1960’s called ‘Star Trek’, Jack the Ripper was the name given by the people of London to an energy-being of sorts that derives it’s sustenance from the negative emotions of humans, etc. The being went on to kill in Russia, the Martian Colonies, and several other planets. > > Good luck with your search. \*\* I vaguely remember that. Didn’t the energy-being infect Scotty? But you’re right … that’s not the kind of answer I’m looking for. Incidentally, the three historians in the program I saw last night seemed to agree on one thing – Jack probably wasn’t the high-brow, man-about-town person as he’s usually envisioned today. Their point was that a man in a top hat and evening clothes would have caused the prostitutes to run in fear once the murders began – once the police deduced Jack must have some surgical skill, they began looking for “educated” types. If he were a member of the royal family, or someone of similar social stature, he would likely disguise himself as a sailor or a working-class laborer, if he wasn’t such a person already. ---
**Author:** ![SkeptiJess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SkeptiJess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkeptiJess)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-was-jack-the-ripper/51568/5 "2001-01-24T17:19:17Z")
Holy cats, **wooba** – you’ve “seen two films” and now “[believe] that the ripper was some how involved with the royal family?” Way to do research, guy! Apparently you’re new, but you should know that most of us here require more evidence than than things “believed” after seeing a couple of films. Otherwise, I’d go with either **wolfstu’s** submission, or I’d suggest that Jack the Ripper was actually an old friend of H. G. Wells. 😉 I’m no expert of Jackiana, but I _have_ read a couple five or six books on the subject. I’m of the opinion that the real identity of the killer is pretty much an unknowable after all this time. Talk about a cold trail. I will say that, given what we now know about serial killers, it is extremely unlikely that Jack just stopped killing on his own. Therfore, I’m inclined to believe that the killer either died, or was institutionalized shortly after the last killing. Several of the more popular suspects meet this qualification. The Duke of Clarence doesn’t, BTW. He died several years after the murder (1892 or '93) – too long a period for Jack to have gone without killing, IMO. If I _had_ to bet – and, again, I don’t think we’ll ever know for sure – my money would be on Montague Druitt, a lawyer with a history of mental unstability who drowned himself a month or so after the last killing. Of course, what do I know? ---
**Author:** ![APB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@APB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/APB)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-was-jack-the-ripper/51568/6 "2001-01-24T17:20:47Z")
I wondered how long it would be before someone raised the supposed involvement of a member of the Royal Family. How predictable. As was pointed out the last time this subject was discussed, the Duke of Clarence had alibis for all the murders. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=46423](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=46423) There is no need to indulge in conspiracy theories. The real Jack the Ripper was probably a loner - just like almost every other serial killer in modern times. This is why research on the subject is unable to get beyond implausible theories involved famous people or rehashing the list of suspects identified at the time by Scotland Yard. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-was-jack-the-ripper/51568/7 "2001-01-24T17:21:15Z")
One very suspicious bit of evidence, and destruction of evidence, is the graffitto found at one of the crime scenes: “The Juwes are the men who will not be blamed for nothing.” The police commissioner ordered it erased on the spot. Supposedly because he feared anti-Jewish riots if it got out. But the anti-Semitic ruse may have been just a red herring. Conspiracy theorists have a field day over the (deliberate) misspelling with “Ju-”. They say this points to Jubelo, Jubela, and Jubelum. The mythic villains of . … **_The Freemasons_.** \ nee-nee nee-nee, nee-nee nee-nee ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-was-jack-the-ripper/51568/8 "2001-01-24T17:37:30Z")
I thought this guy was more plausible than all the roayaly and society types that get fingered for sensationalist reasons. **Prisoner 1167 the Madman Who Was Jack the Ripper** by James Tully (from an Amazon book review:) > [@](#): > > James Kelly, an upholsterer, was the convicted murderer and documented eviscerator of his wife, who he believed, on the apparent basis of his acquaintance with the local strumpetry, was a prostitute. That accusation was false, but it dovetails with the Ripper’s supposed motives, since his victims were all prostitutes. Further, Kelly’s trade gave him experience with sharp implements, if not the Ripper’s seeming surgical dexterity and anatomical knowledge. I thought Tully did a good job of building his case. OTOH, I suspect that we will never _really_ know. (Well, except for **JDT** and his RIC conspiracy proof.) ---
**Author:** ![ticker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@ticker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ticker)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-was-jack-the-ripper/51568/9 "2001-01-24T17:39:10Z")
A recent BBC (or was it Channel 4?) documentry made quite a convincing case for it being an American who had some medical training. It is known that he had rented rooms in the area, collected medical specimens in a rather creepy way and fled back to the US when Scotland Yard got too close - directly after which the killings stopped. The show included some previously lost notes and letters from a Scotland yard detective which clearly show he was in the frame at the time. I really wish I could recall more. I hope you get to see the show. ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-was-jack-the-ripper/51568/10 "2001-01-24T17:43:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by APB \* > \*\*I wondered how long it would be before someone raised the supposed involvement of a member of the Royal Family. How predictable. As was pointed out the last time this subject was discussed, the Duke of Clarence had alibis for all the murders. > > [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=46423](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=46423) > > \*\* Holy God in Heaven above, APB! If you’re gonna link to a thread containing posts by JDT, at least WARN a person! I swear, I’d forgotten just how mad his ravings were. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-was-jack-the-ripper/51568/11 "2001-01-24T17:49:14Z")
Sebastian ---
**Author:** ![occ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8c91f0/32.png) [@occ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/occ)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-was-jack-the-ripper/51568/12 "2001-01-24T18:07:42Z")
I know its a long shot, but isn’t there a slight possibility that some forensics could be performed? Are the locations of the bodies of those involved known? Isn’t there a _tiny_ possibility that one or more of the victims might have been buried with, say, hair or fingernail scraps of the killer? And that modern DNA analysis could help shed some light on the subject? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-was-jack-the-ripper/51568/13 "2001-01-24T19:25:06Z")
Colonel Mustard in the Conservatory with the lead pipe. Actually, if you really want to study the case, take a look at [Casebook: Jack the Ripper.](http://www.casebook.org/) All the facts in the case, and most of the speculation is there. > [@](#): > > According to a television series from the late 1960’s called ‘Star Trek’, Jack the Ripper was the name given by the people of London to an energy-being of sorts that derives it’s sustenance from the negative emotions of humans, etc. That concept was taken from Robert Bloch’s story, “Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper.” Bloch is credited with the teleplay for that Star Trek episode, but there are reports that his name was added after the script was written, when the actual writer realized he had a potential infringement suit on his hands. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-was-jack-the-ripper/51568/14 "2001-01-24T19:31:07Z")
Oops. Messed up the URL. It’s [http://www.casebook.org](http://www.casebook.org). ---
**Author:** ![jesuslynch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e99b99/32.png) [@jesuslynch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jesuslynch)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-was-jack-the-ripper/51568/15 "2001-01-24T19:37:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mjollnir \* > \*\*Sebastian \*\* John or Cabot? ---
**Author:** ![wooba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/aeb1de/32.png) [@wooba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wooba)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-was-jack-the-ripper/51568/16 "2001-01-24T19:44:23Z")
Holy cow, it’s a tough crowd in here! With regards to me believing what I saw in a film, as I recall, the film with Michael Caine was presented as being factual. Please correct me if I’m wrong, it has been more than 12 years since I saw it. I have/had no reason to disbelieve it. I never once stated in my original posting that this was by any means the truth of the matter. All I said was I’d seen 2 films with similar story lines and based on what I knew about the Michael Caine film, I believed that to be factual. So I was not “indulging in conspiracy theories” Keep in mind that who ever the ripper was, he was an educated man with a background in medicine. Something that was not especially common in those days. ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-was-jack-the-ripper/51568/17 "2001-01-24T19:54:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by occ \* > \*\*I know its a long shot, but isn’t there a slight possibility that some forensics could be performed? Are the locations of the bodies of those involved known? Isn’t there a _tiny_ possibility that one or more of the victims might have been buried with, say, hair or fingernail scraps of the killer? And that modern DNA analysis could help shed some light on the subject? \*\* That’s probably a possibility … unfortunately, there’s nothing available against which we could compare DNA results. I doubt it’s a viable option to get DNA samples from the corpses of everyone who’s been mentioned as a suspect. Speaking of forensics, though, I’d bet good money that the availability of modern techniques in 1888 would have nailed the killer. The special I watched last night had some crime-scene photographs. I knew, in a detached way, that killing people the way Jack did was bound to be messy, but I swear, one bedroom crime scene (that of the last murder) was truly amazing. Blood was everywhere, and the remains on the bed were barely recognizable as human. Inconceivable that fingerprints, footprints, etc. wouldn’t have been left behind. Thanks for the link, **RealityChuck**! ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-was-jack-the-ripper/51568/18 "2001-01-24T20:15:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jesuslynch \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Mjollnir \* > > \*\*Sebastian \*\* > > John or Cabot? \*\* On the TV Series _Babylon 5_ there was an episode (_Comes the Inquisitor_) involving a character “Sebastian” who turned out to be the original Jack the Ripper. (The episode was nominated for an Emmy, btw.) Which leads to a question… J. Michael Straczynski, the creator of Babylon 5, wrote the episode in question and was asked who _he_ thought Jack the Ripper was. He said he had some ideas but didn’t want to say who. Instead, he said the following… > [@](#): > > Okay, here’s one clue for any would-be Ripperologists out there. > In all the long story of Jack, when he was out doing his nightly work, only one person, a woman, wrote an actual letter, published in the London Times, offering an _explanation_ for the Ripper’s work, arguing that he was trying to send a message, that maybe people should listen to that message. It was as close as anyone’s ever come to an actual _defense_ of what he was doing. > > Note the woman’s name, and who her husband was…a man who was twice interviewed by Scotland Yard, and interviewed by many Church officials, the transcripts of which have been _sealed_ by the Church ever since, at the request of the family…a person who was the last man to see at least one of the victims alive…and who was a direct blood relative of the man who was living with the final victim (who was killed indoors, leading to the speculation that she knew her assailant)…who suffered a breakdown just before the murders began, was obsessed with cleaning up the Whitechapel area, and after whose sudden, hasty transfer, the murders stopped…and whose profession is tied _directly_ to the only thing the Ripper was overheard to say to one of his victims. > > The mistake everyone makes is in going for somebody famous, a celebrity. I’ve done a lot of looking into this, and have spoken with a number of other Ripperologists, and the single most likely person is one who’s name you’ve never heard mentioned as a suspect, but if you read the record, his name keeps coming up again and again and again. This sounds interesting. Does _anyone_ have any idea who and what he is talking about here? ---
**Author:** ![pldennison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@pldennison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pldennison)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-was-jack-the-ripper/51568/19 "2001-01-24T20:15:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jess \* > \*\* . . .I’d suggest that Jack the Ripper was actually an old friend of H. G. Wells. 😉 > \*\* I think I love you, **Jess** , and I know I love that movie. I hope I’m not the only one who got that. ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-was-jack-the-ripper/51568/20 "2001-01-24T20:34:29Z")
**tanstaafl** , I don’t know the names of either of these men, but I seem to recall Harlan Ellison saying that there was a clergyman who seemed suspicious to him. Ellison did a fair amount of research on the Ripper for a story he wrote (which was a followup to the previously mentioned Bloch story, if memory serves). In the program last night, they mentioned that suspicion for a while fell on a teacher, who had a nervous breakdown sometime during the time the murders were committed. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-was-jack-the-ripper/51568.md?page=2)