Jack The Ripper: The Whitechapel Murderer And Leather Apron

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Jack the Ripper, also known as the Whitechapel Murderer and Leather Apron, the name of an unknown, yet very popular serial killer. A murderer known for killing 5, possibly 6, women and horribly mutilating four of them in the Whitechapel area of London during the later years of the Victorian Era. His killing spree began on August 31st, 1888 with Mary Ann Nichols and is believed to have ended in November of the same year; all his victims were prostitutes. There have been many theories of people believed to have been The Ripper, some even stating he might have actually been a she. Based on evidence, it is believed that he, or she, was either a butcher or a doctor. There is a question that may never be answered. Who was Jack the Ripper?

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His first victim, Mary Ann Nichols, 43, was murdered on August 31st, 1888 between 2:30AM and 3:30AM after leaving a Pub in Eastern London. Followed by Annie Chapman, 47, who was murdered on September 8th, 1880 between 5:30AM and 5:45AM, she had gone out to make money to pay her rent. Next were Elizabeth Stride, 44, who was murdered between 12:35AM and 1:00AM, and Catherine “Kate” Eddowes, 46, who was murdered between 1:35AM and 1:45AM exactly a mile away from where Elizabeth Stride’s body had been found a little over 30 minutes prior to her murder. Elizabeth Stride was the only one out of the 5 women he murdered that wasn’t horribly mutilated, thus creating a doubt on whether or not The Ripper should be held accountable for her murder. Murdered on November 9th, 1888, Mary Jane Kelly, 25, was the last of his victims and the most gruesomely mutilated, she was also his or her youngest victim. “The mutilation of Kelly’s corpse was by far the most extensive of any of the Whitechapel murders, probably because the murderer had more time to commit his atrocities in a private room rather than in the street.” 2 Kelly was the only victim murdered in the privacy of her home. Martha Tabram, 39, prostitute who was stabbed to death 39 times in the neck and body in the early morning hours of August 7th, 1888 may have possibly been the first victim of the Whitechapel murders, although not included in the …show more content…
Over 100 years after these tragedies, the question still remains. Who was Jack the Ripper? Could it have been Jill the Ripper? Why was he or she motivated in killing only drunk prostitutes? Why did he stop at 6? Could he have stopped after Mary Jane Kelly because he was able to satisfy what he really intended to do to the other women? His types of victim can lead us to many conclusions; his mother could have been a prostitute and abandoned or abused him as a young boy. He could have had his heart broken by a prostitute. If Jill, she could have been a prostitute herself and had some sort of resentment against prostitutes. The lack of technology in the 1800s didn’t make it easier to trace the unknown subject. “There are now over 100 theories about the Ripper’s identity, and the murders have inspired many works of fiction.”
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