Jack the Ripper: New Clues & Theories w/ Tom Wescott - A True Crime History Podcast

[@MostNotorious]

Hello all, and welcome to the Most Notorious Podcast! Just a reminder, most of my episodes are not uploaded to KZbin. Regular episodes are released every week and available at my website www.mostnotorious.com/ and your favorite podcast apps, including: Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/most-notorious-a-true-crime-history-podcast/id1055044256 Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/1JeYsvYZI4OxGTC9TJljLV Spreaker: www.spreaker.com/show/mostnotorious Stitcher: www.stitcher.com/show/most-notorious-a-true-crime-history-podcast Pandora: www.pandora.com/podcast/all-episodes/most-notorious-a-true-crime-history-podcast/PC:16671 Amazon Music: music.amazon.com/podcasts/39005731-4486-40a2-a16b-1bc62255b243/most-notorious-a-true-crime-history-podcast?refMarker=null Google Podcasts: podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc3ByZWFrZXIuY29tL3Nob3cvNDY5ODMxNS9lcGlzb2Rlcy9mZWVk TuneIn Radio: www.pandora.com/podcast/all-episodes/most-notorious-a-true-crime-history-podcast/PC:16671

[@johnwahannah2385]

Rag time music

[@jochildress5003]

Every Ripper theory book I read or movie I watch manages to convince me it’s the one. I don’t trust myself to know if anyone ever comes up with the correct answer.

[@colonfoxworth2616]

As an amatuer 'Ripperologiat", I wasn't expecting much when I found this....but, it ended up being one of the most interesting and informative interviews on the topic I have ever heard.

[@shannonsmith7201]

I agree

[@paulanthony5274]

Hi,youre an amateur ripperologist have you ever considered this. Israel Schwartz was an orthodox Jew,yes,and jtr shouted to him Lipski (After a Jewish murderer in the area earlier and was an insult sometimes shouted at Jews) doesn't it make sense then that the chalk writing on the wall "The jewes (sic) are the ones who will not be blamed for nothing" would be written by Jack because he'd been seen by one murdering Liz stride. I've never heard anyone link the two things but it makes sense,if he wrote it that is,to try and take the police of his scent,by blaming Jews because he'd been seen by one? People say it's risky him hanging around to write this and doubt it,but he's known for taking risks and if he'd been drinking that night that would only add to his courage. It's the only murder on a Saturday night and a few hours earlier than the others,i think he was out drinking that night myself.

[@Jay-tk7ib]

@@paulanthony5274 You're not the first person to link Lipski with the writing on the Goulston street wall.

[@paulanthony5274]

@@Jay-tk7ib It's pretty obvious really when you look at it..

[@Jay-tk7ib]

@@paulanthony5274 Yes, it is.

[@tinakover385]

What a joy to find this interview! Tom, you have long been the most impressive Ripperologist out there by far, in my opinion, and you do not disappoint here. So many interesting insights. When will you be publishing another book?!

[@garrystone561]

Excellent presentation, true to the facts, and entertaining. Great job by Tom Wescott in giving this succinct outline of these events. Thank you guys, you had my attention from the beginning!

[@catherineanthony8202]

it wasn't Bram Stoker who owned the theatre where Richard Mansfield played Jekyll and Hyde, it was Sir Henry Irving; grandfather of the great Peter Cushing.

[@pattierotondo1108]

Yes. Stoker managed it.

[@Girlytang]

What a treat for my day off - one of the most intriguing cases in history from one of the best podcasters! Thank you!

[@jenrutherford6690]

Fantastic interview. Thank you both so much . I really appreciate how you allow the expert to have his say .

[@shawnreynolds2705]

"It is a fundamental mistake to theories before one has data. They end up making the facts suit the theories instead of theories to suit facts" - paraphrase of Sherlock Holmes

[@amyharvey7173]

Great episode and interview

[@Mr.56Goldtop]

The detectives back at that time were actually quite skilled in solving crimes and solved many. Unfortunately they weren't privy to the technologies that we have today. But a lot of their investigative and crime scene techniques are still being used today. But they did pretty darn good for what they had! And considering that even today thousands of crimes and hundreds of murders go unsolved every year, even with all of our crime solving technology! So don't anyone look down on those guys from the 19th century!

[@craigdesilva]

Well said!

[@williambloodworth5126]

In my opinion they probably did know who the ripper was. Everything I've read from the police and Scotland Yard regarding Who and what happened to him seems to line up the known facts.

[@markrymanowski719]

Detective Aberline, in his old age, said only this about the ripper murders; 'If the public knew what i discovered, they would find it very interesting indeed'.

[@DEATH-THE-GOAT]

@@markrymanowski719 indeed

[@philipskalla4312]

@@markrymanowski719 I would be interested to see the source for that quote. He said in 1903 that the police had no idea who the murderer was.

[@jeffjeffreym1830]

The gruesome Lusk letter is the only one that is remotely likely to be from Jack. In my humble opinion.

[@-Reagan]

IF any letter, I might be inclined to agree, except that there’s no extant kidney (“kidne”) of Catherine Eddowes; I wouldn’t trust a Victorian surgeon to know the difference between a human kidney and a pig’s kidney on sight, or whether it was a kidney that had been preserved a long time, perhaps stolen from a local medical school or hospital, or even a corpse. If we had the kidney, it would be a moot point, as we’d have DNA to test against any descendants of the victims to be sure. As it is, I wouldn’t trust a Victorian surgeon to pull a tooth. I definitely believe Walter Sickert had a dark sense of humor. For instance, he once did a painting of a room and titled it “a view of Jack the Ripper’s bedroom”; according to the author Patricia Cornwell. It’s not a stretch to think that a bored Sickert at work in that era might have penned a Ripper letter- he was quite arrogant. I think Patricia Cornwell missed the memo: nearly every young guy in that time was joking around about Jack the Ripper and playing pranks we wouldn’t necessarily find so funny, through our modern lens of sensibility. They had little in the way of entertainment, and newspapers were everywhere- everyone was talking about it. We aren’t living in dark Victorian times where death is a huge part of everyday life, there are enormous class divisions with poverty and suffering children in the streets and working in the mills and factories in deplorable conditions. For a privileged young man of that era, he would have a thick skin and less empathy. Most Victorians believed prostitutes brought their fate upon themselves, rather than the reality that in that day there were no alternatives for those women in that place without any help. Victorians would have said a small prayer for that “fallen woman” (if anything), but saved their true sympathy for others, and felt secure from harm in the knowledge that they were stations above the Ripper victims. So, yeah I think Patricia Cornwell did a very good job of tracking down a writer of one of the Ripper letters ...so, now, that letter AND it’s author can be eliminated and we confirm what we already suspected; that the cutting edge of Eddowes ear was incidental, as result of slashing at her face. Rather than deliberate in reference to threats made in the Dear Boss letter (“to clip the ladies ears off and send to the police officers just for jolly...”).

[@MsZoedog66]

Agreed

[@MsZoedog66]

@@-Reagan I think it depends on the surgeon in question, and the mortuary they were taken to. As an aside, if it was just another 'Unfortunate''s corpse one wonders the rigour taken by any pathologist in question. If you read death certificates from the time, eg. that of Mary Kelly, they are both specific and academically rigorous

[@Stantheman848]

@@-Reagan As opposed to doctors of today? Everyone now gets A grades from a deeply dumbed down education system. Literally anyone can be a Dr today.

[@cheriboberry1808]

@@-Reagan I thought the kidney included w the letter and the victim both had brides disease or something. I can’t even remember where I heard that but I know tht I hv heard it multiple times over the years in books n docs

[@rhodrage]

You're right, with a time machine I'd go and solve all the world's unsolved mysteries. Starting with this.

[@susannamarker2582]

Including the Kennedy assassination.

[@GatesMcCrary]

Always nice to hear Tom Wescott and his slant on the case.

[@squirepraggerstope3591]

Afaicr, the description Pearly Poll gave of the soldiers included their having white cap bands, meaning they'd have been Guardsmen. Yet no guards regiments were billeted at the barracks where she was requested to identify the men concerned, so it was not surprising that she was unable to and maybe explains her behaviour.

[@davehallett3128]

Included them having

[@jdraven0890]

Thinking about it, a soldier makes a poor suspect for Jack. They'd have stood out like a sore thumb in that neighborhood and would have to sneak off from their barracks every time.

[@jdraven0890]

@Hip Shooter If it's anything like modern day, you have to be back by a certain hour and some days you'd be confined to the post. Your coming and going at the very least would be kept track of and they could have matched that up with the murders.

[@paulanthony5274]

@@jdraven0890 Don't chat with him mate he's a dickhead.

[@susannamarker2582]

@@jdraven0890 Exactly.

[@keepitsimple4629]

A few years ago I brought 2 library books on Jack the Ripper home with me. A very dark, sinister atmosphere came over my home. I knew in my gut it was the books. I immediately returned them to the library, and that dark sinister atmosphere went away.

[@oxcart4172]

U sure it wasn't just your imagination running riot? I mean, you wouldn't expect a news report on a gruesome murder to change the atmosphere of a room, would u? Especially hundreds of years later!

[@keepitsimple4629]

@@oxcart4172 It wasn't my imagination by any stretch. The atmosphere of my whole home changed, not just one darkened room.

[@iagree5313]

@@keepitsimple4629 Yes, I know the experience - you got a stark warning not to invite and entertain that dark matter curiosity ever again. You'll be tempted as time passes, but I reckon you won't...

[@iagree5313]

@@oxcart4172 No, once experienced, not forgotten.

[@oxcart4172]

@@iagree5313 I think u underestimate what your brain can do

[@Charles-oo8bq]

Barber's at the time did small surgical procedures and dental work and blood letting. One or two suspects were Barber's at one time. I believe it was Aaron

[@andreviana1902]

47:30 Was it that Jack the Ripper was a tall man, or was it that the women he murdered were all around 5 ft tall? Descriptions about the man say he´s around 5ft7

[@drbigmdftnu]

I believe Liz Stride (Long Liz) was quite tall.

[@LirienNieve]

At around the 42:56 mark he states that Margaret Millows put up her arms in a defensive posture to fend off an attack. Fine, ok. Unfortunately, her FEMORAL artery which he says TWICE, is in the femur, i.e., the large vessel in the upper LEG, not the arm... Alright, he isn't an anatomist, but think before talking. Sexual sadists are not desperate; they are very directed. The chalk writing has been debunked. In all of the years since the Ripper, which sexual sadist, serial killer, on the street - not talking about Ted Kaczynski the unabomer; has taken the time to write a ditty on a wall? Zodiac wrote to the papers; and I believe it was BTK that had a disgusting diary; but no impromptu graffiti writing...... The Bouncer theory? No, they were probably VERY well known and would have been stationed at the doss house ALL NIGHT. These women came and went at all hours; not a sound theory. And as far as being able to provide a description; all a witness could have said was he looks just like "...... ". Which I have never heard in the interviews I've heard and read. What is with this 'choke hold' theory. NEVER have heard that prior. It would be easier to lure them away; walk behind them and slit the throat. Choke holds take a minute or more to work, he could have been interrupted doing that. Cutting the throat AWAY from him - standing behind them, assures death and no arterial spray on HIM. HE knew them at least by sight, they were familiar with him being on the streets during those hours; I believe the theory put forth by

[@jakehammond12345]

There was very little blood found at the first 4 sites which I think suggests that the blood pressure had dropped right down before the cuts, suggesting strangulation. Yet there were no obvious marks around the neck from strangling. Also, Jack clearly isn't a sexual sadist, there is no sexual element to the killings. its entirely anger and hate of women.

[@Jay-tk7ib]

Dhanah Shimmer, you said the chalk writing has been debunked. Could you enlighten us on exactly who it was that debunked it, and maybe give their proof. You also said, "In all of the years since the Ripper, which sexual sadist, serial killer, on the street - not talking about Ted Kaczynski the unabomer; has taken the time to write a ditty on a wall?" There have been at least three. Zodiac didn't write on a wall, but he did write on a car door.

[@sigmachud9092]

and also slitting the throat deep enough would prevent them from screaming as well. no idea why he thinks a choke hold was involved. maybe, but no reason to believe it more than anything else

[@julieannballard6333]

Excellent episode! Thank you!

[@DocAppalachia]

Very interesting, with a great deal of information. Tell Mr Wescott the femoral artery @42:40 is in the leg. Also a physician doing surgery wouldn't get the same rush at the hospital by hacking people up like this. Someone with SERIOUS ISSUES would/could hit the streets, escalating his barbarity...it has happened a number of times.

[@Wintage1073]

I agree with many of the commentators. This was the most interesting interview I have ever heard.

[@JimmieHammel]

Hmm... People always say butcher or doctor... But that's thinking too modern... A lot of people back then would have knowledge about how to clean and prepare animals for food. Any farmer could slaughter and clean an animal. You didn't buy your chickens in Styrofoam at the grocery store back then. The ripper could have watched his mother pluck and clean chickens from infancy.

[@soulfireclash2882]

Yes you did. Particularly in the city you definitely did. Chickens aren’t raised in the cities they were driven in. If you grew up in the city you certainly bought “groceries “. If it was a city dweller doing the crime. Especially the late 1800s it was very common to buy your meat. They weren’t farmers in the city of London. Lol

[@Manormouse-04]

I was recently joking to myself that he may have been a chef.

[@alanjohnson2528]

@@Manormouse-04 i was thinking that a lot of the last body looked filleted as if for cooking , if you look close looks like all the skin is on bedside table ...but no meat ..there was a fire place in the room , i think they mention a large fire and things burnt or boiled in a kettle ...

[@grimtt]

I think chickens were kept inside city limits, but plucking a chicken isn’t the same as butchering a mammal , their arms don’t even have femoral arteries! (Yes, joke)

[@JimmieHammel]

I see a lot of people saying that you maybe wouldn't need to kill animals if you lived in the city, but London at this time period was full of people from the country side who had moved to London for work. I think that anyone who was so obsessed with guts would definitely have participated in animal butchering or mutilation as an acceptable precursor to butchering humans, regardless of his occupation. Though I can see how a person who wanted to slaughter people could be drawn to surgery or butchery for work.

[@waderaney7]

This is really interesting,I like the insights into the case that all of the Ripper books do not have,the books are virtually the same story,over n over etc,nice to hear good speech on this mystery😉

[@juliao1255]

Oh! The shoe thing -- that's why detectives came to be called "gum shoes". (I am giving away my age now, aren't I,)

[@1212matt]

Such an interesting podcast your guest was very informative

[@richardhelliwell1210]

His voice reminds me of The Hooded Claw. "I'll get you, Penelope Pitstop!".

[@sharonarmstrong1016]

The femoral artery is in the upper leg, (thigh), the brachial artery is in the upper arm!

[@mastermasonjoewillis3904]

Could Sir Conan Doyle either known or been JTR?

[@chynnadoll3277]

A very close friend of mine thinks he is an excellent (and plausible) suspect. It makes a lot of sense, actually. Also, here’s a fun fact: when he graduated from medical school, he had the phrase “Licence to Kill” framed next to his medical school diploma.

[@johnhurley4700]

John Richardson was the ripper. His mother owned a business at 28 Hanbury st. He said he was sitting on the back yard steps near where Chapman was murdered at 430 am. He said he didnt see Chapmans body. He said he was cutting leather off his boot with a knife. The doctor who arrived at 630 said she had been dead 2 hours. Jurists let him go home and bring back the knife he used to cut the leather. He brings back a dull knife they deemed couldnt have been sharp enough to make the cuts. How would this dull knife cut through leather? They found his wet washed leather apron in the yard.

[@Baz-Ten]

@johnhurley4700 more likely is James Hardiman

[@Jim.Caughta]

Talk about a good day off... a Tom Wescott interview! I haven't heard.

[@sharlagrant5929]

I believe that Mary Kelly knew the person that she brought in her flat.

[@elliotspencer9115]

He was the first, the worst, he was never caught.

[@nancythane4104]

I must have missed mention of arterial spray? If the Ripper merely knocked them out like the author states, there would have been a bloodbath at every scene.

[@sarahholland2600]

They usually had their throat slit from behind so died quickly. Dead bodies don't bleed so the organ gutting after that would be v low on blood.

[@nancythane4104]

Again going on what tbe author stated. Also, if the knifings occurred while the women were on the ground, where were the knife marks on the cobblestones or in the dirt? The force used to practically behead someone would cause far different wounds~~the Ripper would have had to saw away at the neck instead of a single slash on each side.

[@drbigmdftnu]

Strangled first, so if already dead, no spray

[@jamescorlett5272]

so it goes Cross strangled then cut throat to avoid blood cut stomach but was just about to go deep inside Nicholls belly - know what sense would that aspect of her murder possible make .

[@jochildress5003]

What is the name of the piano rag that starts out your video?

[@NachtSchreck13]

I've always wondered why the so-called "Whitechapel Murders" were kept separate from the official Ripper canon. It's obvious that at least some of the Whitechapel Murders were done by the Ripper.

[@TheIsemgrim]

they are the same just under a different name. in fact Jack the Ripper was a journalist most likely who had nothing to do with the killings but send in a hoax letter that got spread in the media in wich he claimed to be the killer and signed it as Jack the Ripper.

[@jdraven0890]

Very enjoyable. If Jack isn't someone of note in history, obviously we will never figure out who he was. We latch on to possibilities of a an otherwise notable person being Jack, but the author is almost certainly correct that it was a relatively ordinary person within that community.

[@markrymanowski719]

Have you read the book; 'The Ripper and the Royals'? This book and Stephen Knight's 'The Final Solution' are, in my opinion, the truth as close as it can be.

[@jdraven0890]

@@markrymanowski719 Have not, I will check those out

[@philipskalla4312]

@@markrymanowski719 Stephen Knight's book was a hoax.

[@markrymanowski719]

@@philipskalla4312 He got some information from Joseph Sickert, son of Walter. He filled in the gaps as best he could. Melvyn Fairclough's 'Ripper and the Royals' was way closer to the truth. Also aided by Joseph Sickert. Much of it gleaned from the Aberline diaries. According to Aberline in his retirement; 'If the public knew what i discovered they would find it very interesting indeed' . Queen Elizabeth, after reading this book gave a comment. 'Fascinating'. In saying all this, i still say Knight's book was in the right ball park. Closer to the truth than most other books on the subject. If you read both of them, you'll see they mirror each other in the plot. Knight's book had some names wrong. Fairclough's is more comprehensive.

[@philipskalla4312]

@@markrymanowski719 The story was a hoax by Joseph Gorman. He later admitted this.

[@themajesticmagnificent8561]

Great work and thank you… On the theory on a connection between the doss house owners and the ripper.I can also see if the connection got too hot for the owners they might have ‘sorted him out themselves’,to save face.Like a inner mafia member hit..Hence jack suddenly stopped.

[@jelkel25]

Absolutely, though to say they would have done it to save face, not really. These murders would have upset the checks and balances in the area. The politicians and police would stop taking payoffs as soon as bodies turned up, police and vigilance groups everywhere, bad for business. The gangs that killed the first 2 Whitechapel murder file victims (accidentally, they were meant to be beatings) never did a third. After the shocking severity of Mary Kelly's murder the government could have brought in police from other forces, declared martial law in the area and brought in the army. Bad for business.

[@darrenlamb5640]

We don't know for sure that the message on the wall was written by the ripper. It may have already been there. The killer may have deliberately dropped the bloody rag next to the message to throw the police off and give them a false lead to follow.

[@Jay-tk7ib]

We do know that the message was masonic in nature, and that matches with the way the victims were mutilated. Also, the fact that a piece of Catherine Eddowe's bloody apron was on the ground beneath the message on the wall is very telling.

[@darrenlamb5640]

@@Jay-tk7ib Masonic in what way? Do you mean by the 'juwes' part?

[@Jay-tk7ib]

@@darrenlamb5640 Yes, that and other things. Had it been the spelling alone, it wouldn't be important, but it matches with the way the women were mutilated, and with the story that was handed down about how it happened.

[@darrenlamb5640]

@@Jay-tk7ib also i believe one victim was killed on 'mitre square". That seems very telling in light of the Masonic link.

[@Jay-tk7ib]

@@darrenlamb5640 Yes.

[@jakehammond12345]

Lechmere. He may have known them because he walked past them on his way to work everyday, they knew him and were comfortable. he delivered horse meat so was strong and knew about butchery. Only credible suspect IMO.

[@Stantheman848]

Zero evidence

[@johnhamilton4677]

@@Stantheman848 there's zero evidence to link anyone to the crimes lol. Lechmere is the only one who was caught standing directly over a victim right after she was murdered smh.

[@Stantheman848]

@@johnhamilton4677 not true... louis diemschutz and robert paul to name just two others. Lechmere was not standing over the body... that was invented by your swedish hero.

[@Stantheman848]

@@johnhamilton4677 why dont you make a comedy documentary accusing John Davis of being jack the ripper because he found the 2nd victim?

[@johnhamilton4677]

@@Stantheman848 I was not aware that Paul's account of approaching Lechmere was refuted by Lechmere lol. It sounds like you're more into comedy--or maybe your comprehension is off lol.

[@Scar626]

1:01:00 - If there is one thing I know it's that serial killers can live like that and just one day stop I mean look at Joseph James DeAngelo and Dennis Rader I sometimes wonder if Zodiac also didn't just one day stop Especially when you look at how he killed couples and then one random taxi driver and then nothing

[@MsZoedog66]

Cornwell's suspect was named Walter Sickert 🌵💗

[@SubRosa33]

Tom Wescott surely did his research. excellent book also.

[@TheButcherHicks]

Jacob Levy was born in Aldgate in 1856, the son of Joseph and Caroline Levy, the former having a butchers business situated at 111 Middlesex Street, Spitalfields. The 1881 census returns list Jacob as a butcher by trade, residing along with his wife and two children at 11 Fieldgate Street, Whitechapel. The 1851, 1861 and 1871 census returns list a Hyam Levy, his wife Frances, and his family residing at 36 Middlesex Street, Aldgate, again with a successful butchering business, but by 1881 the returns now list the widowed Frances as head of the household and employed as a butcher. Hyam and Frances Levy were the parents of Joseph Hyam Levy who was born in Aldgate in 1841 and who by 1888 had a butchers business himself situated at 1 Hutchinson Street, Aldgate, which was geographically sited at the junction of Middlesex Street, a mere sixty yards or so from number 36 Middlesex Street where Kelly's London Business Directory for 1888 lists Jacob Levy, his wife Sarah, and numerous children as residing, with Jacob once again employed as a butcher. By 1891 the census returns list Sarah Levy (a butcher by trade) as head of the household, but now living at 69 Middlesex Street. If Jacob Levy was not related to Joseph Hyam Levy then they would undoubtedly have known one another, either by sight or by acquaintance. On 15 August 1890 Jacob Levy was delivered to the City of London lunatic asylum, Stone, in Kent, as an insane person. Under the heading of 'address of friends', as recorded in his case notes, a man named Isaac Barnett was entered at 87 Middlesex Street, and according to the 1890 Business Directories lists he was a dairyman. Jacob's occupation was noted as that of a butcher and the cause of his illness was mania and which had a duration of `some time'. His hereditary predisposition was that his eldest brother was insane and that his expression of countenance was 'restless'. In description his bodily health was good and he stood at 5' 3" tall and weighed 9 stone 3 pounds. His previous history was that he was sentenced to twelve months imprisonment back in 1886, but was instead sent to the Essex County asylum. Additional observations during his term at Stone was that his wife had complained that he almost ruined her business: "he also feels that if he is not restrained he will do some violence to someone; he complains about hearing strange noises; cries for no reason; feels compelled to do acts that his conscience cannot stand; and has a conscience of a feeling of exaltation". His wife also revealed that he was formerly a shrewd businessman and that "he does not sleep at nights and wanders around aimlessly for hours". At 7.52pm on the evening of the 29 July 1891 Jacob finally died at the asylum from General Paralysis of the Insane brought on by the serious sexually transmitted disease syphilis, therefore indicating a possibility of liaisons with the Aldgate/Whitechapel prostitutes. The calendar records for the Central Criminal Court have an entry for Jacob Levy having been arrested on 10 March 1886 for the theft of a weight of meat from his master Hyman Sampson, who formerly had a butcher's business at 58 Goulston Street, and he was found guilty of the charge on 6 April 1886 and sentenced to twelve months at Holloway Prison. Jacob may very well have blamed prostitutes for the cause of his illness together with the impending failure of his once successful family butchering business, and he may also have believed, or assumed, that his children were now syphilitic. At 8.30pm on 29 September 1888 Catharine Eddowes was taken into police custody by PC Robinson of the City Police for causing a drunken disturbance outside 29 Aldgate High Street and she was finally released at 1.00am. Rather than make her way home to Flower and Dean Street, Catharine once again headed towards the Aldgate vicinity. At about 1.30am three men named as Joseph Lawende, Harry Harris and Joseph Hyam Levy had left the Imperial Club situated at 16-17 Duke's Place, Aldgate, and about four minutes later, and about fifteen yards from the club, they noticed a man and a woman standing talking quietly to one another at the entrance to Church Passage, which led into Mitre Square. Some ten minutes later Catharine Eddowes was found murdered and extensively mutilated in a dark and desolate corner of the square. The couple, observed in particular by Joseph Levy, had, as it appears, alarmed him to a certain degree as he had remarked to his companion Harry Harris that "I don't like going home by myself when I see these sort of characters about... I'm off!" and he further added that the Court (meaning Mitre Square) ought to be watched. The Evening News for 9 October 1888 reported that "Mr Levy is absolutely obstinate and refuses to give the slightest information and he leaves one to infer that he knows something but that he is afraid to be called on the inquest. At the inquest Levy admitted observing a man and a woman at the entrance to Church Passage though he did not take any particular notice of them although he described the man as having been three inches taller than the woman (Eddowes and Jacob Levy stood 5'0" and 5'3" tall respectively) and when pressed under cross examination he denied thinking her appearance as `terrible' and went on to add that he was not exactly afraid for himself". So therefore could the butcher Joseph Levy have in fact recognized his neighbour the butcher Jacob Levy as the man he had seen in the company of a woman who he may have presumed to be a prostitute that was to be influential in causing him so much alarm? The opposite sides of Middlesex Street were divided by the boundaries of both the City of London and Metropolitan police jurisdictions and nestling within the City boundaries resided Jacob Levy, and moreover, some 100 metres away to the east and over in the Met's jurisdiction was located Goulston Street - and it was here that the Ripper, when on flight from Mitre Square, had discarded a cut away portion of Catharine Eddowes apron inside a doorway entrance to some tenement buildings. Now this may have been purposely contrived by Jacob in an attempt to deceive the authorities into assuming the direction as to which the Ripper was heading, seemingly deeper into the Met's jurisdiction, so therefore Jacob may very well have rapidly backtracked after employing this false trail the mere 100 metres across the border and into the City's jurisdiction, and the safety of his home, for he may very well have suspected that Joseph Hyam Levy had only minutes earlier recognised him in the company of a woman believed to be Catharine Eddowes loitering inside the covered entrance to Church Passage. Following this episode the Ripper murders were to experience the longest gap since the series had begun and possibly not until the following year was he again to strike out on the street. The Eddowes murder was unique in one way to all Ripper, or Ripper-related, murders as it was the only one committed within the City boundaries, and so therefore an explanation possibly being due to the opportunity presenting itself, and furthermore at around the same time as Catharine Eddowes' release from police custody at about 1.0am the murder of Elizabeth Stride over at Berner Street (in the Met's jurisdiction) had fled the neighbourhood and was heading in a westerly direction towards the Aldgate vicinity. Dr Frederick Gordon Brown, surgeon to the City of London Police, and who was present at Eddowes' post mortem at the Golden Lane mortuary, had opinionated that the miscreant's knowledge of anatomy may be possessed by someone in the habit of cutting up animals, and some years later in 1905 at a meeting of the Crimes Club, he again believed that the cuts inflicted upon Catharine Eddowes were suggestive of a butcher. Moreover, Godfrey Lushington, a civil servant to the Home Office, had made it his opinion that the murder of both Stride and Eddowes was the work of a Jew. Interestingly, three days prior to Catharine's death she had returned from a hop-picking excursion in Kent claiming her belief as to the identity of the Whitechapel murderer and was constantly seen in the Aidgate vicinity within the last hours of her life, in such a vicinity to where the diseased and insane Jewish butcher Jacob Levy lived and worked, and the year 1891 coinciding with Jacob's death saw the official police files on the case finally and inexplicably close. Finally, and just under six weeks later, after the Eddowes murder, the witness George Hutchinson had reported that he had seen a man of a Jewish appearance accompanying Mary Jane Kelly on the night of the Millers Court murder, and who he thought as seeing once again a short time later in Jacob's street of residence - Middlesex Street!

[@philipskalla4312]

All the evidence points to the murderer having been a gentile - and that includes the description of Catherine Eddowes' client in Mitre Square and the writing on the wall.

[@MrSASA51]

Very poor - basic research could have revealed that Charles and William Booth were quite different people. William founded the Salvation Army in 1865. The remainder is unfounded speculation

[@sirandrelefaedelinoge]

The Femoral Artery isn't in the arm, it's in the thigh...

[@comeancme]

André Linoge I think he was probably meaning the brachial artery. But hey, they are all the same right? Lol

[@PapagenoMF]

He did say "I believe it was..."

[@davehallett3128]

@@PapagenoMF i m so old i remember when the teachers knew more than the students. I believe is no excuse. He s written a book on the subject. He should know his facts

[@moleprice]

but mate this is someone that thinks they had breath mints in the Victorian east end of London

[@davehallett3128]

@@moleprice they WERE breath mints. People who drank more gin than water and smoked all day and all night and hadn t brushed their tooth in twelve years needed breath mints. Look up cachou in the dictionary. Not cashew the nut

[@andrewsilverstein6186]

Really interesting for Ripperology and refreshingly honest...(okay folks brachial artery, not femoral artery....well, I guess we can say that Mr. Wescott is not Jack the Ripper...)

[@Jay-tk7ib]

Some of us can say he'd not a good researcher.

[@markl1617]

The Lech' theory has too many holes. It's just the latest theory not the conclusion

[@braider1000]

Good listen. Interesting.

[@a.jlondon9947]

Excellent.

[@fmulder6564]

That story about jack the ripper being the origin of modern day sneakers seems highly unlikely.

[@antonewilson4310]

Paul Lynde lives

[@jacquelinemarie1078]

After these murders, San Francisco had a rash of similar murders, so some think the Ripper moved to S.F. Apparently it was common for those in England to take a boat to the United States, even poor did it because it didn't cost much in those days. Some think the ripper was institutionalized for one reason or another..

[@thekcsugethe_kc_suge7930]

Robbed them. Never heard that before. Definitely makes sense.

[@ROY-COLLEY]

From my understanding there was two soldiers and they did exist. A police officer actually challenged 9ne of them and thar soldier told the officer he was waiting for his friend who was with a lady.

[@TheIsemgrim]

before you click away becous you are uninformed. there is a newspaper article from 1888 that discribes the police testing out so called silent shoes during the time the ripper was active. shoes that were back then also known as sneakers as there is also a newspaper article from 1887 that mentions them.

[@angelariley3538]

The femoral artery is in the leg not the arm. The arteries of the arm are brachial (upper arm), radial and ulnar (lower arm). Arterial spray would be s problem unless the heart was no longer beating. Just being unconscious wouldn’t affect arterial spray at all. FYI

[@gregorybathurst4326]

JTR is quintessentially Dr Jeckle & Mr Hyde .

[@cutekanjii]

Thing we were all waiting for, the description of the individual who attempted to kill the woman who got away with a cut arm. Surely she gave a description! Did it fit with the others such as the deerstalker hat

[@donaldhall8785]

I think your guest meant Brachial artery not Femoral artery. The Femoral is the largest in the leg, not the arm.

[@jessicaturik6593]

Can you do a video on James Maybrick or has he been completely ruled out and confined as a hoax?

[@drbigmdftnu]

Femoral artery is in the thigh, not the arm. Massive artery, bleeding out would usually be quick. The artery in the arm is the brachial artery.

[@mohara1000]

IF I WRITE A LETTER /AND ITS POSTMARKED FROM ANOTHER COUNTRY AND EXPERTS CONFIRM THIS LETTER TO BE MY HANDWRITING IT DOES NOT PROVE IVE BEEN IN THAT COUNTRY AT THAT SPECIFIC TIME. OR EVEN AT ALL.

[@MEME-qe4ze]

if he went to rob them before killing them, wouldn’t the victim scream to alert someone? if it was a boxer, bully or housekeeper, would they have knowledge of anatomy?

[@nutyyyy]

A butcher might, and his work was not that precise, some said he might be a doctor, other physicians argued that based on the wounds he likely wasn't as it was sloppy.

[@Jay-tk7ib]

@@nutyyyy Only if he were trained as a butcher of humans. Human anatomy is different than animal anatomy.

[@Caldaran]

@@Jay-tk7ib He still would know which organ is which because pig organs for example arent so much different from human organs.

[@Jay-tk7ib]

@@Caldaran He wouldn't need to be a slaughterman to know that.

[@davesmith7432]

Like most writers on the subject, Tom has a laser focus the autumn of 88. This guy was probably active long and after.

[@Baz-Ten]

no one has actually written or spoke in detail of that *probability* - although Tom Wescott does talk here about some earlier murders 4min in

[@Mr.56Goldtop]

There were a lot of newspapers in London at that time but more were more like the National Enquirer than actual newspapers. The infamous Dear Boss letter is an example of this. Today, these "journalists" would have been arrested for this. And the police knew who they were! And I don't think Jack wrote the message on the wall, why would he waste the time.

[@Jay-tk7ib]

He would "waste" his time by getting his message across. It was a message that matched the method of his mutilations.

[@jamescorlett5272]

Why waste the time to kill ?

[@MrChippiechappie]

Why is the missing evidence inaccurate? Yet you don't give any evidence. As I said bellow he lied twice no 3 times actually because he lied about how long he was with the body.

[@Jay-tk7ib]

It was not Lechmere.

[@MrChippiechappie]

@@Jay-tk7ib And you know how? Have you got a time machine?

[@Jay-tk7ib]

@@MrChippiechappie I don't need a time machine, I have common sense. As I said before, it doesn't add up that someone would lie about their name in order to deceive the police, and then give them his real address. Think about that. The surname he gave was that of his step-father and he had used that name before. Any criminal would know he could be tracked down at his address, yet he gave them the address. So why lie about the name, but not about the address?

[@alainprostbis]

@@Jay-tk7ib well you argument is self contradictory. You can of course argue that lechmere is not the ripper , but to say that "charles Lechmere could not have lied about his true name while giving his true adress" is ridiculous. As we know that is what he did... do you believe it would have stopped working had he been a criminal? Are criminal less likely to lie effectively? And this "half little lie" worked perfectly on the very thing you say would never work: it concealed its true identity for 120 years. A lie does not have to be outragously wrong. The best liers will say the truth 95percent of the time and only lie in 5 percent when it matters to them. Psychopaths are players. They have their little game. With authority especially . All he needed was an edge over the police. Giving his stepfather (thomas cross) name was hardly a lie . Had he been found out he would have been able to prove it was his stepdad's surname. The guy who raised him as the real dad of lechmere is unknown. He had nothing to lose and it gave him control. The worse case scenario would have been a policeman sent to find him and maybe arrest him at his work or at his home (with his name alone as it is all the police had...there was no DNA or even fingerprint at the time, not even a physical description) . If asked he would have given his legal name, his mother's name, lechmere, and been able to prove it, and said that he knew of noone named Cross. Thus he would have been left alone and given time to flee if the matter was serious, the time PC Mizen or robert Paul would have been called to recognize anyone. Also I would bet he used the name of his dead stepfather, thomas Cross, to gain sympathy at the inquest and with the police there, as the stepfather was a copper that was most probably still remembered. And you said he gave his true address. There is good reason to believe he peecisley avoided to give his address. Only one newspaper reported his address and name and true first name and middle name. In absolutely everyother reports (ten of them) the home address is missing, and the first name goes all over the place. Quite likely he avoided to give it, mumbled his first name, and gave his place of work instead (which is unsusual but acceptable). It is therefore likely that a deligent journalist went to ask him after his testimony. He had to give one so he did give his true address knowing the guy did not have his lastname anyway, and he did not want to appear suspicious to a conscentious journalist who could have been a pain in the butt. Plus his name and true address would just appear in one obscure newspaper and that is all. Interstingly there is another instance of a "Charles cross" at an inquest for a violent death. A carman who presented himself as "charles cross working at pickfords" was accused of "reckless riding" leading to the death of a 4 year old boy. The father of the boy was convinced that the carman was suspicious and responsible. And again this charles cross appears (it would be the strangest of coincidences if it was not the same person), and again give his work address. At that time he did not give his address to any journalist, unlike every other person testifying that day. It happened 10 years before the Buck's row murder, at a time lechmere was already working as a carman at pickfords. And "Charles Cross" made his way out , the death considered accidental. You can read about this case in the book cutting point by Christer Holmgren. If this reckless driver was charles lechemere, the reason he gave again his stepfather name and work address in 1888 was maybe to follow the Modus Operandi that served him so well ten years before. Giving his stepfather last name who had just died and was still remembered, and giving his workaddress as his working cart was involved in the accident and all that was needed. Also an important point is that the ripper was capable to avoid the police patrolling the streets. Lechmere trhough his father experience, knew precisely how the police worked, where they patrolled and how ofter, what to tell them...

[@TheIndependentLens]

The Lechmere crowd are freaking insufferable! They are so convinced that they cannot fathom that he isn’t Jack the Ripper.

[@jasminespencer3992]

You lost me when the guy said sneakers were first invented during the hunt for Jack the ripper.

[@TonyProwseTANM]

Yep! I agree. The sneakers bit made me double take also. I also kind of lost my enjoyment a little for the Sherlock Holmes link to chalk writing on walls! Any old photo of our poor areas you'll see chalked scrawled walls. Was a wipe off graffiti of the day. I thought; if such a link can be made there, what other tenuous links have been? But, I haven't turned it off and am still enjoying it. ...... makes me wonder why I bothered to write this!! Lol

[@adamstone5865]

This guy has said so many false things. I feel like it’s ok to speculate but let’s get our facts right first. I was appalled by his confidence in what he was saying, when he was wrong and it matters. No reason to exaggerate how many times she had earned her dos money , it was 3 times not 7!

[@atsukorichards1675]

And he said that the writings on the wall was done by the Ripper...

[@HePlaysThePiano]

I am sorry but this whole premise is built upon the principal of Pearly Poll deliberately misleading the Met Police because she could not identify the soldiers, however it was found that they were Coldstream Guards due to their distinctive hats and a second line up was then arranged and at the subsequent line up she DID identify the two soldiers both her and Martha Tabram were with that evening. The guards explained they were back in barracks by 1am i.e were able to provide an alibi that stated they were not her killer as Martha was seen by several people in the hours after they left her ...... this whole book is built upon a false premise that her friend for some reason deliberately mislead the police and what would be her motivation for doing so, whereas the reality is that she did NOT mislead the police whatsoever and identified the soldiers they were with.

[@mastermasonjoewillis3904]

Pearly Paul. Robert Paul. Hm.

[@maudelynn13]

Every ripper expert debunks every other ripperologist. The Lechmere theory is very good and very well researched. Bunch of nerds. ❤️😛

[@lesrock4610]

Very true debonking one and other all the time.. oops sorry dubunking ..I remember watching a documentary called "the missing evidence"years ago and I thought it was great ..until..

[@galelascala105]

Exactly. I think it was Lechmere too.

[@Stantheman848]

@@galelascala105 literally zero evidence on lechmere... just a terrible documentary.

[@galelascala105]

@@Stantheman848 disagree completely. Evidence against him is pretty substantial.

[@MEME-qe4ze]

@@galelascala105 if it was lechmere, why did the murders stop? wouldn’t they have continued even after a possible pause? maybe it was kosminski. kosminski was committed to the asylum and the murders ceased. he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.

[@GrayRider65]

Lechmere best suspect so far.

[@TheCivanina]

That's what I think. He says that lechmere wasn't the killer but from the evidence I researched so far he is the best suspect. He's one of the only suspects to be found at the crime scenes, Lived close and knew the area intimately, came from a semi broken home, his mother was a prostitute, he lied to the police, and I believe the most damning evidence is the time frame when he is found at the crime scene compared to when the blood was witnessed at the crime scene by through witness statements. Now I'm not attached to any suspect, but I believe he is the most plausible one. And I'm more than happy to hear a more convincing case.

[@mathewlawton8944]

@@TheCivanina Robert Paul lived closer kill Nichols got changed. He e worked behind Hanbury Street. Killed Eddows on his way home from pub.kelly only 3mins from where he worked. Fit better then Lechmere.

[@TheCivanina]

@@mathewlawton8944 so you're suggesting Robert Paul is a better fit?

[@mathewlawton8944]

@@TheCivanina yes look at facts lived closer worked closer n 2 Nichols Chapman n Kelly

[@mathewlawton8944]

@@TheCivanina but like Lechmere he not ripper

[@gingermiller4046]

Read " They All Love Jack " by Bruce Robinson. I don't know if he has solved the case or not but, although very long, the book is extremely detailed and brilliantly researched.

[@jamescorlett5272]

Pity it makes no sense - just kill Florence ffs .

[@jenrutherford6690]

It's possible the killer had been in a war situation hence his skill with killing . Maybe the doss house owners got rid of him due to the amount of police attention he created. I have nothing to back this up just an idea?

[@johnhunter9646]

Femoral Artery is in your leg.... Brachial Artery is in your arm

[@drbigmdftnu]

Have to wonder if JTR was actually one of the constables. Would explain a lot... how the women still went with him, how he blended in and knew the area so well. Might even explain some of his anatomic knowledge, from prior experience finding murder or accident victims in such a barbarous environment.

[@davidburlison9557]

I wish to hear of the murder of lee Harvey Oswald,please

[@karenmitchell2151]

William Booth is the founder of The Salvation Army

[@mastermasonjoewillis3904]

From the start of the video I wonder if maybe Pearly Paul knew Francis Tumblety.

[@johnsain]

...or Kozminski....

[@paulmichael5527]

My cat fave episode

[@corey2justified1]

You also say living at (which to you’re audience is taking history out of context because these were not houses like we know them today, these were halfway houses with 50 to 200 people in them

[@Jim.Caughta]

Corey Langham lol, do you actually know the difference between a halfway house and a common lodging house? Your comment is throwing history out the window.

[@thedativecase9733]

You mean a common lodging house , not a halfway house. But you have a point that unless someone knows something of the lives of working class Londoners in the 19thc they might be misled by the phrase "living at..." There were even worse places for the homeless than the lodging or "doss house " which generally cost 4 old pennies a night (4d) there was the Tu'penny Rope. Look it up I won't spoil it for you.

[@grimtt]

Were they certain the kidney in the mail was human?

[@sirandrelefaedelinoge]

@ grimtt - Yes they were

[@grimtt]

@@sirandrelefaedelinoge okay, thanks 👍!

[@Jay-tk7ib]

Yes, the kidney was examined and determined to be from a woman. It matched Catherine Eddowes in age, sex, and a desease that Catherine Eddows is known to have had. Also the length of the renal artery, I think it's called, left in Eddowes body matched the length that was missing in the kidney brought in to the police. It was almost certainly from Catherine Eddowes.

[@grimtt]

@@Jay-tk7ib thank you for the thorough and detailed reply. You’re right, it certainly looks like C E, !

[@alanleemaxwell831]

My theory has always been that it was Dr Who, going through a rough time...

[@norbertalbertz7259]

I have my own out of the box theory who JTR was, and it was pretty obvious from the start

[@Jay-tk7ib]

Care to share?

[@markchristian3249]

You don't know anything.

[@vinceo1058]

Your femoral artery isn't in your arm. It's in your leg... along your femur. Come on, man.

[@darrenlamb5640]

Yeah that's just poor. I mean the clues in the name.

[@jdraven0890]

I looked up what the actual major arteries in your arms are, and not one sounded familiar to me.

[@rebelbelle62]

You need to Google where it is, especially when correcting someone unless you enjoy being stupid. Just saying.

[@vinceo1058]

@@rebelbelle62 "The femoral artery is a large vessel that provides oxygenated blood to lower extremity structures and in part to the anterior abdominal wall. The femoral artery, vein, and nerve all exist in the anterior region of the thigh known as the femoral triangle, just inferior to the inguinal ligament." Good call, moron.

[@jenkelley8097]

Bangarang Vincent!

[@mastermasonjoewillis3904]

Could the guy who started the Salvation Army been JTR?

[@shannonsmith7201]

Interesting viewpoint on JTR.🗡🎩⚰

[@alanjohnson2528]

i was thinking that a lot of the last body looked filleted as if for cooking , if you look close looks like all the skin is on bedside table ...but no meat ..there was a fire place in the room , i think they mention a large fire and things burnt or boiled in a kettle ...i think he ate some flesh ...

[@davekeating.]

"Anyone for tennis?"

[@rockys201]

Interesting

[@mutolover3851]

It was full on Lechmere, this guy is sorely mistaken

[@Jay-tk7ib]

Lechmere has been the worst suspect ever, including the orangutan theory.

[@Styxswimmer]

@@Jay-tk7ib he is the only suspect ever placed at a single crime scene, every one of the murders occured on his routes to work save Stride, who was killed 200 yards from his mother's house. Not conclusive but there's more circumstantial evidence there than any other suspect. If you disagree, fine. Place any other suspect at a crime scene. You can't.

[@Jay-tk7ib]

@@Styxswimmer There was one guy at every crime scene, for sure, but the circumstantial evidence on Lechmere is just too shaky. You may not believe it, but there really are better suspects, at least in my opinion. I'm not going to say it could not have been Lechmere, but common sense makes me think it was not him.

[@Styxswimmer]

@@Jay-tk7ib did all of those others have routes that passed every crime scene? Plus the murder of Stride has always puzzled crime experts as it's south of his hunting ground. If Lechmere was the killer, it explains it as his mother's house was throwing distance from that murder. Was it him? I don't know. But I DO know there is no other suspect who ties up all the loose ends so neatly.

[@Jay-tk7ib]

@@Styxswimmer As far as I know, the other suspect's routes did not pass by the crime scenes, and that's another reason why I think they would have been more comfortable killing at those locations. If you were a murderer, do you think you would kill on your own work routes? Do you think you would kill randomly while on a stroll into work one morning, knowing that other people were on the same route? Do you think you'd lie to the police about your name, yet give them your actual address, knowing they could find out your lie? Common sense is important, let's not fail to use it.

[@henochparks]

The ripper was a retired soldier. He had serious combat experience. He knew the area. He may have come from there. He knew his victims. He had syphilis. He was going insane. He was in pain. He was dying. He may have gotten syphilis from his mother who may have been a doxie, or from one of the girls from the district years earlier. He may have had PTSD. He may have had combat medical experience. He probably did not write the message on the wall.

[@drbigmdftnu]

Agree with all your possibilities, except combat experience is not going to help you identify a uterus deep inside a woman, which is only about the size of a thumb.

[@drbigmdftnu]

The syphilis idea is very possible... someone going insane and knowing it was caused by a prostitute

[@henochparks]

@@drbigmdftnu The manner he killed his victims was to have them turn around in the sexual position from the rear. A common practice for doxies. We note he was impotent which is often due to VD. Then like a soldier taking out a sentry he cut their throats twice. The first to bleed to pour blood down the outside of their throats, The second to open their air way so the blood of the first cut would enter the throat to stop the sound of any screams 2. The victim passes out quickly and silently from lack of blood and oxygen. 3. The killer avoids being splattered with blood as he is behind her. 4. He then does the mutilation after she stops splattering..He was never heard. Soldiers own rubber sole boat shoes for walking on decks at sea. They are silent. The treatment for VD in the 1880s was mercury. The mercury kills the spirochaetes in the bloodstream but only give the infected about 5-9 years before they go insane. The mercury causes them to become violent, angry, delusional, hyper, Jeckle and Hyde personality, and they suffer from insomnia and sever pain. I think Jack went to pubs to numb his pain. He spotted a victim. He was a mean drunk. We note many doxies attended the pubs where veterans and active soldiers hung out. If Jack was a veteran he would fit in and have a retirement to drink with. We also note the Royal London Hospital where veterans would be treated for VD was just down the road not far from where the victims were killed. We note Jack had medical equipment. Stolen? He could remove organs in the dark. Military trained? We note he cut out parts of the body which were the ones he was suffering pain such as kidneys. He also stabbed part of the body he hated. Revenge? If Jack got VD by his mother at birth he would kill his mother by proxy, i.e. older women, which he did with the exception of his last victim. His VD would be in the third and last stage. The mercury would have given him a few more years. Added together he could have been a carrier for decades. If he got it as an adult he could have gotten it as a young soldier. After his last victim he was covered in blood and excrement and traveling in broad daylight. Chances are if he returned to the Hospital or an out patient clinic or just walking down the street he would have been spotted. The government would have covered it up to hide the fact he was a veteran. Bad, very bad press. Somethings to consider.

[@jakehammond12345]

The murders were't in the square mile. The East end is a large area .

[@richiebcarric31]

Thats interesting about the association between George Street and Dorset Street...of course Dorset Street was the scene of the last of the 5 canonical Ripper victims...and the association between Nicholls and Chapman,the 1st and 2nd of the 5...I do not think that Elizabeth Stride,the 3rd one,was a Ripper victim...I think that was not an uncommon street domestic gone wrong...which leaves the other 4...these 4 all lived in or near to the same lodging houses...it may have been they all knew each other. Catherine Eddowes ,the 4th,in Mitre Square was arrested for drunk.when she was released,no charge just sleeping it off,she gave the name of Mary Jane Kelly before walking off to her death,which was the 5th and last victim...Kelly worked in a Tobacconists in Cleveland Street down the West End...for real...She worked with a catholic girl named Annie Crook,for real...the shop was not far from the house that was sodomite central for upper class men,Prince Eddy being one of them..Eddy could swing both ways and it is alleged that he took up with Annie (not proven) and they got married (not proven) and they had a daughter (real person)..when the heat was on,Annie was placed in an asylum and her daughter shipped out to the East End with Kelly..the daughter was shipped out to a respectable family away from the East End...but the powers that be,started the search for Mary Kelly and any other of her friends that she may have confided the secret of the royal baby...who knows ,I certainly dont...but ,if any evidence came to light that Eddy did know Annie from the shop,that would open up a right can of worms. It would cause renewed investigation and although simply knowing each other would not prove marriage or the daughter was his,the suspicion would be monumental...another royal scandal etc..

[@philipskalla4312]

That was a hoax conceived by Joseph Gorman. I don't think there is even any evidence that Mary Kelly worked at a tobacconist's in Cleveland Street. I think Gorman claimed that his grandmother did.

[@ianclarke5404]

Could have been a policeman on the beat ,but then again the amount of blood at some of the scenes would have been transferred to the perpetrator.

[@atsukorichards1675]

I remember a short mystery story about the theory. I cannot recall the English title or its author, but the Japanese title was "Ottaman-shi no Te (オッターマン氏の手)" (Mr. Otterman's Hands.)

[@mohara1000]

I AM A LITTLE CONFUSED HERE I LIKE THE THEORY...BUT 1.HOW BAD ARE THE POLICE IF THEY CANT MAKE A CONNECTION BETWEEN PEARLEY POLL AND THE VICTIMS ...NOT SAYING IT WAS COVERED UP 2.WERE THESE POOR VICTIMS ....AS PORTRAYED .... HOMELESSS /PROSTITUTES /LIVING IN DOSS HOUSES OR WHERE THEY A GROUP /SAFETY IN NUMBERS /WHO OPERATED OUT OF THE SAME PREMISIS.M.M

[@michaelwashington1585]

Sounds to me like Pearly Paul could very well killed Martha Tabrum but was not the ripper.

[@kevinmanning3753]

I thought Polly Nichol's earned her doss money 4 times not 7 times