Do you love reading detective stories? How about solving the case of a serial killer? Your favorite character solving one by one complicated crime scenes with the slimmest cue is always thrilling and full of excitement. However, what happens when a gruesome psychopath starts murdering women? Worst case, there is not a single person who can catch him till the date? From the title, you can already tell whom we are talking about. Yes, today’s topic is the notorious Serial Killer Jack the Ripper.

Who was Jack the Ripper?

Jack the Ripper was a serial killer whose identity still remains anonymous as no one has captured him. He caused a havoc in the underprivileged districts of Whitechapel in the East End of London during the year 1888. In the span of four-month, he killed five women and scared the whole city of London. He was also well-known as the Whitechapel Murderer and Leather Apron in the case files.

Victims of the Whitechapel Murderer

During the mid-19th century, the economic condition of Britain was quite severe. Whitechapel was no exception. The number of brothels increased, and many women started working as courtesans. On the other hand, crimes against women increased, and a large number of women became victims of murderers.

Among the numerous cases, the killer behind eleven cases was alleged to be Jack the Ripper. However, many believe only the Canonical Five are the work of The Ripper. The reason behind this assumption is the difference between the assaults. According to many experts, the victims of Ripper have deep slash wounds to the throat. Aside from that, the victims have mutilated large abdominal and genital areas, with internal organs removed and dismembered faces.

Canonical Five

The name of the five victims who met with a horrifying death by the Ripper is Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly.

Mary Ann Nichols

The first person to fall victim to the Ripper was a 43-year-old woman, Mary Ann Nichols. The lady discovered the body was a common lodging-house neighbor of Nichols. She was lying dead on 31st August 1888 in Buck’s Row, Whitechapel.

She was brutally murdered with two deep cuts on the throat. Her genitalia was stabbed twice, and her lower abdomen was partially ripped open by a deep wound.

Annie Chapman

The second canonical victim of the Ripper was Annie Chapman, a 48-year-old woman. After the separation with her husband, she lived her life doing crochet work, making antimacassars, selling flowers, and adultery.

She met the same fate as Nichols a week later, on Saturday, 8th September 1888. Similar to Nichols, her throat had two deep cuts along her abdomen slashed openly. Aside from that, her uterus and sections of her bladder and vagina had been removed.

Elizabeth Stride & Catherine Eddowes

After two consecutive ghastly deaths, Whitechapel was in a state of calm before the storm. Exactly twenty-one days after the murder, on  30 September 1888, the city of London witnessed another horrific scene. Two women in their mid-forties, Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes were discovered dead at Dutfield’s Yard, off Berner Street in Whitechapel.

Elizabeth had a single clean cut of about six inches across her neck, while Catherine suffered the same as the rest two. As there was not much mutilation to Elizabeth’s murder, many believe it might not be the work of the Ripper. On the other hand, some consider that someone might have intervened during the attack.

Mary Jane Kelly

The last victim of the Ripper was Mary Jane Kelly, a lady in her mid-twenties. She had suffered the most gruesome death of all. Her body was found at 13 Miller’s Court, off Dorset Street, Spitalfields, on 9th November 1888.

Her face was in a condition beyond recognition, with her throat cut down to the spine. Most of the organs in her abdomen were removed, including the heart, kidneys, and uterus.