Maureen Lamberton

Mrs. Taylor

Online ARC

11/16/18

Who is Jack the Ripper?

Jack the Ripper is one of the most infamous serial killers for his gruesome murders in

London 1888. Jack the Ripper has never been caught, but there are many speculations of who

was behind the murders. Prostitution was illegal during this time, but authorities turned a blind

eye to the women working on the streets. Brothels were more respected during this time because

they had fancier clientele and the women were seen as classy. The five confirmed victims of Jack

the Ripper were “Mary Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and

Mary Kelly” (Jones). In that order all those women were killed in 1888. The press influenced

society greatly and talked about the prostitutes that were being murdered, mutilated, and

disemboweled is great detail. This put the people of Whitechapel, London into a mass hysteria.

Throughout history many people have speculated who was or wasn’t behind these murderers, but

no one has found the true culprit. So who is Jack the Ripper? Has he or she been hiding in plain

sight all along? Or will this case be left unsolved?

Perhaps the police were looking in all the wrong places and Jack the Ripper was actually

a woman. This is the conspiracy of “Jill the Ripper” where the murderer was actually a female

that passed as a midwife to kill the victims. A midwife in 1888 would have had medical

knowledge and it wouldn’t be unlikely for her to walk around the blood on her clothes which

would make it easy to pass police. If the police were searching for a man this would make sense
on how the female killer passed through on the night of the double murder of Stride and

Eddowes. “An Australian scientist used swabs from the stamps and seals of some of the letters

Jack the Ripper sent to the police. The results indicated that the samples were likely to have

come from a woman” (Jones). Someone who fits this role the best as “Jill the Ripper” would be

Mary Pearcey. “Mary Pearcey was convicted for murder in 1890 of her lover’s wife and child”

(Jones). The murder she was convicted of was just as gruesome as the Ripper murders. “A

witness said she saw Mary Kelly, hours after she was murdered” (Jones). This suggests a female

killer could have been escaping the crime scene in Kelly’s clothing. This contradicts with all the

other eyewitness testimonies that describe the killer as 25 to 35 years old, five foot five to five

foot seven, stocky build, fair complexion, and with a mustache. “All evidence given is

circumstantial, and there’s no physical evidence or eyewitness reports linking Pearcey to the

Ripper crimes” (Jones).

Prince Albert Victor Christian Edward supposedly had an affair with a commoner named

Annie Crook. “On April 18, 1885 Annie crook gave birth to a daughter that she had with Prince

Albert Victor” (Conspiracies). Annie was a Catholic and marrying a Catholic was illegal for a

British monarch since it could lead to a revolution. The royal family was afraid the information

of the daughter would be leaked to the public causing the end their reign. ​“​Dr. Thomas Stowell

said Sir William Gull wrote in his private papers the identity of Jack the Ripper. These papers

were destroyed after Gull’s death” (Conspiracies). Sir William Gull was the royal physician and

this would explain how he could pass police. This would especially make sense if the police

were informed of what was going on and that’s why no evidence was ever found at the crime

scenes. The motive could be blackmail against the royal family in exchange for something in
return. “Mary Nichols, Annie Chapman, and Elizabeth Stride all supposedly blackmailed the

royal family because they knew of Prince Albert Victor’s daughter” (Jones). This theory

wouldn’t explain how “Joseph Gorman, Annie Crooks great-grandson, said he made this whole

story up” (Conspiracies). There’s speculation if Annie Crook and Prince Albert had ever met let

alone have a baby together.

Joseph Barnett was not considered a suspect until the 1970’s, but this doesn’t make his

case less plausible. Joseph Barnett lived near Whitechapel and was known to hate prostitution.

“Joseph met Mary Kelly April 8, 1887 and the two decided to room together in an apartment

near Whitechapel” (Ryder). “Barnett will often give Kelly money” (Walker) to keep her off the

streets because he didn’t like that she sold her body. “Barnett worked as a fish porter in the late

1888‘s” (Ryder). This made him experienced at boning and gutting fish, so it would be easy for

him to disembowel a body. This could be considered a crime of passion because it's believed

Barnett was in love with Kelly. “Friends said Barnett referred to Kelly as his wife” (Walker).

Barnett disagreed with Mary’s life as a prostitute so he would give her money, but this only

worked for a short time so he had to find a way to keep her off the street for good. “They had

multiple fights about prostitution which lead Barnett moving out of the apartment they shared”

(Multiplayer). Only ten days later Mary Kelly was found murdered and was the last victim of

Jack the Ripper’s. “The apartment was not broken into and she was murdered in her sleep”

(Multiplayer). Perhaps this was the last murder since Barnett’s lover was now dead. Even though

police at the time believe Barnett wasn’t a suspect, he had the biggest motive out of all the

suspects. The most plausible theory for this crime is Joseph Barnett killed for his love. He tried

to scare Mary off the streets by killing the other prostitutes in the area. Since his feelings for
Mary were unreciprocated he believed if he couldn’t have her than nobody could. The facts of

this case is that Joseph had the key to Mary Kelly‘s apartment as they had lived together

previously which would explain why there was no forced entry. The age and height from

eyewitness testimonies are similar to what Joseph looked like. Mary Kelly‘s murder with the

most gruesome so perhaps the killer had a personal attachment to the victim​.​ The last murder

was Mary Kelly because Joseph saw no need to continue which would explain why Jack the

Ripper never strikes again.

For 100 years, this mystery has continued to fascinating, infuriate, and confuse the

public. Time is the enemy for this case because it happened so long ago when technology wasn’t

like it is today in the modern world. Perhaps in the years to come technology will advance where

we can test more DNA to find Jack the Ripper. Who is Jack the Ripper and what was the purpose

of these killings? That mystery will remain unsolved.

 Works Cited

Conspiracies, Alltime, director. ​Who Was Jack The Ripper?​ ​YouTube​, YouTube, 25 Oct. 2013,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHX49hLYQPs.

History.com Editors. “Jack the Ripper.” ​History.com​, A&E Television Networks, 21 Aug. 2018,
www.history.com/topics/british-history/jack-the-ripper.

Jones, Richard. “JACK THE RIPPER - 1888.” ​Jack the Ripper - History, Victims, Letters,
Suspects.,​ 5 May 2006, www.jack-the-ripper.org/.

Morro, Scott. “Joe Barnett...Jack the Ripper...Not One in the Same.” ​Casebook: Jack the Ripper
- Main,​ 2013, www.casebook.org/dissertations/dst-barn.html.

Multiplayer, BuzzFeed, director. ​The Grisly Murders of Jack The Ripper.​ ​YouTube​, YouTube, 26
Jan. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=qg2nGY1aqlg.

Ryder , Stephen P. “Casebook: Jack the Ripper.” ​Casebook: Jack the Ripper - Main​, 2013,
www.casebook.org/suspects/barnett.html.

Walker, Dr. Frederick. “Joseph Barnett.” ​Casebook: Jack the Ripper - Main,​ 2013,
www.casebook.org/dissertations/barn-art.html.