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research paper on jack the ripper
jack the ripper evidence essay.
jack the ripper evidence essay.
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The East End of Whitechapel, London, England will forever be frozen in history nation wide due to the horrifying murders and mutilations of five British prostitutes. The homicides committed by self proclaimed ‘Jack the Ripper’ have remained unsolved since the slaughter began in August 1888. The true identity of the killer has yet to be exposed. This fact creates much controversy for the people of England. During the past 126 years the search has been relentless, but the lack of evidence has led criminologists to the same dead end street.
Recently, the ‘Ripper Industry’ has developed into an empire
“It is likely that more has been written on this case than any other sample of armature historiography (the true identity of Shakespeare and the Kennedy assassinations possibly excepted),” states William D. Rubinstein, author of novels author of ‘The Hunt for Jack the Ripper.’ There have been many novels, films, and television programs all aimed exclusively on the 100-year old controversy, the true identity of the world’s first serial killer in history.
Since 1888 hundreds of candidates have been proposed as Jack the Ripper.
Accusations ranging from Oxford Scholars to common chimney sweeps, complete lunatics to a member of the Royal family. For years, no one has been granted the blame, and Whitechapel has remained haunted by a killer that no one ever saw.
Whitechapel is located one mile from the Bank of London.
The town was infamous for its relation to urban poverty, and the city’s sheer lack of cleanliness. The East End was commonly referred to as “The Abyss” by middle-class Londoners. As written in Charles Booth...
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"Jack the Ripper." Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica, 18 Oct. 2010. Web. 18 Oct. 2010. .
"Mary Ann Nichols." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 21 Feb. 2011. .
"Saucy Jack." CYB3RCRIM3. Web. 01 Nov. 2010. .
"The"From Hell" Jack the Ripper Letter." Jack the Ripper - History, Victims, Letters, Suspects. Web. 18 Oct. 2010.
Carrington, Hereward. "Casebook: Jack the Ripper - The Inside Story of Jack the Ripper." Casebook: Jack the Ripper - Main. Web. 27 Sept. 2010. .
File:FromHellLetter.jpg." Wikimedia Commons. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. .
On June 19th of 1990, Robert Baltovich’s girlfriend Elizabeth Bain went missing. Elizabeth told her family that she was going to check the tennis schedules at her school, the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus. She never returned, but her car was eventually recovered. It was found with blood on the backseat, with forensic tests showing that it was Elizabeth’s. With no clear evidence, the “solving” of the case was completely based on eyewitness testimonies, which eventually had Robert arrested for the murder of his girlfriend.
Porter, Edwin H. The Fall River Tragedy: A History of the Borden Murders. Portmand, Maine: King Phillip Publishing, 1985.
The case of Joseph Vacher was as well-known, more deadly, and even compared to, the murders committed by “Jack the Ripper” so much so that Vacher even screamed that he was “Joseph the Ripper”. This murder, whose identity was unknown at the time, left a trail of terror where ever he went, his capture became a career making opportunity for the investigating magistrates. After Vacher was captured a new branch of criminal interrogation was used to try to incriminate him in the murders that it was believed he had done. The major breakthrough in criminology came in the form of the methods that lead to his capture and identification.
Critics pose interesting views concerning the identity and significance of the mysterious third murderer. Henry Irving provides an adamant argument as to how the Attendant could be the third murderer. Irving uses multiple cases in the story where, when interpreted a certain way, one can see how the Attendant is a prime suspect. This man's knowledge of and comfort with the structure and surroundings of the castle shows that he would be a valuable asset to the murderers.
Citizens of Holcomb were shocked and stricken with panic. Schools closed the next day, so kid could attend the funeral. Gossip circulated the town, rumors of a hired killer. This murder was a turning point for the town of Holcomb, this crime threatened the towns record of a peaceful
2. Jacobus, Lee A. A World of Ideas: "Letter from Birmingham Jail." Boston: Bedford Books,
Close your eyes and sit back in your recliner. Let the cool breeze refresh you as you relax in your hardwood floored den and sip your English tea. Now picture London. What kind of an image comes to mind? Perhaps the sophisticated languages of its inhabitants or just the aura of properness that encompasses typical visions of the great city of London. I am not writing to deny the eloquence of London, I am instead writing to challenge the notion of sophistication that many of us hold true to London. Could a city of such brilliance and royalty ever fester with the day to day problems that we witness daily in our own country? I argue, yes.
Pemment, Jack . "What Would We Find Wrong in the Brain of a Serial Killer?."
The town of Halifax in West Yorkshire had never experienced such a manhunt in it’s history (Glover 3). During a short, but long lasting in feeling, time period in late November through early December in the year 1938, the town of Halifax underwent a period of mass hysteria. A mysterious “slasher” hid in the shadows and lunged out with a razor blade at people who passed by (Halifax Slasher).
8.) Edwin H. Porter. The Fall River Tragedy: A History of the Borden Murders. Fall
In City of Dreadful Delight, Judith Walkowitz effortlessly weaves tales of sexual danger and more significantly, stories of the overt tension between the classes, during the months when Jack the Ripper, the serial murderer who brutally killed five women, all of them prostitutes, terrorized the city. The book tells the story of western male chauvinism that was prevalent in Victorian London not from the point of view not of the gazer, but rather of the object. Walkowitz argues that the press coverage of the murders served to construct a discourse of heterosexuality in which women were seen as passive victims and sexuality was associated with male violence. Much of City of Dreadful Delight explores the cultural construction and reconstruction of class and sexuality that preceded the Ripper murders. Walkowitz successfully investigates the discourses that took place after the fact and prior social frameworks that made the Ripper-inspired male violence and female passivity model possible and popular.
Buckman, Adam. “Following Footsteps of a Killer.” New York Post (Nov. 2002): 124: Proquest. Web. 28 Feb. 2014
Berns, Walter. "Getting Away With Murder." Commentary 97.4 (1994): 25. MAS Ultra - School Edition. Web. 14
In 1888 through 1991 there were several murders on the eastside of London where the Whitechapel section was located. All of the women murdered at the Whitechapel were prostitutes. Being the first serial murder that nobody has captured and nobody knew his name but everybody knew him by his nickname as “Jack The Ripper.”
The dark, ominous alleyways of London’s East End divulge a very gruesome history of women “ripped up like [pigs] in a market” (Grose). The area, once littered with the torn up remains of brutally murdered prostitutes, looms over the city as symbol for the story of one of the most notorious serial killers: Jack the Ripper. The case enthralls and captivates people’s minds even today, over 100 years later (BBC). This begs the question of how serial killers become part of history, an answer found in extensive media coverage. Time Magazine describes the phenomena Jack the Ripper left behind as a “rich legacy” and a “multi-million dollar industry,” eerily analogous to today’s coverage of serial killings (Grose). Jack the Ripper’s case provides an early example of the issues that arose with the advent of the serial killer—issues that still exist. The press has a unique role to play in serial killer investigations, but the line between helping and hurting society is often blurred. While the press has a responsibility to inform society of such serial killings in order to keep them informed and safe, publishing killer communiqués crosses ethical boundaries concerning the investigations and society.