![]() ![]() ![]() At first, your hopes are raised, everything seems to be silent, everything seems to be still. Propping up on one arm you survey the room looking for some source for the noise, hoping beyond hope that you won’t find one. Disturbed by some subtle shifting sound within the room, just on the edge of hearing. Other Possible Jeff The Killer Influences.Overview and Synopsis of Jeff The Killer at a Glance.We can, quite literally, become spectators to events as they occurred and watch the mood in the streets change from mild unease to outright panic, as the ferocity of the murders increases and it becomes apparent that the police can do nothing to stop the unknown perpetrator. Thanks to newspaper reportage on the case, coupled with the records and musings of philanthropists and reformers who wished to bring the plight of the East End's poor to the attention of the wider Victorian society, we have an unrivalled opportunity to, literally, peer into the very streets where the Whitechapel Murders occurred at the time they were occurring and to observe the impact the killings had on those who dwelt in the area. The Jack the Ripper murders also serve as a reminder of a not too distant past when a whole section of London society fought a daily battle against poverty and starvation.Īs such they provide us with a window through which we can look back on a bygone age when the eyes of the world were focused on the daily lives and struggles of the East Enders who were most affected by the crimes. Indeed, it was believed by police officers at the time, and the majority of modern day experts are unanimously in agreement, that the letter was in fact the work of a journalist. Yet, the likelihood is that the person responsible for the murders was not the same person who sent this letter. Press coverage of this letter led to a veritable avalanche of similar correspondence that resulted in the police investigation almost being brought to melt down. ![]() This was the infamous Dear Boss Letter, that bore the chilling, though accurate, signature - Jack the Ripper. The most famous of all these letters, and the one that gave the murderer the name that has ensured the longevity of his legend, was the missive sent to the Central News Office in late September 1888. The Victorian police faced numerous problems as they raced against time to catch the killer before he could kill again.Ī major one was the labyrinth-like layout of the area where the murders were occurring, made up as it was of lots of tiny passageways and alleyways, few of which were lit by night.Īnd, of course, the detectives hunting the killer were hampered by the fact that criminology and forensics were very much in their infancy.Īnother intriguing aspect of the case is the number of letters that were sent to the authorities that either purported to come from the killer or else offered suggestions on how the perpetrator of the atrocities might be brought to justice. We can also ask - and hopefully answer - the question why didn't the police catch Jack the Ripper? We can analyze the methods that the police used to try and track the killer and compare them with the methods that the police would use today. As a result of official reports and the efforts of journalists to keep abreast of the progress (or, perhaps, more accurately, lack of progress) that the police investigation was making, we are able watch that investigation unfolding. The Whitechapel murders were the focus of a huge criminal investigation that saw the Victorian police pit their wits against a lone assassin who was perpetrating his crimes in one of 19th century London's most densely populated and crime ridden quarters. ![]()
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