The case of Jack the Ripper is one of the oldest unsolved murder cases recorded in England, and involves one of the most infamous serial killers still known in the present day. The murders happened between August and November of 1888, and a total of five women were found seriously injured on the streets of London, with all five women being sex workers.
The first victim of Jack the Ripper was a middle-aged sex worker named Mary Ahn Nichols. She was found dead on the streets with big scars on her throats and with her internal organs badly damaged. This first incident sparked public outrage and terror among people due to its grotesque nature, and the fact that the police weren’t able to identify the killer made people fear the killer even more. The second victim was found not soon after, and 8 days after the first victim was killed, another middle aged sex worker woman named Annie Chapman was found dead in the alley behind Hanbury Street. She suffered similar injuries with Mary, with her throat greatly scarred and her internal organs missing or damaged. Even until then, the police weren’t able to identify the murderer, but on September 28th the Central News Agency received a letter from a person that claimed to be the murderer of the two people and also threatened that he will commit more murders. The letter was signed as “Jack the Ripper” which later the public referred to him by the same name.
The third and fourth murder happened on the same day, two days after the letter was sent. The body of Elizabeth Stride’s was found on Berner Street at around 1:00 am, and shortly after, the body of Catherine Eddowes was found in a nearby alley. Both Elizabeth and Catherine had similar injuries as the rest of the victims, with their bodies severely mutilated, creating a gnarly scene. The very last murder involved the death of a twenty-five-year-old woman named Mary Jane Kelly. Mary’s case was one of the most infamous cases among others due to its exceptionally gruesome death committed by the killer.
Despite many efforts from the police to identify the killer, the killer isn’t identified until this day. However, there are several suspects that were suspected to be the killer back then. The first suspect was Aaron Kosminski. He was a Polish Jewish immigrant that lived in Whitechapel, and was known for his animosity towards women, especially prostitutes. It was also found that he was sent to the asylum months after the last murder, suggesting that the murder was stopped due to his hospitalization. Another suspect of Jack the Ripper was Micheal Ostrog. He was a Russian born thief who had a mental illness history and reported to have homicidal tendencies that later hospitalized him.
Even in the present day, people are trying to solve the mystery of Jack the Ripper with modern technology. The case still remains unsolved, making it one of the oldest and famous cold cases in history.
