On this episode of BuzzFeed Unsolved, Ryan and Shane investigate the Jack the Ripper case, from the victims to the suspects. Here are 15 of the many details they discussed.
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1. On Aug. 31, 1888, the body of Mary Ann Nichols was found by two men. She was the first victim, having suffered a severe throat slash.
2. On Sept. 8, 1888, Annie Chapman was found by an elderly man. Her throat had been cut, and the murderer had taken her womb.
3. On Sept. 27, 1888, the apparent killer sent a letter to police. It's known as the "Dear Boss Letter.”
4. The letter above was signed by “Jack the Ripper,” and that moniker stuck with the public from that point on.
5. On Sept. 30, 1888, the body of Elizabeth Stride was found with a slashed throat. It appeared to have been done hastily, leading some to believe it might not have been done by Jack the Ripper.
6. That same night, about 45 minutes after Stride was discovered, another body was found 10–15 minutes away. It was Catherine Eddowes.
7. Nov. 9, 1888, Mary Kelly’s body was found by her landlord’s assistant. This was the most gruesome of the murders, as her body was disemboweled and “virtually skinned down.”
8. One of the suspects was Montague John Druitt. Montague may’ve lived with his cousin, who was practicing medicine near where the murders occurred.
9. The second suspect was Michael Ostrog, who had previously been in an asylum for homicidal tendencies.
10. The third suspect was Aaron Kosminski, a resident of the area who spent some time in asylums after the murders.
11. There's also the “Jill the Ripper” theory. The idea is that a woman was the killer, but police had been searching for a man, so it would’ve been easy for a woman to slip by without suspicion.
12. The fifth suspect is Prince Albert Victor Christian Edward. The theory that he was the murderer is also known as the "Royal Conspiracy.”
13. There’s a sixth suspect named Walter Sickert, a painter who was known for being obsessed with the Ripper.
14. The seventh suspect is Joseph Barnett, who lived with Mary Kelly, the final Ripper victim. Barnett worked as a fish porter and it’s believed that he was in love with Kelly.
15. The eighth and final suspect is James Maybrick, who died one year after the murders.
This case still remains a mysterious one.
