Jack the Ripper is the infamous, unidentified serial killer who terrorized London’s Whitechapel district in 1888. Known for targeting vulnerable women—mostly sex workers living in poverty—the Ripper’s brutal killings have fascinated and horrified the public for over a century.
The killer became notorious for slashing his victims’ throats and mutilating their bodies, often removing internal organs. This led to speculation that he may have had some medical or anatomical knowledge. The extreme violence and mysterious nature of the crimes sparked a media frenzy, and rumors swirled through the streets of London.
The name “Jack the Ripper” first appeared in the now-infamous “Dear Boss” letter, sent to a news agency by someone claiming responsibility for the murders. Though likely a hoax—possibly created by journalists to sell papers—the name stuck. Another disturbing letter, known as the “From Hell” letter, arrived with half of a preserved kidney, supposedly taken from one of the victims, further fueling public panic.
Five victims are most commonly associated with Jack the Ripper, known as the “canonical five”:
- Mary Ann Nichols (Aug 31)
- Annie Chapman (Sep 8)
- Elizabeth Stride (Sep 30)
- Catherine Eddowes (Sep 30)
- Mary Jane Kelly (Nov 9)
Despite a massive police investigation and widespread speculation, the Ripper was never caught. Over 130 years later, the killer’s identity remains a mystery. Suspects have included doctors, butchers, mental health patients, and even royalty—but none have been definitively proven guilty.
The case of Jack the Ripper has since become part of modern mythology, blending history, conspiracy theories, and horror. It continues to be studied by criminologists, historians, and amateur sleuths, cementing its place as one of the most chilling unsolved crimes in history.
During the late 1880s, a surge of violent attacks against women in London’s East End created uncertainty about how many victims could be attributed to the same killer. The Metropolitan Police investigated eleven separate murders between April 3, 1888, and February 13, 1891—collectively known as the Whitechapel murders.
While not all the killings are believed to be connected, five victims—Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly—are commonly referred to as the “canonical five” and are widely believed to be the work of Jack the Ripper.
The Ripper’s signature modus operandi included deep throat slashes, extensive abdominal and genital mutilation, organ removal, and in some cases, facial disfigurement. However, the first two Whitechapel murders—those of Emma Elizabeth Smith and Martha Tabram—are generally not included in this group.
- Emma Smith was attacked on April 3, 1888, and died the next day from injuries sustained in a gang-related sexual assault. She had been beaten and violated with a blunt object, but she claimed to have been attacked by multiple men, not a lone killer. Most experts believe her case is unrelated to the Ripper.
- Martha Tabram was murdered on August 7, 1888, suffering 39 stab wounds to her upper body and abdomen, including injuries to her breasts and genitals. Despite the brutality of the attack and its proximity in time and location to later Ripper murders, she lacked the throat slashing and abdominal mutilation that became the Ripper’s hallmark. This has led many experts to exclude her from the canonical list, though some still consider her a possible early victim.
The lack of clear motive, the savagery of the attacks, and the evolving pattern of wounds continue to fuel debate among historians and criminologists over which of the Whitechapel murders can be definitively attributed to Jack the Ripper.
The Canonical Five Victims of Jack the Ripper
The “canonical five” victims of Jack the Ripper—Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly—were all murdered between August and November 1888 in Whitechapel, London. These murders are believed to have been committed by the same person due to similarities in the method and level of brutality.
Mary Ann Nichols
- Date of death: August 31, 1888
- Location: Buck’s Row (now Durward Street), Whitechapel
- Nichols was found around 3:40 a.m. Her throat had been deeply slashed, nearly to the vertebrae. She had multiple abdominal wounds and two stabs to the genitals. Her intestines protruded from a deep abdominal cut, with other downward-thrusting wounds across the abdomen.
Annie Chapman
- Date of death: September 8, 1888
- Location: Backyard of 29 Hanbury Street, Spitalfields
- Her throat was cut similarly to Nichols’s. Her abdomen was sliced open, with organs placed around her body—intestines over her right shoulder, and parts of her uterus, bladder, and vagina removed. Eyewitness Elizabeth Long claimed to have seen her with a man shortly before her death.
Elizabeth Stride
- Date of death: September 30, 1888
- Location: Dutfield’s Yard, off Berner Street
- Stride’s throat had been cut with a single incision, severing her left carotid artery and trachea. There were no other mutilations, leading to speculation that the killer may have been interrupted. Witnesses gave conflicting descriptions of a man seen with her that night.
Catherine Eddowes
- Date of death: September 30, 1888 (same night as Stride)
- Location: Mitre Square, City of London
- Her throat was cut, and her abdomen ripped open. Intestines were placed over her shoulder, and organs such as her kidney and uterus were removed. Her face was severely mutilated, with slashes to the nose, cheeks, and eyelids. This killing was part of what became known as the “double event.”
A bloodied section of her apron was found in Goulston Street, under a graffito that read:
“The Juwes are The men That Will not be Blamed for nothing.”
Fearing anti-Semitic backlash, Police Commissioner Charles Warren ordered it washed away before daylight.
Mary Jane Kelly
- Date of death: November 9, 1888
- Location: 13 Miller’s Court, Spitalfields
- Found in her own bed, Kelly’s body was the most extensively mutilated. Her face was hacked beyond recognition, her throat cut to the spine, and her abdomen emptied of organs. Her heart was missing. Body parts were arranged around the bed and on a bedside table. A fire had recently burned in the fireplace, likely used for light during the mutilation.
Patterns and Theories
All five murders occurred on weekends or close to month’s end, typically in the early morning hours. The mutilations escalated in severity, with Stride’s case being the exception, possibly due to interruption.
Contemporaneous police reports and later studies tied these five murders together. In 1894, Assistant Chief Constable Sir Melville Macnaghten wrote that the Whitechapel murderer had “5 victims—& 5 victims only.” Similarly, police surgeon Dr. Thomas Bond connected them in a letter to CID chief Robert Anderson.
However, some experts question whether all five were killed by the same person. Some argue only three—Nichols, Chapman, and Eddowes—can be definitively linked. Others suggest a wider scope, including earlier victims like Martha Tabram. Even at the time, some professionals believed that copycat killers might have emulated the Ripper’s crimes.
