Jack the Ripper
Between August and November 1888, five prostitutes turned up dead on the streets of London’s Whitechapel neighborhood. All were found within a mile of one another—two on the same night—and all had their throats slashed from left to right. The lead investigators on the case suspected the killer was left-handed. All but one had been gutted with precision, leading investigators to suspect the killer might have been trained as a butcher or surgeon.The killer managed to commit these crimes and escape undetected, which suggested he was familiar with the rhythms of the neighborhood. The murderer, whom the press referred to as Jack the Ripper, was never identified. Perhaps Jack the Ripper died before he was able to carry out any additional murders. Or maybe his killings evolved over time, as other murders occurred in Whitechapel over the next three years bore some similarities to Jack’s work.
In either case, Jack the Ripper is now long gone, and it appears he has taken his identity with him to the grave. Of course, that doesn’t stop us from speculating as to who he might have been. At one time, there were speculations that someone from the royal family could have been Jack the Ripper. In February 2025, a study based on DNA evidence seemed to have identified Jack the Ripper, pointing to a Polish barber. But the evidence isn’t conclusive, so it seems the mystery of this famous cold case will go unsolved.
*** Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesSketches of the police investigation into the 1888 Jack the Ripper murders in Whitechapel, London.
- Location
- Whitechapel, London
