Profiling Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper (also known as “The Leather Apron” and “The Whitechapel Murderer”) was the terror of London in the year 1888, murdering prostitutes and mutilating their bodies, then disappearing into the night, leaving the victims in dirty alleyways, and thus became the most infamous unidentified serial killer in the history of the world.
The five women that we know were victims of Jack the Ripper are known as the Canonical Five, which are as follows:
Mary Ann Nichols’s body was discovered in Buck’s Row, throat severed by two cuts, lower abdomen partially torn open with a jagged wound, there were several other cuts along the abdomen with the same knife; all the wounds except the throat wound were inflicted after death. Annie Chapman’s body was found near a doorway in the backyard of 29 Hanbury Street, her throat severed, too, with two cuts. Her abdomen, too, was cut, this time fully, and her uterus was removed. Elizabeth Stride’s body was discovered in Dutfield’s Yard off of Berner Street. Her throat was cleanly severed in one slice over an artery on the left side of the neck. Her body was not mutilated. Catherine Eddowes’s body was found in Mitre Square, throat severed and abdomen ripped open. Her left kidney and most of her uterus was removed. Finally, Mary Jane Kelly was found lying on a bed in her home at 13 Miller’s Court off of Dorset Street. Her throat was severed almost down to the spine, her abdomen emptied, and her heart removed.
The source of this profile is the analysis provided by FBI agent John Douglas.
All of the victims were prostitutes with drinking problems, which places them in the “high-risk” category, meaning that their lifestyles made them highly vulnerable to be victims of violence. All of these women were not necessarily considered “attractive,” and other than those few details, the women had nothing in common. It is quite possible that there were a lot more murders that were the work of Jack the Ripper prior to the Canonical Five, as prostitute-murders were not uncommon at the time, especially in the Whitechapel area. He could have been responsible for murders that were not seen by police as connected or the murders could have gone unreported altogether.
The murders themselves had a lot in common. All of the murders took place in the early morning hours on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. All of the murders occurred within a quarter-mile of each other in the Whitechapel area of London. The fact that the murders were in such close proximity of each other suggests that Jack the Ripper lived somewhere close; it has also been established among criminal psychologists that the location of a serial killer’s first murder is somewhere near their home or workplace. Also, the murders were so bloody and brutal that he'd have to find some place to clean up very quickly to avoid detection.
The bodies showed no evidence of rape or torture prior to their deaths, and the victims were killed quickly in what is known as a “blitz attack.” Rings were taken as trophies. All of the wounds that were not the fatal blow were done after the victims had died. The mutilation of the genital organs classifies this as a “lust murder.” The removal of the organs suggests the killer had experience in anatomy, suggesting that his occupation had something to do with that. Also his occupation has to allow him to act out his destructive fantasies, such as a butcher, a mortician’s assistant, or a hospital attendant. The latter has more possibility, as the murders were committed near London Hospital. His employment schedule has him working five days a week, excluding weekends, as all of his murders occurred on weekends. When working, he is neat and orderly.
Jack the Ripper grew up with a domineering mother who drank heavily and entertained many men, and a father who was either weak or absent, depriving him of a strong, adult male role model as a child. The lifestyle of his mother could have driven him to attack prostitutes, as they remind him of his mother, and also because they are easily accessible. With time, Jack exhibited decreased emotional responses, and detached socially, becoming a loner, shy, and submissive for the rest of his life. However, he may be more at ease socially when drunk. As a boy, he would have a history of starting fires or harming small animals for sense of power and control, and also allowed him to learn how to act out his violent and destructive habits while avoiding detection. Because of his mother, as he grew older, he fantasized domination, violence, and cruelty of women. If you looked through his belongings, you would probably find writings or drawings describing the desire to commit violence against women. He carries a knife wherever he goes in case of an attack; this paranoia stems from the need for justification for his poor self-image. For the most part, he looks ordinary. However, he does harbor some minor physical abnormality that he is blowing way out of proportion and is really sensitive about, and he feels he must make up for it. This abnormality could include below or above average height or weight, problems with speech, maybe a scar. Because he only attacks white women, it suggests he is a white male, and based on the need to avoid detection and be charming, between the ages of 28 and 36. He also probably wears fancy clothes when hunting for victims so as to appear that he has money and the prostitutes will be more likely to approach him than him having to approach them. He is not married; if he ever was, it was to an older woman and the marriage didn’t last very long. Most of his relationships are with prostitutes. He could have contracted an STD, further fueling his hatred for women. If he buried any of his women, he would visit the gravesite frequently to relive the murder.
Jack the Ripper would not inject himself into an investigation like other serial killers, and he was probably already questioned by the police, but overlooked. He is not the type to commit suicide after his last murder.
