Detective Abberline was one of the first to put forward the idea that the Whitechapel Murderer might be a woman after the murder of Mary Jane Kelly. One of the witnesses interviewed following Kelly’s murder was adamant that she had seen the murder victim alive and seriously hung over hours before her body was discovered. Mrs. Caroline Maxwell insisted that she had seen her outside the Britannia … [Read more...] about Jill the Ripper: Was Jack the Ripper a Deranged Midwife?
Struggling with Certainty
A Review of "Naming Jack the Ripper" by Russell Edwards My first feeling when I saw the news in September 2014 about Russell Edwards “solving” the Jack the Ripper case was a sick sense of disappointment. Inside I think most of us are averse to the idea of the Ripper case closing. There’s obviously a whole industry and subculture built around the case remaining shrouded in mystique. Also, I had … [Read more...] about Struggling with Certainty
Walter Sickert: Painter of Death
Walter Sickert’s Background Walter Sickert (1860-1942) was born in Germany, but settled in England with his family at age 6. He became one of the most influential British artists of his era, transitioning from the Impressionist to the Modern period and challenging Victorian moral sensibilities. Sickert founded the Camden Town Group in 1911, which supported the work of avant-garde artists. He … [Read more...] about Walter Sickert: Painter of Death
Was H.H. Holmes Jack the Ripper?
Many people, upon hearing that they are the progeny of a mass-murderer, bury this fact and shy away from it as much as possible. Jeff Mudgett, a lawyer and former Commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve, instead takes his direct lineage to one of history’s most notorious killers and runs with it. He also has taken his crusade everywhere from TED to the printed page to prove that his relative was, in … [Read more...] about Was H.H. Holmes Jack the Ripper?
“Jack the Ripper: The Forgotten Victims”
Jack the Ripper: The Forgotten Victims by Paul Begg & John Bennett Yale University Press (March 1, 2014) There are at least four or five victims that we can (mostly) agree were killed by the phantom we know as Jack the Ripper. What, however, of the contested victims like Frances Coles and Emma Smith? Or indirect victims such as Mary Burridge, a Whitechapel woman who died of a stress … [Read more...] about “Jack the Ripper: The Forgotten Victims”
