Saucy Jack

A month from now will mark 130 years since Jack the Ripper started his reign of terror in Whitechapel, London.

Much has been written and speculated about the identity of the killer which his still unknown. The police obviously didn't have the forensic methods available that we have today, and even so, murderers go undetected all the time. So, it's no wonder that the police in 1888 had a hard time finding the Ripper. This of course didn't stop the press and the citizens from decrying the police as incompetent.

But let's look closer at that, shall we?

Whitechapel was established as a district in 1855 and was 357 acres, or 1.44 km² in size. That may not sound that big, but the population in the 1891 census counted 74.420 people living at a density of 208 people per 0.004 square kilometers, and that's the registered population. A population that had recently swelled enormously with new immigrants, mostly Irish and Jewish. It's worth noting that the area also held a large number of illegal immigrants.

Added to this comes the fact that Whitechapel was a slum, badly built up, very poorly lit, and absolutely labyrinthine. Then we have the infamous smog and other industrial pollutants and we get a recipe for a policeman’s nightmare. On to this stage now steps the terrifying Ripper, who by the way wasn't the only serial killer in Victorian England, just the most famous and scary.

So the police has to find a killer in a labyrinth packed to the rafters with a population that's hostile to the police at the best of times, and is now almost hysterical with fear? Yeah, I wouldn't want that job either.

In case you don't know all that much about the case, here's a quick run down.

Friday, August 31, 1888. Mary Ann Nichols found at 3.40 am in Buck's Row.

Saturday, September 8, 1888. Annie Chapman found in the yard of 29 Hanbury Street.

Sunday, September 30, 1888. Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes found at Dutfield's Yard, Berner Street and Mitre Square respectively. Both discovered early in the morning.

Friday, November 9, 1888. Mary Kelly found in her bed at 10.45 am in 13 Miller's Court.

These are the canonical five, though there may have been more, considering how violent the area was. I'm not going to go into the macabre details of their deaths, except to say all had their throats cut, and the fact that Stride wasn't brutally mutilated, and that Kelly was pretty much torn apart. In all cases but Stride, there were organs missing.

This will have to do for part one. Join me next time for a look at the suspects, but until then, have a nice and safe week!