Historian claims to ID Jack the Ripper

[TwoGuyswithaHat]

Here

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - An eminent South African historian believes he has stumbled on the identity of Jack the Ripper.

Charles van Onselen said at first he wasn't sure he wanted to publicize the conclusions he drew when he noticed parallels in the century-old, unsolved Ripper case and the background of Joseph Silver, who terrorized women as "King of the Pimps" in Johannesburg.

While the book has been well-received, reaction from "Ripperologists" has been skeptical as van Onselen makes his case on circumstantial evidence.

To his doubters the author said: "How many coincidences do you want to mount up in your mind simultaneously until you start saying this is a real possibility?"

I'm far from a Ripperologist, but this is a new name to me.

[Eddylizard]

I think by now, everyone who was alive and in London at the time has been fingered by somebody. So one of them is right.

Let's face it, we're never going to find out are we?

[TwoGuyswithaHat]

Originally Posted by Eddylizard

Let's face it, we're never going to find out are we?

We've no hope now that John De Lorean died.

[Canuckistan]

Originally Posted by Eddylizard

I think by now, everyone who was alive and in London at the time has been fingered by somebody.

Is this TMI?

[Ali Infree]

Originally Posted by Canuckistan

Is this TMI?

Only if true.

[snopes]

The only clue to the possible sinister identity of the body lying six feet under is a headstone carrying the grainy image of a caped figure raising a dagger.

But it is in this Australian plot, with the epitaph merely reading 'Bessie, died 25th June 1957 and her husband', that some historians believe the body of Jack the Ripper lies.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worl...Australia.html

[Andrew of Ware]

Originally Posted by snopes

The only clue to the possible sinister identity of the body lying six feet under is a headstone carrying the grainy image of a caped figure raising a dagger.

But it is in this Australian plot, with the epitaph merely reading 'Bessie, died 25th June 1957 and her husband', that some historians believe the body of Jack the Ripper lies.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worl...Australia.html

According to the Daily Mail article the suspect was named Porriott, surely a mis-spelling of Poirot - and according to the picture in the article the murderer was Sherlock Holmes!

[Lainie]

While the book has been well-received, reaction from "Ripperologists" has been skeptical as van Onselen makes his case on circumstantial evidence.

What other sort of evidence do they expect at this point? Eyewitness testimony? Hairs and fibers?

ETA:

according to the picture in the article the murderer was Sherlock Holmes!

No, it's Dr. Watson wearing Holmes' hat!

Fascinating. I visit the Toowong Cemetery every so often as an archaeological exercise. Next time, I am going to look for that grave.
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/s...013016,00.html
However, I belong to the school of Ripper skeptics:
- his identity will never be revealed,
- he was not one of the known suspects,
- he was probably they.

Oops, forgot:

Originally Posted by snopes

But it is in this Australian plot, with the epitaph merely reading 'Bessie, died 25th June 1957 and her husband', that some historians believe the body of Jack the Ripper lies.

[Ali Infree]

However, I belong to the school of Ripper skeptics:
- his identity will never be revealed,
- he was not one of the known suspects,
- he was probably they.

So, was the they the Masons, then? As conspiracy theories go, I find myself more tolerant of Ripperologists, even when very wrong. Probably for the above reasons.

Ali "twas the Prince" Infree

or one of his posse

[robbiev]

Originally Posted by peneshaw

he was probably they.

They as in more than one person was killing people, or they as in an organized group (such as the Masons)?

[Andrew of Ware]

I am not an expert on Jack the Ripper, but I believe that although there are only five 'official' murders in the Jack the Ripper canon, there were several other murders in Whitechapel - or nearby - that some have attributed to him. Some articles I have read attribute this to copy-cat murderers. So it could well be that 'he' was a 'they' (But as I said, I am not an expert).

"They": Some researchers think that the murders were the work of more than one killer but became connected in the public's and police's mind by the Ripper letters. I wasn't talking about any conspiracy.

ETA: Edited to remove an irrelevant comparison.

[Margarita]

One of the "best" (at least most comprehensive) amateur Ripperologist site can be found here:

http://www.casebook.org/

There is a whole page listing various suspects and "votes" as to who is the most likely killer.
(Lewis Carroll wound up on the list, along with one or two females as well.)
And it includes lists of all of the known victims as well as the possible "Copycats" taht were referred to earlier.
Either way, it's a fascinating, albeit dark, read.

My husband always gives me a hard time about my fascination with the subject.
Ironically enough, he has seen the movie "From Hell" while I have not.
And, if you want a unique (fictional) take on the case, see if you can't find a copy of Anno Dracula by Kim Newman. It's a crossover with Dracula and Jack...as wella s several other historical and fictional characters.

[mouse goddess]

Read "From Hell" first, then see the movie...the movie is entertaining, but the book is better.
The movie combines a couple of characters to shorten it down a bit.

[RivkahChaya]

OK, I confess that the subject fascinates me. Even though I thought Patricia Cornwell's theory was stupid, I still enjoyed her book. Same for Stephen Knight's book, and Donald Rumbelow's. I like Paul Begg's books best, though, because he runs downs all the facts while admitting the solution is probably unknowable. It was one of these researchers, IIRC, who said (I'm paraphrasing), that on judgment day, we'll ask Jack the Ripper to step forward, and some fellow will, and we'll all say "Who?"

The fact that this Australian theory is more promising than many is true, but isn't saying much, since Lewis Carroll, Queen Victoria, and the detective in charge of the investigation have all been accused.

Anyway **SPOILER ALERT** the only good thing I can say about the movie From Hell is that is recognizes the fact that the Mary Jane Kelly (the "last" victim) identification is at least questionable since her face was gone, so it could have been the woman she was sharing her room with. Of course, if the victim wasn't Kelly, then more questions come up, such as where a quite well-known woman (at least to the people in the area) who was broke at the time, managed to disappear pretty thoroughly.

[firefighter_raven]

I think there was even a theory the linked the Black Dahlia case to the Ripper, but short of inventing a time machine there will never be any way to conclusively prove who the Ripper really was.

[Altered Statesman]

JACK the Ripper's identity has remained a mystery but if a Melbourne academic is right, the murderer was a Windsor resident.

Dr Geoff Crawford, an academic from Templestowe, became interested in the murderer’s tale more than a decade ago and started researching the case for a book, the Manningham Leader reports.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sto...70-661,00.html

and more here

http://manningham-leader.whereilive....dle-of-ripper/

[ARubberChickenWithAPulley]

Another year, another Ripper suspect.

So basically, the best they have on this guy is that he was a convicted murderer and was alive around the same time as Jack the Ripper. Unfortunately, that probably applies to thousands of people.

Their idea to try and DNA test their suspect against a Ripper letter is sketchy as well, since most Ripper letters are quite likely hoaxes. As far as I can tell, they could only get mitochondrial DNA anyway, if Patricia Cornwell's tests are any indication.

I know a lot of the aura around Jack the Ripper is the mystery, and it's always fun to come up with new suspects, but it seems quite likely that the real Jack the Ripper was simply one of the hundreds of thousands of anonymous poor people living in Whitechapel at the time. I know it's not a sexy theory but...

[snopes]

An historian has claimed to have discovered the real identity of Jack the Ripper, and believes the notorious Whitechapel murderer was also responsible for killing two more women.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/news...uncovered.html