Crime, Conspiracy, Cults and Murder - Ep. 4 | Jack The Ripper Unmasked

Episode Date: October 20, 2024

Jack The Ripper, one of history’s most notorious killers, terrorized London in 1888. Despite widespread fear and countless investigations, his identity was never discovered. In this episode, we explore the chilling mystery that still haunts the streets of London today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Courts! Serial... What was it? Corts! What was that? Crime, conspiracy, courts, serial killers, and murder. All things that I love to consume, and I know you do too, you sick-minded, beautiful, intellectual-headed freak. And today, we are doing just that, yes. J. Make Smok come out of mouth. We are going to be talking about one of the most infamous, uncought, serial killers of all time.

I don't know why I'm dipping into Captain Jack Sparrow when I look like Sherlock Holmes. I need to... Okay, Sherlock Holmes. I need to get in it. Also, my hat works both ways, which is crazy. So people can't talk behind my back without me knowing, you know? You know? Life hack. Where was I?

We're talking about Jack the Ripper and unraveling the mystery. So let's hop into our carriages, slap our horse on the ass. Go mock 0.05 down the alleyway. yell, whoa, whoa, horsey, and deep dive through the carriage over the horse into this serial killer together. In phenomena in Victoria, London, you wake up every morning in a cramped and dirty room that you share with several other people. You can barely breathe in the stale and smoky air, and you cough from the dust and soot that cover everything. You dress in your ragged and worn clothes and head out to the noisy, chaotic streets. You dodge the carts and carriages that rattled on the cobblestones and the horses that leave their droppings behind.

You smell the stench of rotting garbage, sewage and animal carcasses that pile up on the sidewalks and gutters. You hear the cries of beggars, hawkers and children and the occasional church bells that tolls in the distance. You walk for miles to reach your workplace where you will spend the next 12 hours or more, toiling and harsh and dangerous conditions for pittance. You have no hope in escaping this miserable and hopeless life. And after a grueling day at work, you have little energy or more left to enjoy yourself. But sometimes you crave the relief of the misery and monotony of your life. You might head to the pub where you could drink a pint of ale, play a game of cards, or listen to a song or a story.

You might also go to the music hall where you could watch a variety of acts, from singers to dancers to comedians and magicians. You might even splurge on a ticket to a cheap theatre, where you can see the melodrama, or pantomize, pantomime or a burlesque show. The city's brothels may offer you relief with prostitution being a line of work that employed anywhere from 8,000 to 80,000 women. And if you thought life during the day was miserable when the sun had set, an entirely new

host of miseries would make themselves known. As night falls, the city changes. A thick fog descends enveloping the streets in an eerie and gloomy atmosphere. You could barely see a few feet ahead of you. Dark and occluded, the shadowed corners of London alleyways. provided ample hiding opportunity for cities and many, many dangers. And with many people poor and desperate at this time, it was hard to survive at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder,

leading many to turn to crime just to get by. Nowhere was this more prevalent than London's East End, in overcrowded and incredibly poor area where crime and poverty were all too common. And many people resorted to stealing from shops, markets, houses, or even from other people in the streets. Pickpockets, shoplifters, burglarers, and highwaymen were all types of these who preyed on the unsuspecting or the wealthy.

Some thieves worked alone, while others were part of organized gains or networks, and theft was often driven by poverty, addiction, and hunger. And violence was frequent as well. When encounters spawned from desperation, would turn bloody. As a commoner with close to nothing tries to cheat and steal from the neighbour, who has just as little, if not less. And while some violence stemmed from necessity, there were also those criminals hiding in the dense, thick fog,

with much more sinister motivations. And right as it seemed that life was at its worst, prostitutes would begin to turn up dead, mutilated with organs missing, only to be found in dark, filthy alleyways, where the smell of their bodies would mix with rotting garbage and horse droppings. And this would be the work of the infamous Jack the Ripper. I'll stop with the British accent. I hope, if you're still here, that's incredible. I know that whole intro was me. It started out really bad.

I think really bad and then I think it got a little bit better. My British, my lovely Londoners and other British people, let me know how terrible my accent was. You can hurt my feelings. It's fine. Also, I felt like I'm just going to stay in this outfit because I think this hat is kind of fire and this bow ties as well. I can't actually read out of these glasses though, so I'm going to ex-nay those.

Maybe I'll just use this, maybe. Anyway, let's get in to Jack the Ripper. So first, we're going to start with the first victim that we know of, which is Mary Ann Nichols. also known as Polly Nichols. And like I said, she was the first of the canonical five of Jack the Ripper. She was born in 1845 in London and married a printer's machinist named William Nichols in 1864. They would have five children, but then they would eventually separate due to marital issues in 1880.

And after their separation, Marianne lived a very hard and unstable life, moving between workhouses, public lodgings, her father's house, and at the homes of various lovers, as you do. She also struggled with alcoholism, which made her resort to working in prostitution to earn money. So on the night of August 31, 1888, Mary Ann Nichols would leave her lodging house without enough money for a bed, or to pay for her stay. She said she would soon get the money by showing off her new bonnet. And if you don't know what a bonnet is, this is what a bonnet is. And she would last be seen alive by her roommate at around 2.30 a.m., walking along Whitechapel Road. Mary Ann Nichols probably did not see or hear her killer approaching, as he would attack her from behind and cut her throat very quickly.

She may have felt some sudden pain before losing consciousness and dying. And about an hour later, her body would be found on Buck's Row, which was a dark and deserted street, and she would be discovered by a gentleman named Charles Allen Lickman. Her throat would be cut, like we said before, but also her abdomen would be completely ripped open. And the discovery of this murder obviously struck fear into the hearts and souls of the London's east side, though not as unfortunate as Marianne Nichols. But the whole of London would be absolutely shaken by this murder, though this would hardly be the end of Jack the Ripper's reign of terror.

Annie Chapman had been married to a man named John Chapman, and together they would have three children, Emily, Annie, and John, each of them naming a child after themselves. And their eldest, Emily would unfortunately pass from meningitis when she was only 12 years old in 1882. And Annie and John would unfortunately separate about two to three years after Emily had passed away. In either 1884 or 1885, John would send Annie about 10 shillings a week, which she would live off of, which sounds crazy to me. But she would also live off her meager earnings from selling flowers as well and her crochet work. But on Christmas Day in 1886, however, John would unfortunately pass away.

And Annie would turn to prostitution for work, with no more allowance coming from her husband anymore. So on the night of September 8th, 1888, Annie Chapman, similar to Mary Ann Nichols, would leave her lodging not able to pay for the night and she would go to work on the streets. And Annie would last be seen alive by her friend at 1.35 a.m. walking along Brushfield Street. And about only an hour later, her body would be found in the backyard of 29 Hanbury Street, which was a lodging house. And Annie Chapman would be killed in the same way that Mary Ann Nichols was killed. with her throat cut and her abdomen completely ripped open. But she would actually be in an even worst state than Marianne Nichols. Her insides had actually been pulled out of her body cavity,

and they would be placed over her shoulder. Still all connected, by the way. It's saying it, reading about it and then saying it out loud. It just makes me cringe a lot. Oh, God. Poor, poor woman. This man was a fucking monster. She would also be missing her uterus, and her bladder, and she'd also be missing her lady parts as well.

Like, there's a reason they call them Jack the Ripper. Like, I don't, I don't understand. And a young carpenter who had lived in the neighboring 27 Hanbury Street had reported hearing a woman scream, No! Before hearing something fall against a fence, connecting to the yards of 27 and 29 Hanbury Street. And you just didn't go and check it out.

You just, is that, is that normal? Maybe that was normal, I guess. I don't know. There's probably much of stuff happening on the street. I would probably check it out. Call the cops. I guess, did they even have phones? Oh my God, one more phones invented.

I don't know. I don't know. I'm just, I'm upset. So any would be Jack the Ripper's second victim that we know of. Which brings us to his third victim. Elizabeth Stride. Elizabeth Stride, also known as Long Liz, was the third victim of Jack the Ripper. She was born in Sweden, actually, and moved to England in 1866 at the age of 23.

The year before, she had given birth to a stillborn daughter. following a pregnancy that resulted in her work in prostitution. And she would continue her work as a lady of the night in England. Though she would occasionally clean houses and later marry a man named John Stride, with whom she would actually open a coffee shop with. But their marriage would eventually deteriorate, however, and they would separate with John selling the coffee shop due to financial issues, which was all too prevalent at the time.

If you can't see a pattern that's happening with separations and then money problems, it was just like an ongoing problem with more. most of the population, it seems, especially people that were more hard on financial times. So on September 29th, 1888, Elizabeth was paid six pence to clean two rooms at her lodgehouse on 32 Flower and Dean Street. And this was a notorious slum with little to no sanitation, with crime being a very, very frequent occurrence, dubbed by some the worst street in London. But this would not be the worst street for Elizabeth Stride, as that would be reserved for Burner Street. We're late that night or early in the morning on September 30th, 1888, Elizabeth would become the third victim of Jack the Ripper.

So on Burner Street, Elizabeth's body would be discovered in the yard connected by the alley seen under the cartwheel in between the buildings. Her body would be discovered around 1 o'clock in the morning, similar to the other bodies. This guy's on a tight schedule. I don't know why. And blood would still be flowing from the knife wound in her neck. Seemingly indicating that the Ripper might have been interrupted during this process and that he had to flee to avoid discovery and he couldn't finish. his work, his work, whatever. And this would be the closest he ever got to actually being caught. And due to the lack of mutilation of Elizabeth's body, thank God, police were initially unsure if it was the doing of Jack the Ripper.

Until further events on the 30th would provide clarity. So perhaps due to the unfinished nature of the killing, September 30th would be a very busy night for the Ripper, as it would be the same night another body was found. Catherine Adow's may have very well been able to live to see October. As around 8.30, a constable would find her lying down in the pavement, near 29 Aldgate High Street. Louis Frederick Robinson, the constable,

initially tried to assist Catherine to her feet. But after she would slump back over, it took Louis and another constable George Simmons to get her to Bishop's Gate Station, where she was held until she sobered up. And Catherine would be released around 1 a.m. It's a bad time. It's a bad time to be on the streets

at 1 a.m. in London, oh my God. About at the same time that Elizabeth Stride was killed. And 44 minutes later, 44 minutes later, Catherine's body would be discovered, beaten and mutilated on the southwest corner of Mitre Square by the police. Her throat, like the others, would also be cut. And similar to Annie, her insides would also be taken out and draped over her shoulder as well. With a piece about two feet long, completely removed, and placed between her body and her left arm with intention.

Her face would also be beaten very severely and an earlobe cut as well. So personally, I do think that these additional injuries were a result of him not being able to finish the kill before on Elizabeth. And he was just so pent up that he took all of his frustration out on Catherine. It's such an unfortunate series of events. I just can't. And like that we have photos of the bodies for some reason. I don't know, but like if they have them on the internet,

I'm not gonna show them, obviously. But it's, I can't even look at them. Like they're horrible. Absolutely horrible. So the murder of Elizabeth and Catherine would be called the double event. After a letter was received allegedly from Jack the Ripper, claimed the responsibility for the two murders, and it would be received by the London authorities.

With blood on the letter as well, because he's a sick fuck, and it would say this. I was not cutting, dear old boss, when I gave you the tip, you'll hear about saucy Jackie's work tomorrow, double event this time, number one squealed a bit, couldn't finish straight off,

had not time to get ears for police, thanks for keeping last letter back till I got to work again. Jack the Ripper. And this was supposedly what the letter said. It's not for sure. It's just supposedly. And this leads us to our next victim,

which was Mary Jane Kelly. And Mary Jane Kelly was almost as mysterious as Jack the Ripper himself, as her name is a topic of some debate, seeing as she also went by several other names. Marie Jeanette Kelly, Fair Emma, Ginger, Dark Mary, and Black Mary. I didn't, I want to go by a different name.

That sounds fun. Give me a nickname down in the comments below. She also worked as a prostitute. And while the details of her life are largely unknown, what we do know is that her murder was by far the most gruesome out of all of them. So on the night of November 9, 1888, she was in her room at 13 Miller's Court off Dorset Street, a slum that would frequently be occupied by criminals and prostitutes. And she would last be seen alive around 2 a.m. by her neighbor while singing a song. And about seven hours later, her body would be found in her room by her landlord's assistant, which is much different than the other girls, they would all be found in the streets or street corners or alleyways, but she was actually

found in her room. And they would find her because they came to collect rent. And like I said, her body was by far the most brutal murder out of all of them. Like there's crime scene photos. I'm not going to show them, obviously. But I have trouble keeping food down. Her throat, like the others, was cut. And her abdomen would also be opened, but they would be completely emptied of everything that was inside. Her heart would be missing and her face and neck were beyond recognition. Her left arm would be partially removed and her top area was also completely removed. And most of these removed parts would be found just scattered around the room whereas the heart was never found. So as you probably noticed over the course of the stories

told of these women being murdered, Jack the Ripper had a very specific type. Each of them were prostitutes and many of them struggled with alcoholism. And who knows what exactly motivated Jack the Ripper? Did he hate women? Did he hate Ladies of the Night specifically? You could basically speculate endlessly since this happened 135 years ago. But there are some clues to point us in the direction of who this man might have been. So each woman was killed with their throat, slashed. And that combined with the almost surgical mutilation of the bodies has led some to theorize that Jack the Ripper was a surgeon or a doctor or someone in the medical field or someone with medical training at least, given his familiarity with the human anatomy,

which I think is very fair to assume. So let's go over the usual suspects. So despite the efforts of the police and the public, no one was ever arrested for the murders of these five women. However, over the years, many theories and suspects have been proposed and some more plausible than others. So we're going to explore the most prominent and controversial suspects. Montague John Druitt, Aaron Cosminsky, and Walter Sickert. Very weird names. Montague John Druitt, was a barrister and a teacher who came from a wealthy and respectable family. He was also an avid cricketer who played for multiple clubs. He was described by his friends and colleagues as quiet, intelligent, and a very gentlemanly

person. However, he also suffered from depression and other mental instability, which would worsen after his father's death in, wait for it, 1888, the same year that all these women were killed. He would be dismissed from his teaching position shortly after his sluer slide of drowning himself in the Thames in December 1888. His body would be found near Chiswick on the 31st of December, a few weeks after the last Ripper murder.

And Druitt would first be named a suspect by Sir Melville McNaughton, the assistant chief constable of the Metropolitan Police in a private memorandum written in 1894. McNaughtnotton would claim that Druitt was sejually insane and that he would have a very strong resemblance to the Ripper's description. He also said that Druitt's slur slide

was a confession of guilt, and that the murder stopped after it happened as well. However, McNaughton's evidence was basically based on hearsay and speculation, and he did not provide any solid proof of Druid committing these crimes. Moreover, Druitt's alibi was never really thoroughly investigated either, and some modern authors have cast doubt on his involvement at all. So, I don't know. It's like weird timing, but there's a lot of people in London,

so I don't know if you can coincide all of that together as he being the Ripper. I don't know. He's not my first choice. Let's go on to the second. Aaron Kosminski. Aaron Kosminski was a Polish Jew that immigrated to London in the early 1880s. He would live in the heart of Whitechapel where the Ripper Mortars took place. He would be a barber by trade, sharp stuff. But he also suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and violent tendencies. And it was also known to have a great hatred toward women specifically to prostitutes.

And he would be frequently hospitalized in asylums for his mental condition. And he would die in 1919 inside of a mental institution. And Kozminski would be the first named suspect by Sir Robert Anderson, the head of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Metropolitan Police, in his memoir published in 1910. Anderson would claim that the Ripper was a Polish Jew, who was actually identified by a witness but not prosecuted because the witness refused to testify against a fellow Jew.

He also claimed that the Ripper would probably be confined in an asylum shortly after the last murder, and that he knew his name. However, Anderson did not reveal the name of the suspect or the witness, and his account would be contradicted by other police officials and documents. Cosminsky would later be identified as a suspect by Donald Swanson, the chief inspector who actually led the Ripper investigation,

in a handwritten note on the margin of Anderson's memoirs. However, Swanson's note wouldn't be discovered until 1987, and it also contains some inconsistencies and errors. So again, we just, there's just not enough evidence. It's all like basically circumstantial at this point. So let's move on to the next one. Nay, the last one, Walter Sickert. Walter Sickert was a painter and printmaker who was one of the founders of Camden Town Group,

a group of artists who depicted the urban life of London in the early 20th century. He was also a friend and a pupil of James Abbott McNeill Whistler, one of the most influential artists at the time. He was known for very realistic and expressive portraits, landscapes, and scenes of music halls and theaters. He was also very interested in the social and political issues of the era. And he also commented on them in his work, and he would die in 1942. And Sickert would be first named a suspect by Gene over two. turned Fuller, a writer and friend of Sickert's widow.

In her book, Sickert and the Ripper Crimes, published in 1990, Fullert would claim that Sickert had actually confessed to being the Ripper in a letter to his own wife, and that he would leave clues and hints in his paintings and writings. He would also claim that Sickert had a deformed member, and he also had visual impotence that would drive him to murder prostitutes, which that makes a lot of sense. This one, this one tickles my brain. I think it makes a lot of sense, but I digress. However, Fuller's evidence would be based off dubious sources and interpretations, and she would

not provide any solid proof to link Sickard to the crimes. Sickard would allegedly boast about renting an art studio formerly occupied by Jack the Ripper, which is suspicious because Jack was never identified, and no one could know what he owned because he was never identified. Sickard would also paint a piece called Jack the Ripper's bedroom, and some of his own art is up for sale, which is great. Crazy. I kind of want to look. Oh wow. That's wild. How much is this? I'm not going to get it. I'm just curious. Wow.

Anyway, I digress. And moreover, Sicker's alibi was also never thoroughly investigated. And some modern authors have also cast doubt on his involvement as well. But these are just three of the many suspects proposed as Jack the Ripper. And at one point, evidence seemingly had come out linking that one of those three more concretely as Jack the Ripper. Is it the artist who claimed to be Jack the River in private correspondence, who painted the Ripper's bedroom and painted the studio supposedly previously occupied by the murderer? Or is it the Jewish schizophrenic barber with a hatred for prostitutes who was witnessed by a fellow Jewish individual who refused to testify against another Jew? Or could it have been the mentally unstable barrister who was said to be sedually insane, who committed slur-slide shortly after the fifth murder?

possibly being why there was no sixth. We'll never probably know. But we do have some DNA revelations. According to the article, Jack the Ripper's True Identity, recent findings suggest that Cosminsky might have actually been the Jack the Ripper, based on DNA evidence obtained from a shawl belonging to one of the victims. Catherine Adows. The shawl was found by her body in Metre Square on September 30th, 1888.

And it contained blood and, you know, Stains. Other stains. Semen stains. You know? The shawl would be preserved by a police officer who took it as a souvenir. What were we doing back then? A souvenir? That's sick. But it would later be acquired by collector who gave it to forensic experts for analysis. The forensic expert, doctor, I'm going to butcher this. I'm sorry. Luhelan. Lleinen? Lleinen? Sorry.

Used a technique called vacuuming to extract the DNA from the shawl. And he would compare it to the DNA of living relatives of Kozminsky and a Dauz. We would find a match for the bloodstains and a Dows descendant and a match between the Saman stain and Kosminski's descendant. He would also determine though the killer would have brown eyes and brown hair, which would match Kozminski's description. I think that would match most people's description, but the DNA is interesting. So the DNA evidence is the first piece of actual forensic proof that links Kuzminski to the Ripper murders. And it does support the claim that some of the police officers named him as a suspect. in their memoirs.

However, the evidence is not conclusive. And it has been challenged by some critics who question the validity and the reliability of the shawl, the DNA extraction, and the comparison methods. Which brings us to our final chapter, There are lots of rumors and accused who are said to be Jack the Ripper. But a former police volunteer has stated that she has found medical evidence that she believes links the man behind Jack the Ripper. Sarah Bax Horton has named Hym Hyam's. What kind of name is that?

Is the man responsible for the murder. for the murders of at least six women in or near Whitechapel, East London, between August and November 1888. And ironically enough, Ms. Baxter's grandfather actually worked on Jack the Ripper's investigation case back in 1888. And he would investigate and examine medical records and witness records. So Hym Hymes was born in Aldgate on February 8, 1855. And he would be the son of Solomon Hyams, who was a cigar marker according to the 1871 consensus. In after After 1881, Haim's would be married to a woman named Rachel. And in 1888, the year of the Ripper murders,

he would have two children, a son named William and a daughter named Kate. And on the morning of December 29, 1888, Hyams would be taken into custody by one of the members of the Metropolitan Police in Whitechapel. And he would be sent to the Whitechapel Workhouse Infirmary, where he was diagnosed with delirium tremens. And this disorder was known as a disordered state of mind that was usually accompanied by hallucinations and terrifying, delusions brought to light by severe alcoholism.

And 13 days later, he would be discharged, all to be readmitted three months later. He was shown to have a very weak mind and he was transferred to the Colney Hatch Lunatic asylum, arriving restrained and in a noisy condition. And according to the asylum, he was listed as violent and dangerous, especially to his wife. There's a quote that says, "...injured mother's head with chopper when attacking his wife, epileptic and irritable after fits, Addicted to drink. Okay.

Sounds like a treat. So on the 30th of August 1889, after about four months, he would be discharged from the asylum and deemed as recovered. But only 10 days later, this motherfucker would be re-admitted again as an insane person.

After attacking and stabbing his own wife, he was described as being the terror of the city of London police. Sounds like another guy we know, doesn't it? Doesn't it now? According to his wife Rachel, he was actually responsible for four miscarriages from abuse and deranged behavior because he would beat her thinking that she was cheating on him.

And for the past nine years, he had been suffering from periodic epileptic attacks and was becoming more and more violent. But at times he was noted as being like kind and civil, a very attentive to his personal appearance and grooming. But four months later, again, the 4th of January 1890, he was transferred back to Colney Hatch Asylum. His case notes would refer to him as very frequent epileptic fits and then very violent and filthy, otherwise quiet but bitter against his wife. No fucking shit, he stabbed her and beat her. What? But these fits were apparently cyclical and Hyams would be well for like a month at a time.

And he was also described as a crafty and dangerous maniac who destroys his bedding and pants his walls in filth, shouting the most obscene languages and practicing self-abuse. which is otherwise known as self-pleasure, I guess. And his delusions would just continue as he would attack medical staff during his visits until eventually he would die in the asylum on March 22, 1913, where epilepsy and cardiovascular degeneration were listed as the causes. So why was he a suspect? According to the woman stated before,

Ms. Bax Horton stated that eyewitness said he had a particular gait. He would be weak in the knees and not be able to fully extend his legs. a side effect of brain damage due to epilepsy. And according to Hyam's uncle, John Levy, who was running a cigar manufacturing business next door to Hyam's address, found a long conniff wrapped in bloodstained handkerchief the day after the murder of Stride and Adow's. So maybe it was just a coincidence that a Tao's body was found near the back of the shop

that had been owned by Haim Haim's uncle, but it seems like at least at this point, some of the evidence actually does point to Haim Haim's. He may not fit some descriptions, but his mental state definitely made him a clear suspect in this case. So if it wasn't Hym Hymes, it was someone just like him. A mentally ill, deranged, psychopathic, monster piece of shit. But I'm not sure how they're actually supposed to solve the Jack the Ripper case, given that it's over 120 years ago.

So scrounging garage sales for DNA samples, just to get a hint about Jack the Ripper, is almost a psychopathic behavior in and of itself. The guy is dead. Spoiler alert. And everyone that knew him is also dead. Spoiler alert. So it's not like you can give the families much relief, given that they have died, you know, time and time again at this point.

It's still awful. And I mean, you know, to know his identity would be insane and amazing because he is quite literally, I'd say probably the most infamous serial of all time. So I don't think that anybody's going to receive any closure anytime soon. But who knows? Who knows? Maybe technology is going to get crazy. Maybe we'll get a time machine.

Maybe we can go back. Maybe we can prevent these murders. We can prevent a lot. That would be crazy. Anyway, Jack the Ripper obviously still haunts the minds of a lot of us true crime folk. And there's no telling how much longer it's actually going to take to solve this case. But here's hoping, you know, here's hoping that it gets solved one day. But like I always say, if you like the video, please like the video and subscribe if you want to.

Also let me know what else you guys want me to go over in the comments below. I know we've been doing a lot of true crime lately. If you want like really light, easy content, go over to my second. channel. Okay, it's call me Chris too. I do React and Reddit reads and all this other stuff. Not that I'm only gonna do true crime on this channel. I've just been really into it lately and it's my channel and I can do what I want. Alright, I still will do fun stuff on here and everything. Also, don't forget to go to sour.g.g. to grab some candy after this sour, sour, video. Grab something sweet. But until then, I will see your beautiful face in the next episode and

stay safe. All right. Bye.