Killer Stories with Harvey Guillén - Jack the Ripper Special - Pt. 2

Episode Date: November 9, 2017

One of the first serial killers to write letters to the authorities, Jack the Ripper’s mail was memorable, to say the least. Our resident Ripperologists examine Jack’s odd correspondence and determine which letters were fakes and which were truly penned by the Ripper. They also examine the “Double Event” murders and how sensational journalism and media coverage influences active killers.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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We advise extreme caution for children under 13. Now, enjoy the show. Dear boss, I keep on hearing the police have caught me, but they won't fix me just yet. I've laughed when they look so. So clever and talk about being on the right track. That joke about leather apron gave me real fits. I am down on whores and I shan't quit ripping them till I do get buckled.

Grand work, the last job was. I gave the lady no time to squeal. How can they catch me now? I love my work and want to start again. You will soon hear of me. me with my funny little games. I saved some of the proper red stuff in a ginger beer bottle over the last job to write with, but it went thick like glue, and I can't use it. Red ink is fit enough, I hope. Ha! Ha! The next job I do, I shall clip the ladies' ears off and send to the police

officers just for jolly. Wouldn't you? Keep this letter back till I do a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a little. more work, then give it out straight. My knife's so nice and sharp. I want to get to work right away if I get a chance. Good luck. Yours truly, Jack the Ripper. Don't mind me giving the trade name. P.S. Wasn't good enough to post this before I got all the red ink off my hands. Curse it. No luck yet. They say I'm a doctor. now. September 27, 1888, the London-based Central News Agency received a letter supposedly from the Whitechapel murderer. At first, the agency assumed it was a hoax, so they held on to it

for two days before turning it into authorities. This may have been a mistake. A day later, the man now referred to as Jack the Ripper would strike again. And this time, he would claim the lives of two victims in the same night, back to back. It would come to be known as the double event. Like a sudden tremor on the earth, it would strike the minds of all those watching the murderous narrative unfold, causing Jack the Ripper to take front and center on the world's stage. Hello, and welcome to a dual edition of Unsolved Murders, True Crime Stories, and Serial

Killers. You're listening to the second episode of our three-part Jack the Ripper special. I'm Carter Roy. And I'm Wendy McKenzie. We host Unsolved Murders each week. For the serial killers fans out there, Unsolved Murders is a modern twist on old-time radio that delves into the mysteries of true cold cases and unsolved murders. If you haven't heard it yet, you can listen and subscribe on your favorite podcast directory. Well, I've certainly listened and subscribed. I'm Greg Polson, host of serial killers. And I'm Vanessa Richardson, the other host of serial killers.

Every week, our podcast glimpses into the minds, methods, and methods. madness of the most notorious serial killers. Subscribe and listen as Greg talks listeners through the life and crimes of a serial killer every week. And my partner in crime, Vanessa, provides psychological analysis. This week, Vanessa is the psychological voice as we try to pull back the cerebral layers of Jack the Ripper at attempt to pinpoint his motivations. It's important to note that Vanessa is not a psychologist or a psychiatrist herself,

but has done a tremendous amount of research on this subject. And now, back to the man who takes to the man who takes. terrorized East London and set the stage for all future serial killers. Leading up to the Dear Boss Letter, police had brought in their very first prime suspect. His name was John Pizer, but he had another identity throughout the East End, the leather apron. Convicted of a stabbing prior to his arrest, he was known to threaten sex workers with violence until they gave him money. He was despised throughout the area, but was he the deranged and vicious murderer?

responsible for the deaths of Marianne Nichols and Annie Chapman? Let's find out. We've interviewed several of the streetwalkers. There were some who claimed that you roughed them up when they refused to give you money. Huh, something funny? You trust a whore over a bootmaker? Some of these streetwalkers have also said that you told them you would rip them up. Do you recall ever uttering those words? I do not. Mr. Pyser, this is Chief Inspector Abeline. What's he here for? assist me in the questioning. Perhaps you can assist me, Inspector Aberline. It seems Sergeant Thick's judgment is clouded by his growing animosity towards me.

Is that right? Let me ask you, Mr. Piser. Where were you on August 31st, between the hours of 1230 and 3.30 in the morning? August 31st, I was in Holloway. I stayed the night at the roundhouse. At about 1.30 in the morning, I could not sleep, so I strolled down to Seven Sisters Road. and that is when I saw it, the red glow. The red glow.

The fires at the docks. I kept walking and approached a constable. We spoke for some time before I returned to my room. Okay, and what about September 8th? I was at 22 Mulberry Street from September 6th until you arrested me on the 10th. And why were you not at home? It was the recommendation of my brothers. After they had read the Stars article condemning me as the Whitechapel murderer,

that I make myself less. accessible to authorities. That comes off as fairly suspicious to us, Mr. Pyser. Can you not see why? I can. But the only reason I left in the first place is for fear of your unguarded prejudice. I was at one point a criminal, and you and your men are hungry for blood. At this point, you don't care who it is.

You just need someone to give to the public, someone for the papers to write about. And so you come off fairly suspicious. to me. Can you not see why? And so it was. When police investigated Pyser's alibis, they found that he was telling the truth, and due to his locations at the time of the murders, there was no way he could have committed them. The article written by the star that Pyser referred to proposed that he was the Whitechapel murderer. The East London Observer basically followed suit when it published a negative description of Pyser. It read, his face was not a altogether pleasant to look upon by reason of the grizzly black strips of hair,

nearly an inch in length, which almost covered his face. The thin lips, too, had a cruel sardonic kind of look, which was increased, if anything, by the drooping dark mustache and side whiskers. Wow, that comes off as terribly unflattering. Could a newspaper attack a person's physical appearance like that? Well, it did, but it didn't go unpunished. Pizer eventually sued several newspapers for slander and libelious. and receive some money in return.

And once his alibis were solidified by relatives and the constable Pyser spoke with the night of the fires, Pyser was cleared of suspicion. And the first major suspect in the killings drifted back into the ether. But the papers did not stop speculating, nor did they let the fact that this case was still unsolved go out the window.

Media outlets crank forward with full strength, and this time their target was the police force and all those handling the investigation. The Star wrote numerous articles detailing the investigation and criticizing authorities for neglecting the needs of those living in the East End. Here's an excerpt from an article published on September 19th, nearly two weeks after Annie Chapman's murder. Nothing could have been more short-sighted than the callous indifference which the government has shown towards these White Chapel murders. If Mr. Matthews had read his star, he would have been told in time that White Chapel was furious at the refusal to grant a reward and was very significantly saying that if the murders had happened in Mayfair, we should have had rewards fast enough.

The article aimed to expose the disturbing idea that because the murders happened in a poor, crime-ridden area, the government didn't care enough to put its most powerful resources towards solving the case or offering a reward for any information regarding the Whitechapel murderer. Punch magazine published a satirical cartoon featuring a blindfolded police officer, stumbling about as surrounding criminals taunt and mock him. It was called Blind Man's Bluff. Underneath the heading was, as played by the police. A week later, Punch published another cartoon.

The title, The Nemesis of Neglect. It depicts crime as a phantom specter, knife and hand, mouth agape, and horror. This one was particularly powerful because it not only highlighted the police force's perceived ineptitude, but also acknowledged the growing fear plaguing the public and the press. Yes, things were definitely getting out of hand. Maybe this is why, after two days of keeping it in its possession, the Central News Agency decided to release the Dear Boss letter to authorities. Just like the news agency, the Metropolitan Police held on to the letter,

doubting its credibility. Another mistake. You might say that. We'll return to our story in just a moment from the Pardcast Network. Now, our story continues. Before we move on, it's important that we take a crack at the Dear Boss letter and decide for ourselves whether we think it was indeed a hoax or not. We have to realize that the concept of a serial killer mailing,

taunting letters to authorities, was first established with this very case, since this was the first time something like this was ever publicized. Now, the most significant aspect about this letter, in my opinion, is the fact that this is the first time in history the name Jack the Ripper appears. That's right. Whoever wrote this letter, whether it was the actual killer or someone else, created the name that has become legendary. This is where it originated. Correct. Because before, the only other name that really circulated aside from the Whitechapel murderer was the Red Fiend. But Jack the Ripper has a certain ring to it. That's probably why it stood the test of time.

Ripper has such a violent connotation, but Jack is a very common name, reminiscent of characters from beloved nursery rhymes, so the combination is quite unsettling. The part of the letter that strikes me most is this strange little section. I saved some of the proper red stuff in a ginger beer bottle over the last job to write with, but it went thick like glue and I can't use it. Red ink is fit enough, I hope. There's a sardonic and playful tone about it, and yet he's talking about blood coagulating. It makes me wonder, Vanessa, is this simply for show or is it evidence of a deep psychological

issue? It could be either, really. It's so theatrical in a sense, right? So vivid. That makes me think he's toying with the press, toying with authorities, and in turn, everyone else. But then again, there's such a strange persona that is emerging from this letter. It almost makes me contemplate if Jack had disassociative identity disorder.

This is the condition, formerly known as multiple personality disorder, in which a person's identity is fragmented into two or more distinct personality states. These different personalities can take over a person at any given time, but are often triggered. Well, this would explain his sudden urges to kill. Right. Another pivotal part of the letter is the quote about what he's planning to do next. The next job I do, I shall clip the lady's ears off and send to the police officers just for jolly. Wouldn't you? That is creepy. He's actually indicating aspects of future kills. And this does become relevant in the future. It sure does. And when we cross that bridge, we'll have to ask whether or not it was simply

coincidence or if this letter really was the work of Jack himself and he was taunting or even warning the press. Well, regardless of the real motive behind the letter, it set a precedent. There are other serial killers in history who chose to correspond with the press and other entities as part of their disturbing murder game. The most famous is probably the Zodiac killer, right? Yes, he's definitely right up there. We mentioned him in episode one when we discussed the subject of a serial killer's signature. We also featured him on serial killers. And unsolved murders.

He's one of our favorite subjects to explore. During his killing spree in Northern California in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Zodiac, as he called himself, began sending cryptic messages to various news outlets and making calls to the San Francisco police. This is the Zodiac speaking. On August 1st, 1969, he sent three almost identical letters to the Vallejo Times Chronicle, the San Francisco Examiner, and the San Francisco Chronicle. In these letters, he took credit for previous killings and included specific facts about the crime scene

and details about the victim's clothes. He signed the letters with his signature symbol, a crude rendition of the circle and crosshairs. In the letters, he included a cipher that needed to be solved and ordered all three newspapers to publish it on the front page of their next issue. If they didn't, he would go on a killing spree over the weekend. So what did the papers do? They gave in and they published the cipher. It took a little over a week, but it was solved by Donald and Betty Harden.

In the message, the Zodiac claimed he was killing people to collect slaves for the afterlife. Here's the thing about the Zodiac. He was a narcissist who craved attention and notoriety through his correspondence with the newspaper editors and the police. It was a way for him to display his ultimate arrogance, which stemmed from the belief that he had a superior intellect to everyone else. It was his way of controlling the situation. I am the zodiac, and I am in control of all things. Sounds a bit like a megalomaniac. Absolutely.

It's believed that he sent at least 18 confirmed letters. That's a lot of public correspondence. That takes time and energy. planning his kills, carrying them out, and performing on this stage he created became the makeup of his identity. It was like his central job or career, his sole purpose. Some believe he wanted to get caught, that he was aching for it, and that the letters were his way of helping facilitate that. Sadly, though, the letters didn't shed light on his identity in any definitive way, as the case has never been solved. But similar to the Jack the Ripper case, in the end, the letters did more in pointing out the investigative,

inefficacy and generating public hysteria than anything else. The police couldn't find him and thus couldn't fulfill their mission, or at the very least their civic duty. But that wasn't the case with David Berkowitz, aka son of Sam. He went on a shooting spree in New York City from 1976 to 1977, killing 13 people with this 44 caliber gun, and he was finally caught. But prior to his arrest, Berkowitz wrote several letters to the police and press. and press. They were strange and rambling.

I am deeply hurt by your calling me a woman hater. I am not. But I am a monster. I am the son of Sam. I am a little brat. When Father Sam gets drunk, he gets mean. He beats his family. Sometimes he ties me up to the back of the house. Other times he locks me in the garage. Sam loves to drink blood. Go out and kill, commands Father Sam. Behind him, our house some rest, mostly young, raped, and slaughtered. Their blood drained, just bones now. Papa Sam keeps me locked in the attic too. I can't get out, but I look out the attic window and watch the world go by. I feel like an outsider. I am on a different wavelength than everybody else, programmed to kill. However, to stop me, you must kill me. Attention or police. Shoot me first.

shoot to kill or else. In terms of those last lines, Vanessa, did Berkowitz have a death wish? In some respects, I think he did. Or he at least was holding on to this ideal that he would not go down without a fight. If the authorities were going to take him down, they would have to kill him. But he didn't get his wish. He was apprehended by police August 10, 1977. A lesser-known serial killer who also sent strange messages during his reign of terror

was a man by the name of Lucien Stanjak. He was one of Poland's most brutal serial killers who began a series of horrific stabbings in 1964. But there's a much more chilling name here, the Red Spider. That is an interesting moniker. Kind of the flip side of Black Widow. Well, it was given to him due to his spider-like handwriting.

And red ink, he used to pen the letters he sent to newspaper editors throughout Poland. Later, it would be discovered that it wasn't ink at all. it was artist paint that he thinned by mixing it with turpentine. After his first kill, a 17-year-old girl, the Red Spider wrote to a Warsaw newspaper. I picked a juicy flower, Norsetan, and I shall do it again, somewhere else, for there is no holiday without a funeral. So what does a killer like the Red Spider gain from sending letters like this?

Well, for one, it can serve as an outlet for the psychosis swirling around in him. Think of it as a very public journal entry. It's also a total cry for attention. In behavioral therapy, there's a phrase professionals use called the function of behavior. In every given situation, there is an underlying cause for inappropriate actions. For example, a child screaming and crying rather than calmly using his or her words is considered a maladaptive behavior. And there are really only four underlying functions for that behavior.

Gaining access to something, gaining attention from someone, eloping from a situation, or acquiring self-stimulatory satisfaction, such as physical pleasure. For serial killers who correspond with the press, the function of their behavior is most likely to gain and receive attention, even if it is done indirectly since no one knows the killer's true identity. Now, in terms of the Dear Boss Letter, supposedly written by Jack the Ripper, is there any evidence to help us conclude it was written by the man responsible for the crimes? But the fact that the writer alludes to clipping his name,

next victim's ears off is very significant. As we'll see, Jack does remove a section of the victim's ear as part of his many mutilations. So is it just a huge coincidence? Or was Jack hinting at his next moves? That's a question that still remains after all these years. The letter would finally be released to the public in an attempt for someone to identify the handwriting. Several riparologists believe that an opportunistic journalist by the name of Frederick Best was the man behind the letter. and crafted it to generate buzz for the star and the articles that he was writing. The other major theory is that Charles Moore, general manager of the Central News Agency, fabricated the letter to boost paper sales.

Now, you have to understand that several letters flooded in after that, the majority of which were quickly deemed as hoaxes. But this letter remains debatable. Of all the correspondence relating to Jack the Ripper, The Dear Boss Letter is believed by scholars and historians to be the most credible. Following the letters released to the public, citizens were up in arms about the murderer, now known as Jack the Ripper. His notoriety even made headlines overseas. And so, people began banding together to solve the case.

Journalists teamed up with detectives, taking to the streets. There was even an inventive reporter who dressed up as a woman to see if he could lure Jack from the shadows. Some enraged citizens even banded together and formed the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee. It was led by George Lutz. and began after several business owners and tradesmen gathered at the Crown Public House. Settle down, gentlemen. How can we settle down when our streets are running red with blood? As much as I like and encourage an outspoken tongue, there is a time and place.

We need to focus our efforts. In order to make any progress outside of the force... That shan't be hard to do... He's right. I know. But we need some sort of financial support, something to fund our efforts. If we can all offer some donations... For what?

Well, let us propose some ideas. This red fiend is elusive, and there aren't enough men on the ground. We could hire some to patrol. We can arm them with batons, give them whistles. That sounds dangerous. Who would subject themselves to such peril? There are men who come by my shop day after day looking for work. They would just as soon clean up a drunk spile.

And this is for a cause. We could pay them for their contribution. I like what I'm hearing. Furious that the government never offered a reward for information relevant to the case, the committee set up its own reward fund. They even hired unemployed men to patrol the streets at night. And yet Jack was like a specter, much like the phantom of crime depicted in a satirical cartoon. No one could find him, and it seemed that maybe he had gone into hiding.

That was until the night of September 30, 1888, the night of Jack's infamous double murder. These two murders, known as the double event, began with a woman by the name of Elizabeth Stride, who was known among several EastEnders as Epileptic Annie. Stride was born on a small farm in Sweden in 1843. When she was 17, she moved to the larger city of Gothenburg, where she worked as a maid and caretaker for four children. But by the age of 23, she had turned to sex work and ended up giving birth to a stillborn baby. As if things couldn't get any worse, a year later her mother died.

But she left Stride with a small amount of money which she used to travel to London. In 1869, Stride married a man named John, and they started a small business together. But the marriage was rocky, and by 1881, it had ended completely. Now, on her own, Stride moved to Whitechapel and began staying in a lodging house at Flower in Dean Street. You may recall these are the cross streets believed to be where Jack the Ripper lived. In 1884, Stride hit rock bottom again when she was arrested for public drunkenness, disorderly conduct, and soliciting sex. She went to prison for seven days.

But in 1885, she met a man by the name of Michael Kidney. They began a relationship that may have been quite dysfunctional, violent even. When they finally called it quits for good, Stride moved back into the lodging house at Flower Endine. and continued her old line of work. And just like the other two victims, Stride was an avid drinker. She was known among her friends as epileptic Annie, not because she suffered from the neurological disorder that causes Caesars,

but because she would pretend to have epileptic fits when she got drunk. Some kind of comedy routine she did? You could say that. I could see how to be there. On the evening of September 29th, Stride went to the Queen's Head, a local pub, before return. to the lodging house. She freshened up, then headed back out. At around 11 p.m., she emerged from a different pub. This one was called the bricklayer's arms. Two men known as Best and Gardner

witnessed what happened next. A man exited with Stride. He was cuddling and kissing her. Best and Gardner would later recall that the sight seemed strange, considering the man was dressed very well, and of course Stride was not. The entire situation seemed very inappropriate. So what did they say the man looked like? They reported that he was about five foot five, respectively dressed in a black suit and coat, with a black bowler hat, a thick black mustache, but oddly enough, no other facial hair, including eyebrows.

Wait, no eyebrows? But could that have been a trick of light, or perhaps because there wasn't enough light to see him clearly? Possibly. The troubling thing is that there are several different accounts of the man seen with stride. A man by the name of William Marshall witnessed Stride and the mystery man about 45 minutes later. He would later report what he had seen.

It was an odd sight. The gentleman and that woman, he did not seem the type to be kissing so vehemently in public. One of his looks. He was of middle height, a bit stout. He looked to be middle-aged. But it was his voice that was most interesting. Yes? It was mild in tone and gave me the impression that he was educated,

which again made me question his arrangement, the woman. Do you recall anything he said? Yes, he told the woman. You would say anything but your prayers. He was a bit coy then. I suppose you could say that. That same night turned into morning. It was about 1 a.m. And Louis Diemschitz, a jewelry salesman who traveled by a pony and cart to the market on Saturdays, was making his way to a political gathering after a long day of work. My word. Oh my God. Where is she? Where's my wife? She's in here, Louis. She's safe? Of course, my friend.

Why the long face? There is a woman lying in the yard, but I cannot say whether she's drunk or dead. Show me. The woman was in fact dead. It was Elizabeth Stride. Deem Schitts was headed to a meeting for the International Working Men's Education Society,

for which he was the steward. The group was made up of social democrats and anarchists who organized political demonstrations. But tonight, they were merely social, with food and copious amounts of liquor. Stride's body lay not far from the society's meeting location. Eventually, authorities were located and reported to the scene. At the post-mortem examination, Dr. George Baxter Phillips,

and another doctor, by the name of Blackwell, came to some conclusions. The incision on her neck begins on the left side, five centimeters below the jaw. Her windpipe is nearly cut in two. She would have bled to death slowly, unable to utter a sound. The blue discoloration on both shoulders suggests that the murderer seized the victim by the shoulders and shoved her to the ground, right before sledding her throat. I concur with most of your assertions, but I believe that the murderer pulled back the victim's head using the silk scarf around her neck, and she then grasped at the scarf. See the frayed edges of the fabric? I do.

Her grabbing at the scarf would result in the blood from her severed throat, spilling onto her hands. It was also suggested that because the blood was still flowing from her throat when she was discovered, that she may have been killed quickly right before she was found. And this could mean that Jack had to stop before he could move on to his usual mutilations. He may have even retreated into the shadows and been nearby when Louis Deemschitz arrived on the scene. That's an eerie thought. That Jack could have been so close just watching the scene unfold. But what's so disturbing is that if he was nearby, he could have even,

easily been caught. And yet he wasn't. In fact, he continued on with his night, ready for victim number two. Our story will continue in a moment after a brief message. And now, back to our story. Now it's important to remember that Jack's second victim of the double event, Catherine Eddows, was killed the very same morning as Elizabeth Stride on September 30th. But prior to her demise, Eddows was faced with an eerie moment of foreshowing the afternoon of September 29th. Before she left the house at 2 p.m., her boyfriend, John Kelly, offered her a warning. Are you fit to go out alone? What kind of an inquiry is that?

The Whitechapel murderer has struck twice, my dear. It is all the papers talk about. Don't you fear for me? I'll take care of myself and I shan't fall into his hands. Wearing a piece of red silk around her neck and a black straw bonnet. on her head. Eddo's stepped out the door. She spent the next several hours getting drunk, because by 8.30, she was stumbling about, barely able to walk.

Hello, look at this. Ma'am? Oh, ma'am! Ma'am, stop where you are. Yes, officer? When I pull you to your feet, I will be taking you to Bishop's Gate Station. What for, old chap? To sleep off that horrid inebriation. What you call horrid, I deem quite the opposite.

Yes, but only one of us can be right. After sobering up at the station, she was released at 1 a.m. on September 30th. She took a narrow passageway into the very gloomy, mitre square. Bad idea? The worst. Police Constable Watkins, walking his normal beat, turned into the town square at 1.44 a.m. and held up a light into a dark corner illuminating the corpse of Catherine Eddows. Watkins would later recall to a journalist what he had seen.

Please be advised that the following information is disturbing and intended for mature audiences only. Well, I can tell you it didn't take me a moment to see that the Whitechapel murderer had been our way. Her head lay there on this coal hole and her clothes were thrown up breast high. But the first thing I noticed was that she was ripped up like a pig in the market. There was this, there was the big gash up the stomach. The entrails torn out and flung in a heap about her neck. Some of them appeared to be lying in the ugly cut at the throat and the face. Well, there was no face.

Anyone who knew the woman alive would never recognize her by her face. I've been in the force a long while, but I never saw such a sight. Eddo's body had indeed been ripped up. In this case, Jack had ample time to do a great deal of damage, which was much more than he had inflicted on any of his previous victims. Edo's throat had been slit. She was disemboweled, her innards draped over her shoulder. A severed piece of the intestines was placed at her side.

Her left kidney and most of her uterus had been removed and taken away. Her face was terribly disfigured. There were cuts made to the lower eyelids, as well as two inverted Vs, carved into her cheeks under her eyes. part of her right ear was severed and the tip of her nose had been cut clean off. So the nature of this kill was much more intense than his others. There was an increase in mutilations. That's right. Another escalation.

And what could account for this? Jack's need for a bigger and better rush? I think that's part of it. But there's something else we have to address. Jack's first victim that night, Elizabeth Stride, only had her throat slit. Almost certainly because Jack was interrupted. Now, one of the most unsettling things for a serial killer is the inability to carry out his intended crimes. Think of it as a job he never got to finish, or someone in the throes of passion never being able to reach climax.

There's not only dissatisfaction, but a potent, maddening need for closure. I believe that's one of the main reasons he killed again that night. He needed to carry out a crime the way he intended to its completion. So you're saying that because he couldn't fulfill his MO by mutilating strides by? and removing some of her organs, that he had to find another. Absolutely. Think about it. Never before has Jack killed more than one person on the same night. He was so desperate for that complete kill

that he walked to a location only 12 minutes away, Miter Square. Only 45 minutes passed between his first and second kill. He was on a mission. That's exactly how I see it. And the more time that passed before he could kill, the more desperate and pumped up he became. This was a pretty bold choice, though, right? To kill only 45 minutes apart?

He knew there would be cops looking for him after Stride's body was found. He's becoming more of a risk taker in that sense. Yes, he was driven by this animalistic need to kill the way he envisioned. He was letting logic slip a little this time. He was willing to put himself in possible danger in order to capture his prey and leave his signature, that of course being the way in which he mutilates his victims. Now, the crime scene of a second victim of September 30th had something the first did not,

something authorities originally overlooked. It's important to note that Catherine Edo's body was discovered outside an apartment complex, known as the Wentworth dwellings. This housing was primarily inhabited by Jewish immigrants. An officer discovered a message written on the black bricks of the building. It read, the Jews are not the men who will be blamed for nothing. Immediately, the question became, Had Jack the Ripper scrawled this message after his kill?

Which makes me wonder, was this the development of his new signature? Would he be leaving messages near his victim's bodies from now on? Aside from that curiosity, there was another matter to consider. As mentioned in episode one, there was some animosity towards Jewish immigrants in the area. And authorities worried that if the details of this message got to the press and, in turn, the public, it could start riots in the streets. And that was the last thing the people. police wanted. So, Commissioner Sir Charles Warren, when he reported to the scene, made the executive

decision to remove the message. He ordered that it be erased. Is there anything to suggest Jack wrote the message? Well, it's probably more likely that the message had been there all along. However, we'll never know. So, by this point, Jack has killed four victims. The first was Mary Ann Nichols. He simply slid her throat. The second was Annie Chapman. This was the first time. Jack chose to disembowl a victim. He also removed some organs. John Pizer, also known as the leather apron, soon became the prime suspect. But due to his solid alibis for the nights of both murders, he was released. No other serious suspects emerged. Jack struck again, killing his third victim, Elizabeth Stride, but he may have been interrupted

since he only slid her throat. This possible interruption probably only fueled his desire to kill again, his way, leaving his signature of multiple brutal mutilations. The receiver of this wrath was Catherine Edos, the second victim of the double event, and the fourth victim overall. So where does that leave us now? Well, as you can imagine, all of London was in a real state of panic, and then another monkey wrench was thrown. On October 1st, the Central News Agency received another correspondence,

supposedly from Jack the Ripper. This letter went down in history as the saucy Jackie postcard. Apparently splattered with blood. It contained a message written in red ink. It was short and to the point, more concise than the dear boss letter. I was not codding, 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 the time to get ears for police. Thanks for keeping last letter back till I got to work again. It's believed Jack was referring to the double murder, and that he may have written it within hours of completing the deed. His way of alerting the police to two crimes he had just committed. Does this seem plausible, Vanessa?

Well, it does if we conclude that the first correspondence, the Dear Boss letter, was written by Jack. The handwriting has been deemed very similar, and the knowledge of the details of the crimes also seems to point to its credibility. Also, by this point, Jack has established a game with police and the press, and he's milking it for all its worth, continuing the narrative he established on his terms. Well, this combined with the manner in which Catherine Etos had been killed and basically dissected, authorities were starting to get serious about possible suspects. They not only interviewed a myriad of doctors, but also sought out several butchers in the area.

It was time to leave no stone unturned. But sadly, authorities were... up against a man who seemed to continually disappear, as if he never existed in the first place. One reporter put it this way. The criminal withdraws himself from all eyes as securely as though he possesses the charm, which could make him invisible at will. His physical body may have been elusive, but there was an undeniable presence in the media, in the social milieu, in every nook and cranny of East End. And every time it seemed there was a calm after the storm,

another storm was brewing with a vengeance. An indicator of that very storm arrived on October 16th, 1888, in the form of a small package addressed to George Lusk, president of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee. For you, sir. Another. I've been flooded by the post for days. Would you like some help opening anything? Maybe tomorrow, kid. Go ahead. Hand it over.

Run on home now. It's late. Thank you, sir. Oh, what? Inside was half a kidney. And a postcard written in red ink. From hell. Mr. Lusk. Sir, I sent you half the kidney I took from one woman and preserved it for you.

The other piece I fried and ate it was very nice. I may send you the bloody knife that took it out if you only wait a while longer. Signed. Catch me when you can. Mr. Lusk. Several medical experts examine the kidney. It's human. That's a fact.

And in my opinion, quite the jinny. Strong traces of alcohol. Mrs. Catherine Eddows' remaining kidney had the same traces. You've been misinformed. I think not. This kidney here is fairly healthy. I do not believe the kidney sent to Mr. Lusk could have belonged to the victim.

I'm sorry, doctor, but I can't rule out the possibility. So did the kidney belong to Eddows? There is no definitive answer on that. And what about the letter? Could it have been from Jack? Many historians believe so, yes. The handwriting was studied, and it shared several similarities to the handwriting in the Dear Boss letter. So the two letters were probably sent by the same person. And if we stick with our theory that Jack wrote the Dear Boss letter and the saucy Jackie postcard,

and we factor in the similar handwriting, we would have to infer that he was responsible for this. morbid package as well. Could a journalist or the head of a news agency be so twisted as to find a human kidney cut in half and send it to George Lusk? That seems way too crazy for me. I agree. Sending a letter written in red ink, I can believe, but a newspaper reporter going through all that trouble, and how would he even procure part of a human kidney? It seems way out of left field. I definitely think this package was the work of Jack the Ripper. Maybe he wrote the dear boss letter, maybe he didn't, but I do think he did send this one. Well, since the handwriting is almost identical,

I'd venture to say Jack sent both the letter and the kidney package. Sending human body parts in the mail. Is this typical of a serial killer? Not typical, but it does happen. Most serial killers actually like to keep a low profile. Practically speaking, it's because they want to be able to keep on killing. The less attention they draw to themselves, the more anonymous they remain,

and the more freedom and security they have to carry out their crimes. We actually covered an unsolved murder case about the Monster of Florence, who killed several couples from 1974 to 1985 in the hills of Tuscany, Italy. This killer, like Jack, would mutilate the female victims, focusing on their genitalia. At one point, the Monster of Florence sent a letter to the case prosecutor, a woman by the name of Sylvia della Monica. When she opened the letter, she found a woman's severed nipple inside.

Serial killer sending body parts to his or her pursuers is much like flashing a trophy in front of a competitor. But I think it's also used to incite fear. It's the killer's desire to get a reaction, basically to cause more havoc. It's something else that separates the serial killer from everyone else. Because they are desensitized to violence and murder, they can attack their enemy's psychological and emotional vulnerabilities, knowing that something that doesn't phase them will have quite a terrible impact on their pursuers, who exhibit emotions such as disgust for murder and morbid emblems such as body parts from the deceased.

So this is what it's come to. A taunting message. Half a human organ wrapped up and mailed to the man spearheading the anti-jack campaign. It was a nightmare come true. A nightmare that was about to take an even darker turn. Don't forget to subscribe to Unsolved Murders and Serial Killers on iTunes, Google, Google, Play, SoundCloud, Stitcher, Spotify, or any other podcast directory. If you like what you hear, leave a five-star review or tell us what you think on Facebook or Twitter at Parcast Network. A new episode of serial killers comes out every Monday.

A new episode of Unsolved Murders, True Crime Stories, comes out every Tuesday. And next Thursday, we will release the final chapter in our investigation into the incomparable Jack the Ripper. Thanks for listening. We'll see you next time. If we left till next time. And in the meantime, have a killer week. The Jack the Ripper special was created by Max Cutler, is a production of Cutler media and is part of the Parcast Network.

It is produced by Ron and Max Cutler, sound designed by Ron Shapiro, with production assistants by Joel Stein and Maggie Admeyer, and written by Jessica Molo. The Jack the Ripper special stars Carter Roy, Wendy McKenzie, Greg Paulson, and Vanessa Richardson. The amazing cast of voice actors includes, by alphabetical order, Mike Caposie, Kimberly Holland, Mick Lambeth, Harris Markson, Manuna Ryan, and Steve Pinto. A beloved 75-year-old man washing up getting ready for bed is brutally beaten and killed.

Despite an exhaustive investigation, the killer avoids arrest and then strikes again. I'm Global News crime reporter Nancy Hicks. You might listen to a lot of true crime. podcast this year, but they're not Crime Beat. Search for and follow the award-winning podcast Crime Beat on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you find your favorite podcasts. Do you want to hear something spooky? Some monster, it reminded me of Bigfoot. Monsters Among Us is a weekly podcast featuring true stories of the paranormal. One of the boys started to exhibit demonic possession. Stories straight from the witnesses' mouths themselves. Something very snake-like It lifted its head out of the water.

Hosted by me, your guide, Derek Hayes. Somehow I lost eight whole hours. Listen now on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.