Killer Stories with Harvey Guillén - Jack the Ripper Special - Pt. 3

Episode Date: November 10, 2017

He was never caught. So why did Jack the Ripper stop killing? In the finale, Greg, Vanessa, Carter, and Wenndy follow the years-long search for Jack the Ripper, ranging from bloodhound trials to DNA testing. Then our hosts discuss Jack’s last victims, his pop culture influence, and a few major suspects; finally pinpointing the person they believe was Jack the Ripper.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Monopoly is a trademark of Hasbro. Hasbro is not a sponsor of this promotion. Due to the graphic nature of this murder case, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes dramatizations and discussions of murder and assault that some people may find offensive. We advise extreme caution for children under 13. Now, enjoy the show. All right, son, you'll be given a head start. Keep running. Do your best not to stay on the straight and narrow.

Turn corners, crisscross your path. Think like an elusive jackrabbit. Hi, will, sir. Are we ready? We are. All right, young man. You may start. Godspeed.

Are the hounds prepped in ready? They are. What do you think of the frost? Will it interfere? Perhaps. Brough's hounds have quite the reputation, I must say. Those snouts of theirs are so refined, they might even be able to smell through glass.

We'll see about that. Where are these magnificent beasts? Right over there. Brough has them contained. Will they be kept on leash? Not for this trial. It was suggested that they have free rain. Once they become more comfortable, we'll leash them.

How many trials? Three have been scheduled. The commissioner is set to appear. for the third. That gives us time to smooth out any ruffles. Exactly. But hopefully nothing will need smoothing. I believe it's time. Bring them over. Mr. Brough. Pleasure to make your acquaintance. Are they ready? More than ready, sir. On my order. Release the house. Word is, the press is going out of field day with all this. Well, that is nothing new under the sun. Let them. God knows we're at our wits end. On the morning of October 8th, 1888, in Reefat, Reefs,

Regent's Park. The Metropolitan Police Force conducted the first of several bloodhound trials. The goal was to prep the hounds for tracking London's most elusive and relentless killer. The one and only Jack the Ripper. Bloodhound breeder and trainer Edwin Brough, whose name was considered synonymous, with a particular breed of canine, traveled from Windyate to offer up his two best hounds, Bergho and Barnaby. The trials received mixed reactions from the public, but the general consensus was that it was quite a foolish theory.

But can you blame the police? And by this point, they were willing to try anything. Women on the streets of East End were being stalked, killed, and mutilated beyond recognition. And everyone, including the supposedly safe citizens of the affluent West End region, were paralyzed by a constant state of fear that Jack would strike again, and worse, that he would never be stopped. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Hence the trials. Release the hounds! Hello, and welcome to a dual edition of Unsolved Murders, True Crime Stories, and Serial Killers. You are listening to the third and final 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. I've certainly listened to it subscribe. I'm Greg Poulson, 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 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. 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 and attempt to pinpoint his motivations. It's important to note that Vanessa is not a psychologist or a psychiatrist herself, but she has done a plethora of research on this subject. Now, back to both the man responsible for upending East London and the hounds who are trained to find him. So it's important to note that only a month and a half into Jack's narrative, since he hit the scene in late August of 1888, he had created a veritable cyclone of fear, violence, social malaise, and media chaos. So let's take a look of the facts so far. Victims, four. Last victim was Catherine Etow's. Number of potentially

credible letters written to the press? Three. Number of kidneys sent by post? One. Well, one half of a kidney, to be precise. articles published about him? Too many to count. Men, employed by the vigilance committee, filled the streets to help policemen patrol. Reporters and detectives banded together in the hopes of locating him. And now, officials were putting their eggs in the bloodhound basket.

Now, up until this point, bloodhounds had not been commonly used for tracking criminals in any real organized way. Bloodhounds were generally valued for their tracking capabilities during an animal hunt. The bloodhound aptly gets its name for, its ability to track blood as well as other sets. But it is said that as early as the late 1,200s, bloodhounds were used to track people, and in the 1500s they were used to track thieves, poachers, and border raiders.

At the risk of sounding like a commentator at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show, I must point out the usefulness of a bloodhound's physicality because it is just too fascinating not to. The large drooping ears of the breed actually prevent wind from scattering skin cells the hound is investigating with its snout. The folds under the lips and neck catch stray scent particles in the surrounding environment

to aid the bloodhound as it sniffs. Wow. So basically, bloodhounds were designed for this line of work. Exactly. It's interesting to note that the concept of the bloodhound trials basically originated with the Jack the Ripper case. Now, the bloodhound working trials,

as they are currently known, take place in England four times a year under Kennel Club rules and guidelines. The trials are open to purebred bloodhounds only and consist of countryside challenges in which hounds follow a human scent trail up to three miles long. So what actually happened with these famous and highly publicized trials back in 1888? Well, the first trials seemed to go fairly well. The bloodhounds were able to track the young man who ran ahead of them 15 minutes before they were let free.

More trials took place that evening, but this time in Hyde Park. The next morning, Tuesday, October 9th. Police Commissioner Sir Charles Warren appeared for the third trial, and he eventually participated in other trials, serving as the person the hounds tracked. While Warren expressed some satisfaction with the trials, the newspapers did not. They continually ridiculed him for this decision, and practically speaking, several reporters believed the whole affair was useless. One paper called Echo reported the following.

The first difficulty in using them will be, it is said, to get them to hold the right sent. And once that is done, there is the thousand and one cross scents that will run over the track, so that there can be no assurance of their following the same person up. Again, the streets offer the facilities to criminals of getting away in vehicles, buses and trams, and there are the railways to be reckoned with. People felt the efforts of the police were misguided, and it wasn't long before a new tidal wave of public outrage struck. People took to the streets in various London landmarks. There were public demonstrations in Hyde Park. People had signs reading The White Chapel Murders.

Where are the police? Angered citizens wrote to various papers. One such person sent a letter to the editor of the evening news. Sir, I cannot help thinking that the horrible atrocities which have been perpetrated lately upon unprotected females at present without any detection reflects discredit upon our detective force. In saying this, I do not mean to imply that the men themselves are at fault, but that the whole organization of the department is carried on in such an absurd and confined manner.

Ouch. This type of unrestrained criticism was common. So with all this social unrest and the newspapers covering every minute detail and development of the case, I have to wonder, what role does the press play on the serial killer psyche? Well, that's a loaded question, Greg. In terms of Jack, I think we would need to explore the role that fantasy plays in the mind of a serial killer. Fantasy is a form of escapism, and many serial killers use their sadistic fantasies as an outlet for the pain, abuse, and trauma they most likely experienced as children. Their

psychosis allows them to bridge the gap from mere fantasy to a flesh and blood reality. They build a story in their minds that they can then carry out. I believe this is in part what drove Jack. So the media's extensive coverage of the case just fed into Jack's fantasy, he continually made a reality, fueling his desires even more. Are you saying the media's coverage contributed to Jack's kills? I'm saying that the media's coverage most likely contributed to the fantasy, which was one of the driving factors of his crimes. And if we take into consideration Jack's likely correspondence with the press

and George Lusk, the head of the vigilance committee, we see Jack's participation with the media in the social maelstrom. Exactly. It's like this cyclical beast that both Jack and the media fed, I'm not saying the media directly turned him into a worse serial killer. I'm just saying that the obsession exhibited by the press certainly didn't help the situation. And it may have fueled his dark desires in a way that wouldn't have happened had there been no news coverage. And we also can't overlook how the media affected the public during this time. Right.

Specifically with the type of press really gaining steam during these years. We, of course, call this sensationalized journalism. Someone addressed this in the London paper, Echo. Sensational journalism has much to answer for. The other day, a woman died from excitement after reading a contemporaries account of the Whitechapel horrors. Yesterday, at the Thames Police Court, the magistrate gave orders for the committal to a lunatic asylum

of a Stepney woman, who had been driven mad by the East End murders. Probably she, too, had been perusing the horrible details published in certain of the London newspapers. We'll return to our story in just a moment from the podcast network. And now, back to our story. In addition to all the media, letters were flooding in, written by people claiming to be Jack the Ripper. Whoa, I'm sure that really helped the situation. It did not. Some are more outlandish than others.

Here's a few tidbits from various letters, which, to be clear, are not believed to be the work of Jack the Ripper. Beware, I shall be at work on the first and second, at twenty-two. 12 midnight, and I gave the authorities a good chance, but there is never a policeman near where I am at work. Yours is Jack the Ripper. Here's another. What fools the police are. I even give them the name of the street where I am living, Prince William Street. Here's quite an odd one.

Oh, have you seen the delve with this microscope and scalpel? A-looking at a kidney with a slide cocked up. And this is from another dear boss letter, one that isn't given much credence. Sorry about the blood. Still messy from the last one. What a pretty necklace I gave her. You can imagine how this influx of Jack-centered mail must have overwhelmed the police even more.

Amidst all this, they were also conducting a massive search of all the slums of Whitechapel. About 2,000 residents were questioned. Hand bills were distributed that instructed residents to report any suspicious person to the police. The problem was Jack left no evidence behind the crimes. So all the police could do was flood the streets to try to spot him or draw him out. But actually, the opposite happened.

After his most recent murder of Catherine Etos, Jack seemed to go into hibernation. By early November, about a month after his last kill, there had been no more murders. Did this mean the nightmare was ending? Hardly. And for one woman, Mary Jane Kelly, it was just beginning. Not a lot is known about Kelly, but as for her age, and physical appearance, she was about 25 years old and fairly tall for a woman at that time. She had fair skin and blue eyes with light-colored hair.

She claimed to have been from Limerick, Ireland, and that she, her parents, and her eight siblings moved to Wales when she was a young child. She also claimed that she married very young at the age of 16, but her husband died in a mine explosion a few years later. It was after this tragedy that Kelly became a sex worker and began working for a friend French madam and a high-end bordello in West London. It was a few years later, after a slew of unsuccessful relationships, that she met her future husband, Joseph Barnett.

He was a porter at Billingsgate Market. They met for a drink on their first date. Then they met up again the next day, and hastily decided to move in together. They eventually took up residence in a room known as 13 Miller's Court, which was actually the back portion of a flat at 26 Dorset Street. Now, Dorses Street was pretty famous. for being terrible. It was a street of decaying and dilapidated lodging houses

and was known as the center of evil. On poverty maps, it was coated black and classified as vicious and semi-criminal. But I think that was a euphemism because there really wasn't anything semi about its crime. The area was full of thieves, sex workers, and hardened residents whose blood easily boiled. The room that Kelly and Barnett occupied

was very small and only contained a bed, a small table and a chair, a tin bath, and a bedside table. The walls were bare, save for an inexpensive print called the fisherman's widow, that hung above the fireplace. Kelly would often allow her friends and other sex workers to use the room, which angered Barnett eventually to the point of a full-blown fight with Kelly. After one particularly bad argument in which a window was broken, Barnett left and he and Kelly separated.

But because he still cared for Kelly, he would visit her, periodically and give her money. On Thursday, November 8th, he paid her a visit in the early evening and stayed for about a half an hour. At 11.45 p.m. that same night, Kelly was seen walking with a man down Dorset Street. Marianne Cox, a widow and a sex worker, who lived in the same building as Kelly, spotted her. She approached as Kelly and the mystery man started into her room at the lodging house. This was the first man Kelly would be seen with that night and the less important of the two. Good night, Mary Jane.

I am going to have a song. The man banged the door closed, and Kelly began singing. Mary Cox would later describe the man as about 36 years old, with fair skin and a stout build. In terms of his facial features, his skin was marked with blotches, and he had a thick, ginger-colored mustache. He wore a long, dark overcoat and a black felt Billy Cock hat, which is just a fancy name for a round, crowned,

brimmed hat. In his hand was a quart of beer. Kelly continued singing the song she began, and did that for about a half an hour. By 2 a.m., Mary Kelly was back on the street looking for money. The man her neighbor had seen her with was gone. Do you have anything to spare? I do not, ma'am. Nothing at all. Kelly made her way past the gentleman and struck up a conversation with another. And the first man, George Hutchinson, watched the exchange. All right. You will be all right for what I've told you. The man put his arm around Kelly, and they walked towards Dorset Street.

When the police interviewed Hutchinson, he said he didn't get a good look at the man. I tried to see his face, but he hid down his head with his hat over his eyes. When I stooped down to get a better look, he just glared at me. It was quite unpleasant. Hmm, then what? Well, I felt compelled to get some kind of look, so I followed him. I kept a distance, mind you, and watched as they stood at the entrance of Miller's court. What were they doing there?

Talking. What about? All right, my dear. Come along. You will be comfortable. She was taking him home for the night? That is what it sounded like. The two went into a room.

I waited there for a good 45 minutes. No one came out. At about 4 a.m., a neighbor of Kelly's heard a scream. She believed came from a young woman. Other neighbors also heard someone scream. Oh, murder! But because that was not uncommon, in an area like this, no one thought much of it,

and they all went back to sleep. Not uncommon, but wouldn't you think at a time like this when the entire region is on edge from an anonymous killer that people would all take cries of murder more seriously? Well, you would think so. At about 5.45 in the morning, Mary Ann Cox heard a man's footsteps leaving Miller's court. Could those footsteps have been made by the man known as Jack the Ripper?

Entirely possible. Now, sometime before 1038, landlord John McCarthy gave in order to his assistant Thomas Bowyer. I need you to go to room 13 and collect payment. Well that's Miss Kelly's room. Is it not? It is and don't let her sweet talk you. She must pay like all the others. Not a problem. Miss Kelly. Miss Kelly are you in there? I'm here to collect your payment. Miss Kelly?

What is it, Thomas? You must come with me. It's Miss Kelly. What do you mean? I knocked on the door and no one answered. I looked through the window and and I saw a lot of blood. The two went to Commercial Street Police Station to report what they had seen through the window, the butchered body of Mary Kelly. Police hurried to the scene, but no one entered. They were told to wait.

The hounds were coming to sniff out the location. Time passed, a couple hours, in fact, as authorities waited for the bloodhounds, only to be told they were not available. Dr. George Bagsor Phillips, who had examined Jack's other victims, was primed and ready. The landlord McCarthy used a pickaxe to pry open the door.

Dr. Phillips and another physician, Dr. Thomas Bond, quickly began their examination. It looks to me that the victim was lying in bed when she was murdered. Yes, this bloody sheet suggests it was pulled over her face at some point during the act. Her right carotid artery has been severed. Cause of death? Yes. So like all his other victims, that's where it started. But Jack did not stop there, nor did he hold anything back.

he obliterated the body. Please be advised that what you're about to hear is disturbing and intended for mature audiences only. Kelly's face was badly mutilated. Her nose, cheeks, eyebrows, and ears had been partially removed. Her lips also had several cut marks. Her arms had been slashed several times. Her breasts had been cut off and one was placed underneath her head. The other was placed right by her foot.

her heart was missing. Other organs such as her kidneys, liver, and spleen were removed and placed around her body. Chunks of her stomach and thighs have been sliced off and placed on the table by her bed. In several places, she'd been cut down to the bone. There was barely anything left of her. It was an absolutely horrific sight

and his most uninhibited and brutal kill yet. The manner in which her was a bit of her. he killed Mary Kelly was so violent and gruesome that her face was beyond recognition. In photographs taken of the corpse, Kelly looks half skeleton, half human. It's like Jack was trying to remove most of her flesh, so no one could identify her, and she wouldn't even resemble a human. What would account for this unfathomable escalation? I mean, we know that Jack was known to escalate his crimes, going from a simple throat slitting to body mutilations, but actually removing massive chunks of flesh and cutting down to the bone? This is totally new for him.

Well, there are a few reasons he may have done this. First of all, this is the first time Jack has killed indoors in a private closed off space. Before he was killing out in the open, in the streets. But for this kill, he not only had that security of a contained environment, he also had time on his hands. There was no threat that someone would stumble upon him committing the act. There was the threat of neighbors hearing Kelly's screams, which apparently did happen, but it was less of a threat because between Jack's crime and any danger was a locked door. It was like Kelly's room became Jack's lair, and in here he could inflict more damage, take his time without any inhibitions. I'm wondering, since this is the last of his five canonical murders, if Jack knew he wasn't going to kill again

and decided to make this one count. I think that's a very interesting thought, and it's entirely possible. But just like other serial killers who start out with smaller crimes and develop their signature based on what excites and satisfies them most, Jack kept escalating the brutality by which he killed these women. Mary Kelly was like the crescendo of all his kills. Right. For Jack, he had to end on what he would see as a high note. After Dr. Bond completed his post-mortem report, a coffin arrived and Mary Kelly's body was placed inside. A crowd formed as she was taken away. the door to the room was closed and padlocked. Mary Kelly's death and the manner in which Jack desecrated her body

sent shockwaves across London and beyond. On November 10th, police commissioner, Sir Charles Warren, issued a murder pardon for anyone who may have been an accomplice of Jack the Ripper. It read, Whereas, on November the 8th or 9th, in Miller's Court, Dorset Street, Spittlefields, Mary Janet Kelly was murdered by some person or persons unknown. The Secretary of State will advise the grant of Her Majesty's gracious pardon to any accomplice,

not being a person who contrived or actually committed the murder, who shall give such information and evidence as shall lead to the discovery and conviction of the person or persons who committed the murder. It was at this point that the monarch of England, Queen Victoria, got involved. You know it's serious if it gets the attention of the Queen. Queen Victoria reached out to the Prime Minister, Lord Salisbury, with a telegram. This new most ghastly murder shows the absolute necessity for some very decided action. All these courts must be lit and are detectives improved. They are not what they should be.

You promised when the first murders took place to consult with your colleagues about it. Following Mary Kelly's death, a few reports of possible Jack the Ripper attacks surfaced. One claim was made by a sex worker who said she took a shabby but genteel man to her room, and he tried to attack her. Her throat had been superficially slit some, but the wound was hardly anything to get too alarmed about. It later came out that she may have been hiding coins in her mouth in an attempt to rob the man.

So maybe he threatened her and things turned violent. That's possible. Other than a few strange cases such as these, which actually didn't amount to anything, no bodies turned up that seemed to be the work of Jack the Ripper. It was now winter, and as the snow filtered in, blanketing the ground of London, Jack was a mere whisper in the air and nowhere to be found.

Some questions that circulated throughout the area were, where is he? Why have the murders stopped? Will he be back? And those are questions we aspiring Ripperologists must also ask. Practically speaking, the murders may have stopped because Jack the Ripper died, or he may have moved. But psychologically speaking, a serial killer may stop killing for a few different reasons. One, they're scared of getting caught. Police are moving in and it's too much trouble for the killer to continue his or her actions. Choosing not to kill, but to return to the normalcy of society becomes more appealing or necessary. Two, something else takes priority over killing.

For example, a killer's physical well-being. A killer may not want to continue with the strenuous physical work of carrying out his murders. This probably wasn't the case for Jack, since he wasn't too old and had only been at it for a few months. But you get the idea. Well, in the similar vein, we must also look at what prevented him from being caught. At the time, there was such a lack of resources when it came to serial crimes such as these. British officers only carried handcuffs, whistles, notebooks, and truncheons, which are basically batons. No sufficient weapons of any kind.

And there was no DNA testing at the time, and no fingerprinting. That didn't come into play until a few years later in 1892. So really, Jack may have left plenty of evidence at his crimes. The authorities just didn't have the technology at their disposal to collect and test it. Right. Without that technology to narrow down the suspect list, Ripperologists have a plethora of possibilities to choose from. With that being said, experts have narrowed it down to a core group of suspects. Before we get to our three choices, let's examine the more vague and outlandish theories first.

We know that early on in the investigation, it was suggested that Jack could have been an immigrant working as a butcher. But as the case progressed, a new theory emerged. This hypothesis also surfaced in the 1988 FBI profile of Jack, that he was probably a person who worked in the medical field and had some knowledge of anatomy. Another theory that arose was the idea that Jack was a sailor who, after making port, would kill and then disappear back to sea. However, that theory is lesser known and less credible. Another theory was that Jack was actually from West End,

an upperclassman with the mind of a lunatic who traveled to East End to commit his vicious crimes. And then there's the female killer theory. That Jack was actually a Russian woman by the name of Olga Tietkirsov who had a vendetta against sex workers because her sister died during a botched abortion. Well, if that's true, We'd have to change the killer's name to Jackie the Ripper. That's quite a paradigm shift. If we entertain the idea that the killer was actually a woman,

however, it's unlikely just based on the amount of damage the killer was able to inflict. Well, now that we've addressed some of the broader theories, let's focus on some of the core main suspects. The three we've narrowed it down to through our copious research. But first, it's important to know that over 100,000 people have been considered suspects in this case at one time or another. It's also important to note that there are several potentially viable suspects whose names are commonly thrown around.

And of those, we ourselves have narrowed it down to the three we believe are the most credible, with one taking the lead as our top suspect. We're saving him for last. Our first suspect is Severin Antonovich Klosowski, who also became known as George Chapman. Severin was born in Poland in 1865. His father was a carpenter who saw the value in having a reputable career, so he handed Severin over to a well-regarded surgeon. Severin soon became his apprentice.

By 1885, Severn completed his studies in Warsaw and became a full-fledged junior surgeon in 1887 the year he emigrated to London. Once there, since medical jobs were scarce for immigrants, he became a hairdresser's assistant. He had eventually started running his own barbershop. A few years later, he would take a job in a different barbershop, one that was located in Whitechapel, near the epicenter of the murders. While this was happening, he met and married a woman by the name of Lucy Baderski, who was blindsided when Severin's current wife from Poland showed up on their doorstep to fight for her husband.

Severin's most recent wife, Lucy, managed to hold her position, and the former wife eventually left. This would not be the first time Severin cheated on a woman. It was actually the start of a long pattern of infidelity. In fact, when Lucy caught him cheating, they engaged in a vile argument that ended with Severin attacking her with a knife. The Daily Chronicle even mentioned the incident later in 1903. She states that on one occasion when she had a quarrel with her husband, he held her down on the bed and pressed his face against her mouth to keep her from screaming. The woman chanced to see a handle protruding from underneath the pillow.

She found to her horror that it was a sharp and formidable knife. Later, Klausowski deliberately told her that he meant to have cut her head off. The couple eventually ended their relationship, but it wasn't long before Severin found Lucy's replacement. This woman's name was Annie Chapman. Now, I'm sure you'll recall that one of Jack's victims was named Annie Chapman. This is simply a coincidence. Both Annie and Chapman were common names at the time. But what was important about Severin's Annie Chapman was her name.

He left her but took with him her surname. He then gave himself a new first name and became known as George Chapman. The fact that he even changed his name is suspect. People often do this when they're running from the law, hiding something in their past, or desperately needing a fresh start, sometimes all three. Yes. So he took her name but quickly left her and moved on to his next woman. Mary Spink.

Severin beat her often and severely. At an 1897, he bought an ounce of Tartarimetic, a white powder that is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and a potent poison when given in small doses over a period of time will destroy the body slowly, inflicting a lot of pain. Sadly, this was Mrs. Spinks' fate. She first began suffering from unbearable stomach pain and nausea. She died on Christmas Day.

So he poisoned her? Yes, and she was only the first. His next lover, Bessie Taylor, became his second victim. She died from poisoning on Valentine's Day, 1901. Next was Maude Marsh, a barmaid, who had confided in her sister about Severin. You don't know what he is. Maude soon began displaying similar symptoms as Severin's previous women. She died in October of 1902.

But it was her body that yielded the evidence authority. finally needed to put an end to the string of mysterious deaths. Three days later, Severin was arrested. He was charged with the murders of Maude Marsh, Mary Spank, and Bessie Taylor, but was actually only convicted of Maude's death. He was hanged at Wandsworth Prison on April 7, 1903. Now, some people discount Severin as a viable suspect because of his MO, citing that the act of poisoning differs too much from what Jack the Ripper did to his victims.

Yet, some criminologists assert that a killer can choose to change his or her M.O. Depending on necessity. For example, if his victims are sex workers looming in the shadows of Whitechapel, he has the ability to be more messy with his kills, for instance. But if his victims are his own lovers, women closely associated with him, he has to use a more subtle means and kill under the radar, in a matter of speaking. But the fact that he killed and did it multiple times is very damning. This puts him in a category all his own in regards to the other suspects.

Jack himself was a serial murder, and so is Severin. Great point. And if we look at Severin's track record with women, his infidelity, his insatiable sexual drive, his physical abuse and utter violence, and, of course, his killing of them, he becomes very suspicious. We also can't ignore his surgical expertise. Right. Inspector Aberline believed he was the man he had been hunting. In fact, he was quoted in the Paul Mall Gazette as saying,

A man who could watch his wives being slowly tortured to death by poison, as he did, was capable of anything. And the fact that he should have attempted in such a cold-blooded manner to murder his first wife with a knife makes one more inclined to believe in the theory that he was mixed up in the two series of crimes. Indeed, if the theory be accepted that a man who takes life on a wholesale scale never ceases his, is a cursed habit until he is either arrested or dies. There is much to be said for his consistency. You see, incentive changes, but the fiendishness is not eradicated. Wow, Aberline sounds very convinced that Severin was the guy.

So what doesn't line up? Really? The only thing is his age. According to several witnesses, the man seen with the victims was about 35 or 40 years old, but at the time of the murders, Severin was only 23. But people can easily look younger or older than they actually are, so it doesn't seem to me like it's the most convincing counter-argument. Which is why he remains a strong possibility. We'll return to our story in just a moment.

And now back to the story. Our second suspect is Walter Sickert, famous for his macabre artwork, exposing the lives of those living in and around Whitechapel. Sikert became quite the popular artist in England and eventually painted with Winston Churchill. But before all that, Sikert was born in Germany in 1860 and moved to England when he was only six. He eagerly pursued art, eventually teaching it at Westminster School of Art. But it was his interest in portraying the darker aspects of Victorian life that drew him to exploring the subjects of sex workers and even murderers. Sikrit became fascinated with Jack the Ripper during his reign of terror, which he was a bit of the war.

which prompted Sikert to paint the piece, Jack the Ripper's bedroom. It's a chilling portrait of a faceless man backlit in a dark room. So was Sikert's fascination with the Whitechapel murderer more telling than at first glance? We think it's possible and we're not alone. Famed crime writer Patricia Cornwell published a book entitled Portrait of a Killer, Jack the Ripper, Case Closed. That sounds pretty definitive. Well, Cornwell assembled a team of forensic specialists to run tests on DNA samples collected from some potential Jack the Ripper correspondence.

It should be noted, though, that the letters were never confirmed to have been written and sent by Jack the Ripper. But DNA was extracted from them. Yes, mitochondrial DNA, to be exact, and the investigation revealed that the DNA found on the letters matched some of the strains found on letters Sickert had sent. So the team compared Sickard's DNA with the DNA found on random Jack the Ripper. Ripper letters that may or may not have been written by the killer himself. Exactly. Which gives us a possible link, but not a definitive one.

Right. We have to address that it is possible Walter Sickert sent the supposed Jack the Ripper letters that matched his DNA, since most of the letters, if not all, were deemed hoaxes anyway. Well, that is part of the equation, yes, but there is more that suggests Sickert could have been responsible for the killings. It is believed that Sickert may have had a fistula on his penis. For those who don't know, a fistula is an abnormal connection or passageway that connects two organs or vessels that shouldn't normally connect.

Some, and this would include Patricia Cornwell, believe that this abnormality on his penis may have made him impotent. Or at the very least, it could have frustrated him sexually and compromised his sense of masculinity. This could manifest in anger directed at the opposite sex, or a need to express his sexual desires in a way other than sex. You mean like lust-driven murder? Took the words right out of my mouth. So basically, it is the potentially incriminating DNA evidence

and the supposed biological defect that suggests Sickert could have been the infamous Jack. Well, we also can't forget his artistic obsession with Jack and the Killings. That is irrefutable. So it is. And that leads us to our third suspect, the one we're most confident in, our final vote for Jack the Ripper. Here's what you need to know first. In 1894, six years after Mary Kelly's murder, Melville McNoughton, the chief constable of Scotland Yard, published the McNoughton Memorandah.

This document detailed three top suspects, according to McNaughton and his insider information. We, however, are only going to focus on the one we believe has any real credibility. That man is... Drum roll, please. Aaron Cosminsky. Kozminsky was born in 1865, in Russian-controlled Poland, where he spent most of his childhood. His family eventually immigrated to London around 1881, but it's his humble beginnings that shaped him most. Growing up under Russian rule at that time meant living in extreme poverty and oppression,

and witnessing violence and brutality daily. He most likely experienced this hatred in the community, which could have shaped his outlook on humanity as a whole. How do you mean, Vanessa? Someone who grows up in a negative environment marked by social hatred can develop a mindset in which violent acts against others become excusable, normal even. This would lead Kuzminski to self-justify any cruelty or crimes he committed. Besides the harsh social environment, his family and his world basically consisted mostly of women. He was the only boy in a family of several sisters. His father either died or abandoned the family before the unit moved to London,

So he didn't really have a strong male presence in his life, someone to whom he could relate and go to with his male-centered questions. Well, that's very interesting because an absent father figure was noted in the 1988 FBI profile of Jack the River. That's right. And it is also generally very common for serial killers to have grown up without a strong male authority figure in their lives. So the absence of a father in his teenage years

was probably already very damaging. But then if we take into consideration the fact that he was surrounded by women who were all his relatives, things get even more interesting. Growing up the way he did, in confined housing, in the poor slums of Russia, Kuzminski most likely had to share a bed with his sisters. There is a possibility that Kuzminski may have developed sexual feelings towards his sisters just by virtue of being in very close proximity to them while he was going through puberty. If we look at this aspect, mixed with the violence and crime he most likely witnessed in the community, he could have been prone to merge these strange sexual feelings

with violence. Well, this lines up very well with Jack's crimes. Driven by lust and hatred of women, he sought to destroy the feminine form, not respect or preserve it. McNaughton alluded to this in his memoranda. This man became insane owing to many years indulgence in solitary vices. He had a great hatred of women, especially of the prostitute class, and had strong homicidal tendencies. Following the murders in 1891, Kuzminski was admitted to Colney Hatch Asylum. He had apparently not worked for years, but may have for some time been a barber. The police surgeon, Dr. Bond, crafted a report after examining Mary Kelly's body. When we look at the document now, we can see that Dr. Bond was demonstrating an early form of criminal profiling.

He wrote, Assuming the murderer to be such a person as I have just described, he would probably be a man without regular occupation, but with some small income or pension. This speaks to the fact that he didn't appear to have steady work. While at the asylum, Kosminski was evaluated. Doctors recorded that he had engaged in public displays of masturbation and had attacked one of his sisters with a knife. The doctors also found that Kozminski suffered from audible hallucinations

and was guided by voices. We alluded to this possibility when discussing the four main archetypes of the serial killer. The visionary killer is driven by psychosis, like voices or visual hallucinations. So not only does Cosminsky fit the profile of a heathenistic killer, one who kills for sexual excitement, but due to his psychosis, he fits the profile of a visionary killer as well. Yes, based on his patient file from the asylum. So he fits at least two of the archetypes we've attributed to Jack the Ripper. So whatever happened to Cosmitsky? His mental health continued to deteriorate. He lost a lot of weight because he wouldn't eat due to paranoia. He died in an asylum

in 1919 at the age of 53. Two other high-ranking police officials had also signed off on Kosminsky as the killer, so McNoughton's suspicion was not operating in a vacuum. The name Cosminsky was frequently on the tongues of British investigators. And he remains on the tongues of riparologists and other modern-day historians. In 2014, author Russell Edwards presented new forensic evidence in his book, naming Jack the Ripper, that seems to link Kuzminsky to the killings. Based on his backstory and the psychological evidence, we believe Aaron Kossminski is the most viable suspect.

Listeners, what do you think? Tell us on Parcast Facebook page or on Twitter at Parcast Network. The name Jack the Ripper has become synonymous with the unsolved serial killer, and he has undoubtedly influenced future serial killer. There have been several copycat murders inspired by him. Here are two of the most famous. From 1975 to 1980, a serial killer following pretty closely in Jack the Ripper's footsteps, killed 13 women, several of whom were sex workers.

And he did it in Yorkshire, England, which helped him garden the name the Yorkshire Ripper. His real name is Peter Sutcliffe, but he actually now goes by Peter Coonan. He was a loner as an adolescent, dropped out of school. dropped out of school at 15 and did a bunch of menial jobs, one of which included grave digging. As a teenager, he developed a bad habit of being a voyeur and would often spy on sex workers and their indiscretions. He told authorities that he was on a mission from God to kill sex workers. So he was a mission-oriented serial killer. Very good. Or at least that was his claim.

But another possible explanation is that he wanted to get revenge on sex workers after he had a bad experience with one. sex worker and her pimp apparently tried to swindle money out of him. So this experience, combined with his history of watching sex workers have sex with their clients, was most likely the impetus for his crime spree. In 1981, the Yorkshire Ripper was convicted of murdering 13 women. He's been serving time ever since. He's now in his 70s, and it's very likely he'll die in prison. And then there's Derek Brown, a newspaper delivery man from Lancashire, England.

He not only targeted a sex worker, but also. stalked the same streets as his predecessor. That's right. Brown killed two women in Whitechapel. One was a sex worker, another a DVD seller. Police were confident that he was indeed trying to emulate Jack the Ripper. They had discovered that Brown had checked out a library book called Killers, the Most Barbaric Murderers of Our Time.

They also found a murder kit consisting of a bowsaw, steam cleaner, and some waterproof sheeting. It is believed he chose his victims because he figured they were easy to be. targets and no one would miss them. Forty-eight-year-old Brown, a father of seven, had been previously convicted of rape, and in 2008 he was convicted of the murders of Zau Magu and Bonnie Barrett, and sentenced to life in prison. The legacy of Jack the Ripper goes beyond the arena of copycat killers and into the realm of popular culture, where he has infiltrated literature, including comic books, graphic novels, theater, film, and TV, art, music, and music, and even video games.

Inspired by Jack's story, Marie Belloc's novel, The Lodger, has been made into five films, one of which includes Alfred Hitchcock's version entitled The Lodger, A Story of the London Fog. In 1988, famed British actor Michael Kane played Inspector Aberline in the miniseries Jack the Ripper. And I'm sure many of our listeners are familiar with the Johnny Depp film From Hell. That was actually based on the comic book by the same name. Various TV shows have alluded to Jack as well, such as NBC's Grimm and Fox's Sleepy Hollow. There's even an episode of The Outer Limits, inspired by the Whitechapel murderer. The Outer Limits?

Yes. In it, actor Carrie Elwis, famous for his film The Princess Bride, plays a doctor who kills women he believes are possessed by an alien force. And any fans of Christopher Guest will probably remember the reference in his film, This is Spinal Tap. In it, the band discusses creating a rock opera about... Jack the Ripper. The idea was to call it Saucy Jack. You're a naughty one. Saucy Jack, you're a haughty one. Saucy Jack, naughty. Amazing. Musical artists such as Judas Priest, Praying Mantis, Morrissey, and Bob Dylan recorded songs inspired by Jack the Ripper.

Here's a sampling for Morrissey's song. Along with Morrissey, the band Screaming Lord Such produced a song called Jack the Ripper. Tourists visiting London have a variety of Jack the Ripper tours to choose from. In eerie evening tours, people can actually stand on the very locations of his kills and visit some of the old local pubs that were popular during the time Jack made his terrifying debut. If we think about Jack the Ripper and consider the ripple effect which has occurred in history, in crime, and in popular culture, we see that he has permeated nearly every corner of the social consciousness. Often, when a person thinks of Jack the Ripper, he or she immediately envisions a man dressed in a black coat,

wearing a felt hat, and possibly carrying a medical bag, his shadow bleeding into the darkness that surrounds him. This is one of the quintessential images we have of him. And when we think of him like that, Jack becomes more of a caricature, more like a creature of the night. Similar to something like Dracula. Exactly, or even Freddy Cooger, a character from a horror story, not a man of flesh and blue. And maybe we need this image so we can distance ourselves from the real atrocities he committed, which if we really think about it are just too difficult to bear. Maybe that's how Jack was able to garner such a fan base, if we want to use that word.

We helped him. We actually created his larger-than-life monster-like persona to, in some small way, shield us from the warped human being he actually was, to make him more digestible. and, dare I say, narratively intriguing. That may be partly true, but one thing we can't deny is that he was a human being. He did live, he did kill, and he did escape. Maybe not forever. He may have died in that asylum in 1919.

Or maybe he didn't. Maybe he moved away and lived out his days until death claimed him much later. Whatever the real story, Jack the Ripper remains eternally elusive. And yet, ever-present. Reach out on social media to tell us who you think Jack the Ripper was. And don't forget to subscribe to Unsolved Murders and Serial Killers on iTunes, 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. I'm Vanessa Richardson. I'm Greg Poulson. I'm Wendy McKenzie. And I'm Carter Roy.

Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next time. If we live till next time. And in the meantime, Have a killer week. The Jack the Ripper special was created by Max Cutler. It is a production of Cutler Media and is part of the Parcast Network. It is produced by Ron and Max Cutler,

sound design by Ron Shapiro, with production assistance 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 Caposi, Kimberly Holland, Harris Markson, Manu Narayan, Sammy Nye, and Steve Pinto. 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 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. Blood Trails is a true crime podcast born in the outdoors.

Where the terrain is unforgiving, the evidence is scarce, and the truth gets buried under brush. and silence. I've seen something in the road. I instantly thought it was a sleeping bag. And there was a full of blood. Somebody somewhere knows something. I'm Jordan Sillers.

Season 2 is out now with new episodes every Thursday. Listen on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.