| Jack The Ripper |
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| Saturday, 17 May 2008 | |
 Jack the Ripper is an alias given to an unidentified serial killer or killers active in the largely impoverished Whitechapel area and adjacent districts of London, England in the late 19th century. The victims were women allegedly earning income as prostitutes. Their throat was cut, after which the body was mutilated. Theories suggest the victims were first strangled in order to silence them and to explain the lack of reported blood at the crime scenes. The removal of internal organs from three of the victims led some officials at the time of the murders to propose that the killer possessed anatomical or surgical knowledge.  Due to the lack of a confirmed identity for the killer, the legends surrounding the murders have become a combination of genuine historical research, folklore and exploitation. Over the years, many authors, historians, and amateur detectives have proposed theories regarding the identity or identities of the killer and his victims.  The files kept by the Metropolitan police show that the investigation begun in 1888 eventually came to encompass eleven separate murders stretching from April 3, 1888, until February 13, 1891, known in the police docket as "the Whitechapel Murders." In addition, at least seven other murders and violent attacks have been connected with Jack the Ripper by various authors and historians. Among the eleven murders actively investigated by the police, five are almost universally agreed upon as having been the work of a single serial killer. |
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