The history
In
1888
These
victims are Annie Chapman, Catherine Eddows,
Elisabeth Stride, Mary Ann Nichols, Mary Kelly.
Patricia Cornwell adds to these also Martha Tabran
and Emily Dimmock, who was killed in 1907.
Although
Whitechapel was no stranger to violence, the vicious nature of these murders -
marked by multiple stabbings, slashed throats, and mutilation - was
particularly disturbing. The crimes were committed late at night, under cover
of darkness.
The
killings ceased as suddenly as they began, and no culprit was ever brought to
trial, despite a massive manhunt and a cacophony of leads, accusations,
theories, and suspects. The murderer was popularly referred to as "Jack
the Ripper," based on the name signed to two taunting missives sent to the
Central News Agency in the midst of the mayhem.
A lot of hypothesis
were made: a student of medicine who
paid his victim with polished
farthing for appearing sovereigns (gold sterling): “sento la
necessità di osservare che una sovrana sarebbe stata un pagamento
straordinariamente generoso per una delle sventurate di di
Londra che erano abituate a concedere i loro favori per qualche farthing” (pag.160) ; a failed lawyer Montague John Druitt whose body was found in the River Thames: “omosessualità o pedofilia sembrano essere la
ragione per cui Druitt, che all’epoca in cui si
uccise era uno scapolo di trentun anni, venne licenziato dalla scuola[…] la
disperazione fu sufficiente perché si riempisse di pietre le tasche del
soprabito e si gettasse nelle acque gelide e inquinate del Tamigi” ; a Polish immigrant; Sir William Gull the doctor of Queen Victoria
“nel 1888 il dottor Gull aveva settantun anni e aveva
già avuto un infarto” (pag 121) and the Duke of Clarence “Eddy come veniva chiamato”: “Eddy non
aveva né l’energia né la voglia di ammazzare prostitute…e gli omicidi
continuarono anche dopo la sua morte prematura”(page.122). Patricia
Cornwell with a scientific method, demolished all
those and presents his culprit: Walter
Sickert.
In May
2001 Patricia Cornwell was invited to Scotland Yard and there she met John
Grieve. It was this discussion the cause that led Patricia to write a book
about Jack the Ripper.