Jack The Ripper Case

Jack the Ripper is an infamous criminal whose identity has remained shrouded in mystery for over 125 years. There is a copious amount of factors that contribute to the killer’s identity remaining unknown for over a century; these factors include a lack of forensic evidence, inconsistent facts, false witnesses, an incredible amount of suspects, and a lack of consensus about who the actual victims of Jack the Ripper were. There are numerous important factors to consider when investigating these murders and why they were never solved. The first important factor to consider is the time period. The time period leading up to these controversial murders consisted of vast changes and of economic downturn; the area that all of the murders were discovered
There were hardly any details on who the suspect could be. There were little to no people out on the streets during the time of the murders and even the ones who were never gave a good description of the suspects. Rubinstein states, “There are about fifteen leading candidates for the true identity of the Ripper. None is wholly satisfactory, although one suspect in particular is highly convincing” (12). This is just a list of the most probable suspects; there were numerous others who were considered suspects in this case. Rubinstein continues to write about the complexity of the case, “Among those suspected were doctors, or slaughtermen (the removal of the victims' organs implied anatomical knowledge), Jews or other foreigners from the large local community of recent immigrants, Fenians, lunatics and eccentrics of all shades, local workingmen, and associates of the murdered women” (11). The amount of suspects who the investigators had to rifle through was a daunting. In the end, over 125 years later, investigators still have fifteen prime suspects. No one was ever charged with the crime due to the lack of witness to identify the killer. Once investigators narrowed down their list, they were able to examine the most probable suspects but were unable to develop probable cause for an
The lack of forensic evidence, credible witnesses, an incredible amount of suspects, and a lack of consensus on who the victims are several reasons why this case still remains unsolved today. Polly Dunbar writes about the complexity of the case, “It is the greatest murder mystery of all time, a puzzle that has perplexed criminologists for over a century” (Dunbar 1). After the case is broken down into these vital components and examined carefully, it is easy to see why the murderer was never caught. There was clearly not enough information in this case for investigators to look into. Jack the Ripper will always be a criminal who slipped the grasps of investigators and whose identity shall remain shrouded in mystery. After investigating each topic in depth, it is easy to see the lack of evidence and suspect information which is why this case continue to baffle