Jack The Ripper was a murderer who brutally murdered at least five prostitutes in the Whitechapel area of ??East London from August 7 to November 9, 1888. Generation name. During the crime, the murderer repeatedly wrote letters to relevant units to provoke him, but he was never brought to justice. His bold crime methods, which were repeatedly exaggerated by the media, caused panic in British society at that time. To this day he remains one of the most notorious killers in European and American culture.

Although it has been over a hundred years since the crime was committed, there are an increasing number of books and related research on the case. However, due to lack of evidence, there are different stories about who the murderer is, and there is no overlap, making the case even more confusing. However, Jack the Ripper continues to appear in today's popular culture through media, rock music, toys and other items.

◆The process of committing the crime

The Ripper’s crimes were concentrated near Whitechapel in the East End of London. This was a famous immigration center at the time, with tens of thousands of immigrants from as far away as Russia and Eastern Europe settling here. Due to the meager income, this area has long become a hotbed of poverty and crime, with homeless gangsters and prostitutes living on the streets. Although Scotland Yard established a city-wide patrol network in 1829, the weak police force was still unable to maintain security in the East End, where tens of thousands of prostitutes visited every night.

Whitechapel Serial Murders

The first message "Dear Boss" sent by the suspected murderer. On August 7, 1888, a female body was found lying in Whitechapel, East District. The deceased was a middle-aged prostitute named Martha Tabram. She was stabbed thirty-nine times, nine of which passed through her throat. At 3:45 a.m. on August 31 of the same year, another prostitute, Mary Ann Nichols, was found dead in Bucks Row near Whitechapel. She was 43 years old. Not only was her face bruised and some of her front teeth missing, but her neck was also cut twice. But the most cruel thing is that the abdomen was cut open, the intestines were dragged out, and the vagina was severely stabbed with a sharp knife.

Since homicides rarely occur near the church, these two cases and several previous murder cases have attracted public attention. Some media even dubbed them "the Whitechapel murders". It was said that it was the same murderer. Such vivid descriptions caused panic among local residents, so the police deployed more plainclothes detectives to patrol the area, and local residents also organized patrol teams to maintain law and order. This gives people confidence that such cases will not be repeated.

Jack the Ripper

Unexpectedly, eight days later, at 5:45 a.m. on September 8, a man living at No. 29 Hanbury Street An old coachman discovered a female body in the fence behind his low-rent apartment. The deceased was 47-year-old prostitute Annie Chapman. Like the previous deceased, her throat was slit and her abdomen was disemboweled. Her intestines were thrown onto her right shoulder, and part of the uterus and abdominal flesh were cut away by the murderer. There were obvious strangulation marks on his neck. It is said that he called for help before his death, but no attention was paid to him. Since this was the first time the murderer committed a crime near a house, and the time was close to before 5 o'clock in the morning, but he did not make any noticeable noise, this case became the most famous case committed by the murderer who would later be known as the Ripper.

On September 27, the Central News Agency received a letter written in red ink and stamped with fingerprints, signed "Jack the Ripper". In the letter, he jokingly stated that he was the murderer of the prostitutes and claimed that he would continue to kill more prostitutes before being arrested. Since the letter began with "Dear Boss," the first letter sent by the murderer was later called that.

At one o'clock in the morning on September 30, a coachman discovered the body of Elizabeth Stride near her home. Unlike the first two victims, the 44-year-old Swedish prostitute had her throat cut but was not caesareaned. Instead, she died of excessive blood loss from the left carotid artery.

Due to different criminal methods, some people suspect that the murderer in this case is not directly related to the previous two murder cases of dissection.

Just when a large number of police arrived at the burial place of Elizabeth Stead, 46-year-old prostitute Catherine Eddowes was found lying around at about 1:45 in the morning. The body is in Miter Square. In addition to having her throat cut and her intestines thrown out to her right breast, part of her uterus and kidneys were also taken away. Since the patrolling police claimed that there was nothing unusual here at 1:30, they determined that the deceased was killed between 1:30 and 1:45, and his abdomen was cut open. The murderer's neatness of execution led most people to believe that he might be a professional surgeon.

At three o'clock in the morning, a police officer searching for a suspected suspect found a piece of blood-stained clothing near Goulston Street, which was identified as Kathleen Eddowes wearing an apron. part. On the high wall near where the clothes fell, a line of chalk written by the suspected murderer was found: "The Juwes are not The men That Will be Blamed for nothing.", but Another detective remembers it as "The Juwes are The men That Will not be Blamed for nothing."). Later, Police Inspector General Thomas Arnold visited the scene and saw the message. He was worried that the graffiti on the wall would be seen by passers-by after dawn and might arouse anti-Semitic sentiments, so he ordered it to be wiped off on the spot.

The last victim

The next day, October 1, the Central News Agency received another postcard, the content of which was also written in red ink. In the letter, the writer calls himself "saucy Jacky" and mentions that he plans to "do two more things the next day" - generally believed to be Elizabeth Stead and Kathleen in the early morning of September 30 ·The two murders of Eddos. In addition, the letter writer mentioned that he planned to cut off the deceased's ears and send them to the police, which is similar to the damage to the outer ear of Kathleen Eddowes' body. Finally, the writer also left the genus name "Jack the Ripper". The letter was later called "Saucy Jacky", as the writer called himself.

On October 15, a letter sent to the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee (Whitechapel Vigilance Committee) voluntarily formed by residents in the Whitechapel area once again attracted everyone's attention. The letter contained half a kidney and was written in black ink. The writer claimed to be "from hell" and said the kidney had been taken from "some woman" (generally believed to be Katharine Eddowes), half of which he had fried and eaten. Unlike the previous two letters, this letter did not have any signature. In the future, people named this letter with the "From Hell" at the beginning. Compared with the previous two letters, it is generally believed that this letter is most likely to be written by the murderer himself.

On November 9, a landlord on Dorset Street asked his assistant to go to Mary Jane Kelly’s room to collect six weeks’ unpaid rent. However, the 25-year-old young prostitute was found dead on the bed through the window: she was naked, with marks on her neck, her chest and abdomen were cut open, and her face, ears, nose and breasts were also cut off. It is believed that the murderer took her to the side It was roasted and eaten in the fireplace (but some people think it was cut off and taken away by the murderer). A neighbor claimed to have seen Kelly alive last night, November 8, at 8:30 pm (however, her description of Kelly’s appearance was not entirely correct). Another neighbor claimed to have heard something at around 4 a.m. that day. A miserable female scream. But what is certain is that Kelly appeared in the bar at 10pm the night before the body was found.

After the murder of Mary Jane Kelly, Jack the Ripper seemed to disappear: similar murder methods did not appear again in London, and the media's interest in the murder gradually faded. However, the police mobilized a large number of manpower but were unable to solve the case. They were criticized by people from all walks of life in the UK, including Queen Victoria, which led to changes in the top police circles. In 1892, the police announced that they would stop investigating the Whitechapel serial murders.

◆Ripper Letters

Throughout the entire period of the Ripper crimes, the police and newspapers received thousands of letters about the case. Some of the letters were written by people who were dedicated to providing information to help catch the killer, but the vast majority were ignored as unhelpful to the case.

Perhaps the most intriguing of the hundreds of letters are those purported to have been written by the murderer. The vast majority of these letters are considered scams. Many experts have pointed out that "none" of these letters are authentic, but they may contain the murderer's original writings. After verification by modern and current authorities, there are three letters that are most eye-catching:

·"Dear Boss" Letter: The date is September 25, and the postmark date is September 27. The recipient was the Central News Agency and was sent to Scotland Yard on September 29. At first the letter was thought to be a hoax, but when Eddos' body was found to have a partially cut off ear, the letter was proven to "clip the ladies ears off". ) to attract people's attention. Police released the letter on October 1 in the hope that someone would recognize the handwriting, but to no avail. The name "Jack the Ripper" first appeared in this letter and gained world-wide notoriety after it was published, with most of the nonsense letters imitating the tone of the letter. After the murder spree ended, police claimed the letter was a hoax from a local journalist.

·"Naughty Jack's Postcard": The postmark date is October 1, 1888, the recipient is Central News Agency (Central News Agency), and the handwriting of the content is similar to "Dear Boss Letter" . The letter mentioned that the two victims (Stader and Eddos) would die near each other: "double event this time." What is controversial is that the letter was sent before the murder was announced, and it does not appear to be written by an eccentric with knowledge of such crimes, although it was postmarked 24 hours before the murder and was followed by Considerable details are known to local residents and journalists. The police department later announced that it had confirmed that the letter was written by the specific reporter who also wrote the "Dear Boss Letter."

·"Letter from Hell": Also known as the "Lusk letter" (Lusk letter), postmarked on October 15, 1888 by George Lusk of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee Received on October 16th. When Lusko opened the small box that came with the letter, he found half a kidney inside, which the doctor who soon preserved it in the "Soul of Wine" (ethanol) said was a human kidney. One of Eddowes's kidneys was removed by the murderer, and the doctor believed that the kidney sent to Lusko "looked like the one that had been taken from Caesarine Eddowes", although his findings were highly unreliable [1]. The letter's author claimed to have "fried and eaten" the other half of the kidney. Accounts of the kidney are mixed: some insist it belongs to Eddos, but others believe it was a "horrible prank and nothing more."

Some places list another. A letter, dated September 17, 1888, is believed to be the first message using the name Jack the Ripper. Experts believe it is a modern forgery that was only placed in police files in the 20th century, long before the Ripper committed his crimes. They discovered that the letter had neither a police stamp to verify the date of receipt nor had any early investigators checked it for potential evidence. In addition, no police files from the time mentioned the letter, and some people who read it claimed that the letter was written with a ballpoint pen, which was not discovered until more than 50 years after Jack the Ripper committed the crime.

◆Victims

The identified victims are all middle- and lower-class prostitutes, and except for Mary Jane Kelly, they are all middle-aged but have no fixed residence. . The victims were all killed in secret or semi-secret places, and most of them were drunk before they died. The remains of the deceased showed that the victim's throat was slit, the abdomen was often dissected after death, and some victims even had their vulva cut off by the murderer. Many people now believe the victims were strangled to death in the first place to prevent them from calling for help. The internal organs of some corpses were removed, and based on the wounds on the corpses, the murder weapon was believed to be a knife as sharp as a scalpel. Therefore, it is inferred that the murderer had a considerable degree of surgical and medical skills, and his occupation may be a doctor or butcher.

▲Mary Ann Nicholas

Her maiden name is Mary Ann Walker, nicknamed "Polly". Born August 26, 1845, killed on Friday, August 31, 1888.

▲Annie Chapman

Her maiden name is Alyssa Ann Smith, nicknamed "Black Annie". Born in September 1841, killed on Saturday, September 8, 1888.

▲Elizabeth Stead

Her maiden name is Elizabeth Gustasdotter, nicknamed "Long Liz". Born in Sweden on November 27, 1843, killed on Saturday, October 30, 1888.

▲Catherine Eddowes

She once used the pseudonyms "Kate Conway" and "Mary Ann Kelly", both of whom were married under common law. Husbands of Thomas Conway and John Kelly. Born April 14, 1842, killed on Sunday, September 30, 1888.

▲Mary Janet Kelly

After traveling to Paris, she called herself "Mary Janet Kelly" and was nicknamed "Ginger". He was said to have been born in Limerick or County Limerick, Munster, Ireland, in 1863, and was killed on Friday, November 9, 1888.

Possible Victims

Other victims who were attacked or killed by similar techniques at that time are listed in the table below. The information on these victims is very limited, including:

▲"Fairy Fay"

This is the name of an unnamed murder on December 26, 1887 Nickname of the deceased. The cause of death was determined to be "a pointed pillar pierced through her abdomen". It is generally believed that "Fei Xiaoxian" was the product of a media incident related to the Emma Smith murder case (see below): they put Emma's friend in After Emma was attacked, she mistakenly thought that Emma had been attacked on Christmas Day the year before the murder as another murder. The term "Fei Xiaoxian" did not appear until many years after the Emma Smith murder, and seems to come from the lyrics of the famous song "Polly Wolly Doodle": "Enjoy it, my Fei Xiaoxian" ( Fare thee well my fairy fay), there is currently no evidence that this victim actually existed. Records at the place where the murder occurred also show that there was no female named "Fei" nearby at the time.

▲Annie Millwood

Born around 1850, reportedly the victim of an attack on February 25, 1888, which left her He was hospitalized for "several stab wounds to his legs and lower body." She was successfully discharged from the hospital but died on March 31, 1888. The cause of death was probably due to some natural factor.

▲Ada Wilson

Reportedly the victim of an attack on March 28, 1888. She was stabbed twice in the neck but survived.

▲Emma Elizabeth Smith

Born around 1843. On April 3, 1888, she was attacked and a blunt instrument was inserted into her vagina, causing a perineal rupture. After being attacked, she managed to walk back to her rental house with injuries. After returning, her friends took her to the hospital, where she told the police that she was besieged by two or three people, one of whom was a minor. He then fell into a coma until his death on April 5, 1888.

▲Martha Tabram

Her maiden name is Martha White, sometimes her real name is spelled incorrectly as Martha Tabran. Born on May 10, 1849, he was killed on August 7, 1888, with thirty-nine stab wounds. Based on some incomplete reasons, such as lack of evidence and motive, geographical and temporal proximity, and standard attack methods, Taboulian is most often considered to be another victim of the Ripper, but the biggest of the two The difference lies in the method of the crime (impalement rather than strangulation or throat slitting). However, it is now accepted that the murderer will change his criminal methods, even dramatically.

▲"The Whitehall Mystery" ("The Whitehall Mystery")

This term refers to the New London Police Department on Whitehall Street (Whitehall) on October 2, 1888 The headless female body was found in the basement of the headquarters building. An arm that originally belonged to the body was found in Pimlico on the Thames. The other leg was dismembered and buried under the place where the body was found. The remaining hands and feet were not found, and the identity of the deceased was unknown. Still unrecognizable.

▲Annie Farmer

Born in 1848, it is said that she was the victim of an attack on November 21, 1888. During this attack, her neck was cut open and she bled so much that she almost died. Fortunately, the wound was not deep, and this was obviously due to the fact that the murder weapon was a dull knife. The police suspected that the wound was purely self-inflicted and soon stopped investigating the case.

▲Rose Mylett

Her real name may be Catherine Mylett, but she is also known as Elizabeth "Drunkard Liz" Davis, "Alice or "Clara". Born in 1862 and died on November 20, 1888. She was reportedly strangled with a "rope wrapped tightly around her neck," although some investigators believe she was accidentally strangled by the collar she was wearing while drunk.

▲Elizabeth Jackson

A prostitute, some of her remains were recovered from the Thames River from May 31 to June 25, 1889. It is said that these body parts were identified based on the injuries that existed before her disappearance. It was obvious that she died of homicide.

▲Alice McKenzie (Alice McKenzie)

Nicknamed Alice "Clay Pipe" and using the pseudonym Alice Bryan. She was born around 1849 and died on July 17, 1888. The cause of death was reportedly "ruptured carotid artery" but several small bruises were found on his body.

▲"The Pinchin Street Murder"

This refers to the headless body found on September 10, 1889, except for the hands that were not severed. In addition, the situation is similar to that of "Whitehall Mystery". One theory, which could not be confirmed at the time, was that the body was that of Lydia Hart, a missing prostitute. The "Binch Street Murders" and "Whitehall Mysteries" are often thought to be the work of the same serial killer, and "he" is therefore known as the "Headless Killer" or "Headless Killer". However, whether Jack the Ripper and the "Headless Corpse Killer" are the same person or whether they are unrelated (but probably operating in the same area) has become a topic of debate among Ripper researchers for a long time. In addition, Elizabeth Jackson is also considered to be another victim of the "Headless Killer".

▲Frances Coles

Also known as Frances Coleman, Frances Huggins or nicknamed "Orange-haired Neil". Born in 1865 and died on February 13, 1891. A small wound on the back of her head showed that she had been thrown to the ground and her throat had been slit. However, no other signs of dismemberment were found on the remains.

▲Carrie Brown

The nickname "Shakespeare" comes from her habit of reciting Shakespeare's sonnets when drunk. Born around 1835 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. Killed on April 24, 1891. She was suffocated with clothing and then dismembered with a knife. Large lacerations to the vulva and minor cuts to the back and legs were found on the body. Although her ovaries were found on the bed, no organs were taken away. It is unknown whether this was an attempt to raise suspicion by the murderer. At the time, the murder was compared to the Whitechapel murder, but the London police firmly denied any connection.

Some Ripper researchers cite the case of disabled boys and believe that they may also be the targets of the Ripper crimes, because at that time several letters sent to the police by the alleged killers repeatedly threatened to kill them. Toddlers.

◆Suspect

Although Jack the Ripper has attracted the attention of the world, so far, there is no clear evidence pointing out that the murderer is a few specific people.

On the contrary, as time went by and the number of researchers increased, more and more suspects were identified, and their identities spread across all walks of life in London at that time; on the contrary, it was the few suspects who were traditionally considered the most suspected, and more and more suspects were identified. After the information was released, his innocence was gradually cleared. Here, the more well-known suspects are listed.

The following are suspects that the police believe are likely to be Jack the Ripper (but please note that there is no evidence to identify them):

▲Montague John Doolittle John Druitt)

(August 15, 1857 - December 1, 1888)

After obtaining the status of a lawyer, he practiced law for a long time from 1881 to November 21, 1888 Serves as a teacher at a private school to fulfill his duties. In addition, he is also a famous sportsman and amateur cricketer. For unknown reasons, he was last seen at a school in Blackheath on November 19, 1888, and was declared missing two days later. His body was found floating in the Thames on December 31, 1888. Examination showed that his body had sunk to the bottom of the river for several weeks because of large rocks in his pocket. The police therefore concluded that he drowned in depression. commit suicide. Because the time of his disappearance and death was not far from the fifth murder, and the murders did not occur again after his death, many investigators at the time believed that he was the Ripper. However, research in recent years has shown that between the murder of Kelly and his death, he served as a legal representative in the court, and according to court records, there was a long argument over the seat. This was seen by some as refuting the suggestion that Doolittle suffered a mental breakdown after the Kelly case, and in Sir Melville Macnaghten's memorandum, the first document implicating Doolittle, the lawyer was Mistaken for a doctor, detective Frederick Abberline suspected that Doolittle was involved.

▲Severin Antoniovich Klosowski

Pseudonym George Chapman, but with the victim Anne Chapman Nothing to do with it. He was born in Krasowiski, Poland, but took the name Chapman when he came to England. He was living in London at the time, a violent man with perhaps some medical knowledge who was later hanged for the exact crime of poisoning three women. He was at one time the most likely suspect by Frederick Ebery (see George Chapman (The Killer)).

▲Aaron Kosminski

(1864 or 1865-1919)

Member of the London Jewish community, 1891 In February, he was sent to a mental sanatorium for treatment. He was listed as a suspect in Sheriff McNaghten's memorandum on the grounds that he had a number of suspicious characteristics, such as his resemblance to "the man seen by the London constable" near Bishop's Square (a description found only in that document). Some researchers believe that MacNaghten really meant the London police witness Joseph Lawendale, but others have thought of another explanation: there is no authoritative information that anyone was near the square that night. ) Assistant Commissioner Robert Anderson and Detective Inspector Donald Swanson both stated that "Only those with good eyesight can spot the murderer." (There are various versions, but this may be a reference to Witness Israel Schwartz). However, they claimed that prosecution was impossible because witnesses were unwilling to give evidence against the Jews. In a marginal note to his version of the report, Swenson identified the man as Kominsky, adding that his brother's home was next to the London police station in Whitechapel, and that he was sent to a mental hospital with his hands tied behind his back, where he soon died. dead. The last two details about Kominsky are not quite correct, as he lived until 1919. Symptoms of his delirium included auditory hallucinations, a fear of being eaten by others, and a refusal to groom. In the courtyard he is described as incapable of harm, although on one occasion he waved a chair at a courtyard attendant. In recent years, most researchers believe that he will be included in the suspect list, and the anti-Semitic circumstances at the time of the murder have more influence than the correlation between his symptoms and the case.

▲Michael Ostrog

(1833-1904?)

Professional liar who used pseudonyms and disguises. He was named a suspect by a new police officer who joined the investigation in 1889, the year after the victims of the "True Five" murders, but researchers could find no evidence that he had committed anything more serious than theft and fraud. case. In fact, records show that the Ripper was serving time in a French prison at the time of his crimes, which appears to be an unshakable alibi. The last time he was mentioned during his lifetime was in 1904.

▲John Pizer

(1850-1897)

Pizer was a Polish Jew living near Whitechapel. Engaged in the shoemaking industry, police officer Sergeant William Thick took Zeng back for questioning. Singer apparently believed that Pizza knew "Furry Apron," a local man known for attacking prostitutes and whom many residents believed to be the killer when the Whitechapel serial murders first occurred. But his suspicion was eventually cleared because when a group of police officers discussed the series of murders during the London dock fire, Pizzard claimed that Singer had known him for several years, which meant that he was attracted by Singer. The arrest was made out of malice and lacked evidence.

▲"Dr." Francis Tumblety

(circa 1833-1903)

Seems to be the future An educated or self-taught American, he traveled all over the United States and Canada pretending to be a professional doctor, and occasionally traveled to Europe to do the same thing. A self-confessed misogynist, he often associates death with his patients, although he is not sure whether this is intentional or unintentional. In 1888, Francis was in England and was arrested on November 7 on "charges of indecent and obscene conduct", apparently targeting his preference for homosexual sex. He was released on bail on November 16. While awaiting trial, he instead fled to the countryside on November 24 to prepare for France. Some people believe that he was released from prison in time to commit the Mary Jane Kelly murder (November 9) and was arrested immediately. News of his arrest led some to believe he was the Ripper because of several notorious scams he committed in the United States. Whether he was a killer or just a weirdo under undue suspicion remains a matter of debate. Tablett was mentioned as a suspect in a letter sent to a reporter by a London police officer many years after the murder, but no one knew that the officer was directly involved in the Ripper investigation. The suggestion that Scotland Yard sent a police officer to the United States in 1888 in an attempt to bring Tablett back in connection with the crime has remained controversial in recent research.

Other possible suspects

There are also a number of people named as potential Whitechapel murder suspects by journalists and others at the time (but please note that there is no evidence to identify them) , several famous candidates are:

▲William Henry Bury

(1859-1889)

From London Shortly after moving to Scotland, he strangled his first wife, Ellen Elliot, a former prostitute, to death on February 10, 1889. Shortly after her death, several more wounds were inflicted on her abdomen. Some believe the wounds are very similar to those found on the bodies of Martha Taboulian and Mary Ann Nicholas. Burley was named as a suspect after he turned himself in to local police, although he claimed not to be involved in any other cases. He was hanged shortly afterwards in Dundee, Scotland, for his admitted murder of his wife.

▲Dr. Thomas Neill Cream

(May 1850 - November 16, 1892)

A doctor who secretly specializes in abortions. Born in Scotland, educated in London, opened in Canada and later moved to Chicago, Illinois, USA. In 1881 he was found responsible for the poisonings of several of his patients, both men and women.

Initially, no homicide was suspected, but Klee himself requested that the bodies be investigated, an apparent attempt to pique his interest. He was then imprisoned in the Illinois State Penitentiary at Joliet, and was released on July 31, 1891, on the grounds of good conduct. After moving to London to start a new life, he was again charged with murder, arrested, and hanged on November 16, 1892. According to some sources, his last words before his death were: "I am Jack..." This has been interpreted as a reference to Jack the Ripper, but also Possibly muffled by a hood. Experts argue that the episode was more likely to be meaningless than a later fabrication, based on the fact that the officers involved in the execution did not mention the alleged impediment to a confession. It is said that the Ripper was serving his sentence in prison when he committed the crime. However, some writings suggest that he could bribe police officers to leave prison before being officially released, or that he could leave a double in his cell, but neither of these claims has been supported by authoritative sources. (See Thomas Neil Klee)

▲Frederick Bailey Deeming (Frederick Bailey Deeming)

(July 30, 1842? — March 23, 1892)

A sailor living in Sydney, Australia, with a wife and four children. Considered a British citizen, he went to court in England on December 15, 1887, charged with bankruptcy. Although he was eventually sentenced to 40 days in prison, he was apparently released on December 29, 1887, and tried to escape with his wife and children to Cape Town, South Africa to avoid his creditors. Soon after arriving, he was targeted by the local police for fraud, so he sent his wife and children to England, and then went to the newly established Johannesburg. From then on, he seemed to disappear: there is no reliable information recording the period from March 1888 to 1889. His whereabouts during the murder in October. He reappeared in Kingston upon Hull, England, where he was known as Harry Lawson, one of his many aliases. After successfully transitioning into a career as a professional con man, he apparently tried to reunite with his estranged wife. In July 1891, they and their children moved to a rented house in Rainhill, but their relationship ended abruptly when he slit their throats while his wife was sleeping on August 11, 1891. Since he was introduced there as a bachelor and claimed that his family came to visit his sister and nephew, it was easy to explain their disappearance. He then proposed to his landlady's daughter, Emily Mathers, and they married on September 22, 1891. The newlyweds left Southampton, England, by ship on November 2, 1891, and arrived in Victoria, Australia, on December 15, 1891. On December 24, 1891, he killed Amy, buried her under the rented house, and left immediately. Amy's body was soon discovered, triggering local investigations and searching for other bodies in the UK. This also led to his arrest on March 11, 1892, and was sentenced to hanging during the trial. Australian public opinion at the time believed that he It's the Ripper. It is said that he knew Ripper victim Catherine Eddowes well and corresponded with her, but this remains unconfirmed.