Jack The Ripper - 1888

JACK THE RIPPER - Man of the people.

Much has been written about the bizarre activities of London's infamous Jack the Ripper, a serial killer of prostitutes in the impoverished White Chapel district of London in the late 19th century. The murders involved slitting the women's throats and sometimes removing abdominal body parts. Jack plied his trade in the backstreets and alleys of London's poorer districts and struck terror in the hearts of women everywhere. As many as 13 and as few as 5 gruesome killings have been attributed to Jack, but he never was caught and the murders remained unsolved.


Manchester Guardian
14 November 1888

"THE ATROCITY IN WHITECHAPEL -- The Assassin Again Described"

George Hutchinson, formerly a groom and now a labourer, who was acquainted with the murdered woman, says he saw Kelly about two o'clock last Friday morning at the corner of Thrawl-street, Commercial-street. He noticed a man accost her, and the pair walked to Miller's Court, followed by Hutchinson, who stared right in the man's face. Hutchinson heard Kelly say she had lost her handkerchief, whereupon her companion took a red handkerchief from his pocket and gave it to the woman. They went into Miller's Court together, and some time afterwards Hutchinson also went up the court, stayed there a couple of minutes, and seeing no light in Kelly's room he returned to Dorset-street. He remained about the place three-quarters of an hour, and then went home. Hutchinson says the man was about 5ft. 6in. in height, aged about 35, dark complexion, and dark moustache; he wore a long black cloak, trimmed with astrachan (sic), white collar and black tie, and had a considerable amount of jewellery (sic) on his person. This description exactly tallies with one already furnished the police, who are now confident they are on the track of the murderer.