Give the women killed by Jack the Ripper in order of their murder:
Mary Ann Nichols - 31st August 1888
Annie Chapman - 8th September 1888
Elizabeth Stride - 30th september 1888
Catherine Eddows - 30th september 1888
Mary Kelly - 9th November 1888
Give 3 things each ripper murder had in common:
- the women killed were prostitutes
- the victims were killed by their throat being cut before their intestines were pulled out
- They took place in 1888
What was written on a wall that was suspected to be the work of Jack the Ripper?
“Juwes are the men who will not be blamed for nothing”
Give 4 elements of Whitechapel:
- Lots of Jewish immigrants which caused high racial tensions
- rich and poor lived side by side which caused a lot of theft
- cheap houses that were poorly built and unclean
- overcrowding which led to a lack of job opportunities
Give 3 reasons the police struggled to catch Jack the Ripper:
- The police force didn’t yet have access to DNA/fingerprint evidence
- Very dark/polluted which meant the Ripper was able to commit murders without being seen
- people in Whitechapel weren’t willing to work with the police, as many were involved in crime or didn’t speak English
What was peabody estate?
Better-built, safer flats for Whitechapel residents that replaced slum housing, but was too expensive for most to live in
What were fenians?
An Irish terrorist group who wanted independence for Ireland and tried to achieve this through violence such as bombing buildings
Give 3 reasons Whitechapel was a difficult area to police:
- Whitechapel was home to a lot of immigrants who weren’t able to communicate with the police due to a language barrier or who distrusted the police due to bad experiences. This meant they didn’t report crimes or offer information
- heavy pollution and lack of street lighting meant that it was very difficult to witness crimes and identify suspects accurately
- The police were understaffed and had a lot of crime to deal with, meaning they weren’t able to properly follow up on a lot of reported crime and didn’t have the time to conduct in-depth investigations
What was H division?
the division of the Metropolitan police that policed Whitechapel
Who was Frederick Abberline?
The man in charge of the H division at the time of the Ripper murders
Who was Sir Charles warren?
Commissioner of the met from 1886-1888
How effective was the police’s use of autopsy in the Ripper murders?
It was quite effective, as they had started using forensics in the early 1800s, so their abilities were well developed at this point. Autopsies helped identify that Jack the Ripper was left-handed and when the victims had died
How effective were the use of bloodhounds in the Ripper investigation?
Not effective, as the dogs were confused by the smells in Whitechapel & the police forgot to pay their handler so they were withdrawn from the investigation
Who were the whitechapel vigilance committee?
A group of businessmen who were frustrated with the police’s failure to catch Jack the Ripper and tried to catch him themselves by organising rewards for information and marching the streets threatening him
