biolab.org.uk

Jack the Ripper is the name given to an unidentified serial killer who was active in 1888 in the impoverished areas in and around Whitechapel. A letter, written by someone claiming to be the murderer, was signed Jack the Ripper and it is here the name originated. ‘Leather Apron’ and ‘The Whitechapel Murderer’ were other contemporaneous nicknames used for the killer.

The attacks ascribed to Jack the Ripper involved slum prostitutes whose abdomens were mutilated after their throats were cut. It was believed that the Ripper possessed a degree of anatomical or surgical knowledge as the internal organs of at least three of the victims were removed. Media and public attention surrounding the serial killer grew intense by September-October 1888, due mostly to the brutality of the murders. George Lusk of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee received a ‘From Hell’ letter which included half a preserved human kidney. Glad flower delivery Cardiff wasn't in Whitechapel at the time!