I had long believed that the infamous killer known as Jack the
Ripper was in fact George Chapman (Severin Antoniovich Klosowski) a man
whose cruelty against his own wives and neighbors was legendary.
Why am I suddenly discussing my interest in Ripperology? I will get
to that in a moment. Let's first examine my theory on the type of
characteristics Ripper would have had, aside from his murderous
misogyny:
-Trained surgeon or medical expert:
Ripper's victims were cut with extreme precision and care, quickly, and
at night. Only a surgeon or a highly trained medical professional could
accomplish what Ripper did. I have never bought into the theory of a
lunatic doing it (precision and control are not the distinguishing
characteristics of an insane person. They are marks of a sociopath.) or
into the theory of a veterinarian being the murderer (a Vet, even a
well trained one, would still not have the ability to conduct such
delicate cutting and to do it in the dark on a different species even).-Had easy access to the victims:It has long been
believed that Ripper was a client of the murdered prostitutes. I had
never believed that he was the client for all of the victims, however,
maybe for some. But in general, as a new client, he would have been
immediately too obvious given his type of dress and style, described as
well groomed and upper crust. And after the murders had started, he
would have been obvious as the killer to the locals and to the women
precisely because he was new and because of Ripper's description as a
gentleman, in gloves and top hat even. If Ripper was a regular client,
he was probably limited to one or two of the women. I will get into
this issue later. I believe he knew the women and may have been a
client of one.-Easy escape: Ripper was described as having the
appearance of a "gentleman" and as being "well groomed" and nicely
attired. He was also described as looking foreign. Add to that the
necessary medical expertise and one can see why many have believed that
Ripper was probably a nobleman. But I have never believed this theory,
precisely because of Ripper's ability to vanish into thin air after the
murders. Imagine the amount of blood, for example, that would be
present on the killer and how such a person could quickly change out of
his clothing, get rid of the evidence, and make his escape all in the
span of a few moments. The only type of person who could have both
medical training and an easy escape route would be an immigrant,
because regardless of their training, most immigrants were poor and
lived in poor areas. An immigrant could have been a surgeon in their
native country and also live and/or work in the area, making them a
common fixture and someone the victims' would have not suspected.-Other crimes: Anyone who studies crime knows that
most serial killers do not start off killing nor do they restrict their
criminal activity to murder. Ripper had a profound hate of women, there
is no question of this, and such hatred would not be limited to the
prostitute killings of London. This is one reason I do not believe that
he could have been a client for all of the murdered prostitutes. His
abuse would have been noted by the other women, who would have stayed
away from such a man. Moreover, they probably would have identified him
based on his past abuse as a suspect for the killings especially if the
first or second victim was a prostitute whom he frequented.Ripper would have probably brutalized women in many other ways,
including rape and other types of violent crimes. If he were married,
then his wife would have been just as abused if not killed. No one ever
seemed to want to delve into rape cases and other unsolved murder cases
of that time with regard to Ripper.-How the murders stopped: A murderer with such a
blood-lust, who has already gotten away with a number of murders, would
not simply stop. He would either be stopped by natural events, such as
illness or his own death, or by external events, such as being
apprehended or murdered himself or finally, by simply relocating.
Around the time that the Ripper killings stopped, similar killings
began around the New York/New Jersey area. Some have argued that these
killings were copycat killings, and there was even an arrest, but that
does not explain why in an era of little technology, a second murderer
would appear, across an ocean with a technique very similar to that of
Ripper. Nor would that explain how such a man would have the same type
of surgeon's precision and the same MO, some of which the police had
not made public.
That brings us to Chapman
Born in Poland as Severin Antoniovich, Chapman was a trained
surgeon, who immigrated to London around 1887. The murders began 1888.
During the time of the murders, Chapman worked in a Whitechapel barber
shop and would have been known to the victims, one of whom was found
only a few yards from the shop. He would have been well groomed,
because he worked in a barber shop, and he would have seemed a
"gentleman" because he was a foreign surgeon. He also would have had an
easy escape route, by simply going into his residence, which was also
in the same building as the barber shop.
Chapman was a known philanderer and bigamist, known to be married to
his first and second wives at the same time, around the time the
killings had started. He was known to have abused both wives. Around
the time the killings had stopped in London, Chapman had emigrated to
the New York/New Jersey. Chapman eventually came back to London,
married some more women, and finally began murdering his wives
outright, first Mary and then Bessie, both poisoned after they spent
much time being beaten by him. When he killed his last wife, he did so
with such carelessness, that he was finally charged with murder. He was
finally hanged in 1903. The issue of course is that Chapman killed his
wives in a vastly different way from how Ripper killed his victims.
That does not mean, however, that Chapman could not have been the
killer, as some have argued. It just means he had the ability to change
his MO.
Finally, the lead investigator on the case, Frederick George
Abberline, always believed that Chapman was Jack the Ripper. This is
important, because he was known to be a meticulous investigator and a
good officer. He also had been privy to all the evidence collected by
Scotland Yard and so he would know much more than the public or perhaps
even other investigators.
But why do I bring this all up now?
Has a fresh look at 118-year-old evidence revealed the true face of Jack the Ripper?
VICTORIA THAKEUsing state-of-the-art profiling, investigators have created a
vision of what the murderer, who strangled and butchered five London
prostitutes, would have looked like - and revealed that police at the
time were probably searching for the wrong kind of man.Laura Richards, of Scotland Yard's Violent Crime Command, analysed
evidence from the case using modern police techniques and has been able
to form the most accurate portrait of the Ripper ever put together. She
claims that the 118-year-old evidence shows the Ripper was aged between
25 and 35, he was between 5ft 5in and 5ft 7in tall and was of a stocky
build.
Amazingly, no one seems to have made the connection that the man in this photo:
and Chapman:
I think it safe to say, case closed.