The suspects

Jack the Ripper is officially a cold case as it was never solved and the perpetrator never charged for the crimes. However, over the years, there have been a number of investigations which has led to several suspects being named and compelling evidence being compiled against them.

The fact that the murders took place within a short distance of each other suggests that the killer was local to the Whitechapel area, which would indicate that he was of the same social class as those that lived and worked in the area, however, others have suggested that he was an educated aristocrat, possibly a doctor or someone with medical knowledge, who travelled into Whitechapel from a more wealthy area. Others think because they were never caught, they might have been a police officer who knew the area and when their colleagues would be patrolling. 

Some of the best known suspects include:

Prince Albert, Duke of Clarence

The prince was first mentioned as a suspect in 1962, it was suggested that he committed the crimes after being driven mad by syphilis. Though a popular theory both at the time and in some publications, he is an unlikely suspect. There is no clear evidence that he ever suffered from syphilis and as a prince, would have not only been recognisable should he be seen in Whitechapel, but would have access to exclusive brothels where the workers would be throughly vetted and given medical treatment. It has been proven that he has alibis for all the murders, but his involvement certainly make a good story! 

Montague John Druitt

A Dorset born barrister who worked in the  Blackheath area of London until his dismissal, Montague would fit the various descriptions of Jack the Ripper being a well dressed, upper class man. He committed suicide shortly after the final murder, which many see as the reason why the killings stopped as abruptly as they began. 

Aaron Kosminski

Kosminski was named a suspect in 1894 and remains one of the strongest to come out of the investigation. He lived in Whitechapel and was known to have violent outbursts because of an unspecified mental health condition. DNA analysis in 2014 tenuously linked him with a shawl that was said to have belonged to one of the victims however, this wasn’t conclusive evidence.

John Pizer

A bootmaker who worked in Whitechapel and was known locally as Leather Apron, which was another of Jack the Ripper’s early aliases. He was known to have committed assaults on sex workers and had previously been arrested for stabbing someone. However, he was recorded as talking to a police officer at the time that one of the murders was committed, leading police at the time to discount him.

Walter Sickert

An artist who was known to have a fascination with Jack the Ripper, claiming to have even stayed in a room that had been rented by the killer. He painted gruesome murder scenes in his paintings and was named as the killer by crime writer Patricia Cornwell following her own investigation. 

James Maybrick

A Liverpudlian merchant who is linked to a diary supposedly by him in which he admits to being the killer. The diary has since been declared a fake, but there are other sources, including a pocket watch of his with the inscription J Maybrick, I am Jack, scratched into it. He would later die of arsenic poisoning and his wife would be arrested for his murder.

HH Holmes

Known as America’s first serial killer, Holmes was known to be in London around the time of the murders, Holmes committed a variety of murders over a number of years in America, most notably, he killed his victims in a purpose built hotel which had secret rooms, gas chambers and trap doors. He was not known to mutilate his victims. 

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, writer of the Sherlock Holmes novels, claimed that the police should have been looking for a woman, dubbing her Jill the Ripper. He theorised that a midwife could have committed the crimes and wouldn’t have raised as much suspicion. A woman wondering the streets at night wouldn't be unusual and a known midwife being seen covered in blood would not have caused any concern either. Over the years, several women that were convicted of murder have been put forward as being the Ripper, though none have ever been taken seriously. 

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