Jack the Ripper

pigfarmer

pigfarmer

tall, thin, irritable
Interest in this faded for me a while ago but a podcast I just heard rekindled my interest, if you'll pardon the expression. It led to me buying an ebook.

What got my attention about this is the question this author posed - what did the police at the time think about this? Apparently her great grandfather was the desk sergeant in Whitehall at the time that gave her a personal connection. It's an excellent question that I have not heard asked - problems with the police investigation are all that's written about. But, realize that there were quite a number of sober intelligent, decent people who wanted to put an end to a series of horrific murders and they didn't skim on resources. Some understanding of how the department(s) of the era were organized helps, but it certainly sounds like resources were lavished upon the case. Net result: case closed. They knew who it was at the time, knew he was locked away and there was nothing further to be done.

This isn't new, but apparently this author uncovered some information that had not been available prior to 2015 that confirmed one individual. Good podcast, I bought her book.


View: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/edition-758-sarah-bax-horton/id155963493?i=1000629003554


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wwkirk

wwkirk

Divine
pigfarmer said:
Interest in this faded for me a while ago but a podcast I just heard rekindled my interest, if you'll pardon the expression. It led to me buying an ebook.

What got my attention about this is the question this author posed - what did the police at the time think about this? Apparently her great grandfather was the desk sergeant in Whitehall at the time that gave her a personal connection. It's an excellent question that I have not heard asked - problems with the police investigation are all that's written about. But, realize that there were quite a number of sober intelligent, decent people who wanted to put an end to a series of horrific murders and they didn't skim on resources. Some understanding of how the department(s) of the era were organized helps, but it certainly sounds like resources were lavished upon the case. Net result: case closed. They knew who it was at the time, knew he was locked away and there was nothing further to be done.

This isn't new, but apparently this author uncovered some information that had not been available prior to 2015 that confirmed one individual. Good podcast, I bought her book.


View: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/edition-758-sarah-bax-horton/id155963493?i=1000629003554


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Hopefully this will be made into an audiobook.

Is she saying the police knew who the perp was? Does she say why they declined to reveal his identity?
 
pigfarmer

pigfarmer

tall, thin, irritable
wwkirk said:
Is she saying the police knew who the perp was? Does she say why they declined to reveal his identity?
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Yes, she does name him and goes into detail. Check out the podcast, maybe you won't want the audio book. Chiam 'Chiamson' or something similar - I'll have to go back and check because typically I listened to while I was doing something else. The police did have suspects, followed many, exonerated all they could and I am not sure why they kept his name secret. If they did - that's why I bought the book, I don't know. He was a Polish Jew, married, lived in the immediate area and was a mild fellow until he suffered epileptic fits after which he'd become extremely violent. He had been committed to various institutions because of it but seems his wife stuck with him despite describing him as a 'very dangerous man.' There was a prime eyewitness who identified him who later refused to testify against another Jew in court, which was no longer relevant as the police knew the man was safely locked away in a lunatic asylum forever. The author said she made a timeline of the man's various incarcerations and the incidents that accompanied them and it puts the man in the right place at the right time. This man's medical records only became available since 2015 and he is a perfect match for the eyewitness descriptions that mentions a strange gait and stiff arm. This guy had knee problems and couldn't stand up straight and had a broken left elbow. He had a particular method of incapacitating his victims quickly, maybe because he lacked physical capacity.

He took an axe to his mother-in law. Now, I can relate, I really can ....... doesn't necessarily make him a bad person, might not even be connected to his epilepsy.:smile2: If Jack the Ripper had such an intense hatred of women then I'd think asking what his mother-in-law was like is a fair question.

What got me thinking about this is how all my knowledge of the subject tends to come from Donald Rumbelow. I think he's like a Raymond Moody or Charles Berlitz whose books set the parameters for the topic became a cornerstone for others to build on. In any case, my impression has always been that the case was unsolved and the police work was at best mediocre. The interview with Horton made me think of all that differently - she has a fresh approach that's worth a little further reading.
 
pigfarmer

pigfarmer

tall, thin, irritable
I just finished that book. What's new is that medical information about her suspect was only released about ten years ago. This is an excellent analysis that builds on all the work those who have gone before her have done. She really lays it all out and honestly, she's right. Jack the Ripper was Hyam Hyams, he had a devoted wife, two kids and a sister. And he was nuts.

You know what the big clincher is to all this? Not really a spoiler but the accountants really do tell the story don't they?

When they locked up Hyams finally in the looney bin they took way all the extra manpower and overtime in Whitechapel police precinct. What does that tell you? She's right - they knew they had him but had reasons to keep it quiet.

That's not much of a spoiler so no worry. If you have any interest at all do yourself a favor and read this. I'd love to know what someone else here got from it.
 
pigfarmer

pigfarmer

tall, thin, irritable
Horton references the FBI analysis in the book. It's only eight pages and is well worth reading after this book. He hit pretty close to the mark.
 
pigfarmer

pigfarmer

tall, thin, irritable
max said:
we never know that who he was they said 200 suspects this man is jak ripper no clue
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Read the book, the police at the time knew who it was. New evidence came to light about ten years ago and that's what this author used, in addition to all the detailed examination others have already done. That includes maps, police records and accounts written by the people involved in retirement.
 
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