How to Judge a Jack the Ripper Theory

When you come across a Jack the Ripper theory, make sure it measures up to the facts. Don’t fall for the hype. The most fascinating conspiracies often fall apart when you start examining them more closely.

There are far more Jack the Ripper suspects than there are victims. There are just five “canonical” victims. (That is, victims accepted by most Ripper experts.) They are Mary Ann Nichols; Annie Chapman; Elizabeth Stride; Catherine Eddowes; and Mary Jane Kelly.

Constable Neil discovering the body of Mary Nichols, the first victim. From the Illustrated Police News, September 8, 1888. (Source: Jack the Ripper Photos.)

Yet the list of main suspects on the Casebook Jack the Ripper site contains more than 30 major suspects. According to that site, more than 500 potential suspects have been named, and the list keeps growing. Some of the craziest theories have been measured by BBC America and found lacking.

With that many suspects, the chance of a crackpot theory goes up. So how do you judge a Jack the Ripper theory?

Does the Theory Name Someone Famous?

Chances are that somebody well-dressed, let alone famous, would have stuck out like a sore thumb in the slums of the Whitechapel district, particularly Dorset Street in Spitalfields. Even a struggling artist living in there would be noticed. Yet people love to name famous people as their Ripper suspects. These suspects have ranged from artist Walter Sickert to a notorious theory involving Lewis Carroll to the…