Who really was Jack the Ripper? New evidence points to one man

A new theory about the identity of infamous 19th century London serial killer Jack the Ripper may explain why the murderer was able to elude contemporary and modern authorities for so long and escape justice.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Dr. Gareth Norris, a criminologist from Aberystwyth University, believes that Jack the Ripper was a meat cart driver in Whitechapel, who was able to evade detection and suspicion for so long because he was expected to be covered in blood.

Get the finest translation of the Scriptures available, based on the Dead Sea Scrolls and latest scholarship.

Norris came to the conclusion because the route of one such cart driver, Charles Allen Lechmere, was the murderer because his early route coincided with the locations where Jack the Ripper's victims were murdered.

On August 31, 1888, Lechmere was found leaning over the body of Mary Ann "Polly" Nichols on Buck's Row in Whitechapel. Nichols was the first victim of the bizarre serial killing spree.

Police questioned Lechmere but he said he had only been there a few minutes. At the time he said his name was "Cross" and it is likely that he lied about how long he was with the victim then.

Lechmere's routes also took him past Hanbury Street, Dorset Street and Mitre Square at about the same time as the killing in those locations took place. The killing in Berners Street, occurred nearby to where his mother lived.

The identity of Jack the Ripper has remained one of the world's great mysteries.

Many people have been put forward as the identity of the killer, including Prince Albert Victor, then the grandson of Queen Victoria.

About Lechmere, Norris said that "He would certainly be a person of interest and, while the evidence against him is circumstantial, he would have a case to answer."

"There couldn't feasibly be a re-opening of the case as the Ripper is most certainly deceased by now, but periodically reviews of historical cases can be sanctioned."

"Again, there are no living witnesses or forensics of any sort so the basis of any investigation would be slightly flawed," Norris continued. But "Lechmere could be a match for the profile."

---

'Help Give every Student and Teacher FREE resources for a world-class Moral Catholic Education'