How many people did Jack the Ripper kill?

Jack the Ripper is one of the most notorious serial killers in the world, despite his identity remaining a mystery to this day. In the span of his crime spree and afterward, Jack the Ripper’s gruesome and brutal crimes instilled fear in the residents of Whitechapel, the district in the East End of London where the murders occurred. 

In the late 19th century, Whitechapel was largely populated by working-class citizens, most of whom had difficulty earning a decent living. The district had narrow, rat-infested alleyways that led to a variety of buildings such as small businesses and common lodging houses. Life was particularly difficult for single women at that time, especially for the so-called “unfortunates,” who had no choice but to resort to prostitution simply to have something to eat or a bed for a night. It’s believed that Jack the Ripper targeted the unfortunates, as they were the most vulnerable.

The Canonical Five

Since Jack the Ripper hasn’t been identified, the number of people he killed cannot be verified. The London Metropolitan Police Service’s files on the “Whitechapel Murders” include 11 women who were killed between 1888 and 1891. Of those, five — known as the Canonical Five — are widely believed to have been killed by the Ripper.

Mary Anne “Polly” Nichols was a 43-year-old woman who had separated from her husband and had become an alcoholic. In the early hours of Aug. 31, 1888, she was looking for sex work to pay for lodging for the night. She was last seen at 2:30am and her mutilated and disemboweled body was discovered at 3:45am in an alleyway. 

Annie Chapman was married and had a decent life before she became estranged from her family. She sold trinkets on the streets as a way to earn a living but also turned to sex work if she didn’t have enough money. Just like Polly, 47-year-old Annie was looking for sex work on the evening of her murder to pay for her lodging. She was last seen talking to a man at 5:30am on Sept. 8, 1888. Later on, a neighbor heard a woman yelling “no” and not long after, Annie’s mutilated and disemboweled body was discovered in a yard.

Elizabeth Stride, originally from Sweden, was also married, but became a widow. She worked as a nanny and cleaner but ended up resorting to sex work. The 45-year-old woman was murdered on Sept. 30, 1888, which is known as the “night of the double event.” At about 1:00am, a man found Elizabeth’s bloodied body with a scarf tied around her neck. Unlike the two previous victims, though, Elizabeth’s only injury was a slit throat. There’s a theory that the Ripper was interrupted in the middle of his attack, as Elizabeth was seen alive at 12:45am that night. Jack the Ripper may have fled the scene when he heard the man approach.

Catherine Eddowes, who was 46 years old, was allegedly Jack the Ripper’s second victim on the night of the double event on Sept. 30, 1888. At about 8:00pm on Sept. 29, a constable found Catherine intoxicated and she was brought to a police station. She was sober enough to leave at about 1:00am on Sept. 30 and 45 minutes later, an officer on patrol found her badly mutilated body in a dark corner with some of her organs missing.  

Mary Jane Kelly was 25 years old and had a room in a lodging house. She worked as a prostitute and unlike the other victims who were killed outdoors, she was found deceased in her room on Nov. 9, 1888, when the owner of the lodging house she stayed in sent someone to collect Mary Jane’s late rent. It looked like she was attacked while asleep and was badly mutilated to the point of being unrecognizable. She was also disemboweled and her heart was missing.

The mysterious Jack the Ripper

The next murder after Mary Jane didn’t occur until July 1889, and although the file was included in the Whitechapel Murders, it’s not believed to have been done by Jack the Ripper. There were several possibilities as to why the murders stopped. He may have died, moved away, been institutionalized, or locked up for another crime. No one knows for sure.

Throughout the investigation, authorities had several suspects but there were no pieces of concrete evidence to tie them to the murders of the Canonical Five, but it wasn’t for their lack of effort. It was simply a different time back then. Technologies that could help solve a case weren’t available yet, and they could only rely on witness statements, which weren’t all that reliable to begin with. Because of this, it’s difficult to know for sure how many people Jack the Ripper really killed. It’s safe to say that he, at the least, killed the five women mentioned because of the timeline of the murders as well as the manner of their deaths.

Even today, Ripperologists – experts on Jack the Ripper and his crimes – have several theories and speculations about his identity and other aspects of the case, and only time will tell if the mystery will ever be solved.