Frederick Abberline
The Detective Who Hunted Jack the Ripper and Never Caught Him
- 8 chapters
- 54m
- Cold Cases
- Free · no sign-up
The investigation covered several key murders including those of Annie Chapman, Mary Ann Nichols, and Martha Tabram. Abberline worked alongside other detectives and faced challenges in identifying suspects. He also dealt with the Cleveland Street scandal, which involved a different set of criminal activities unrelated to the Ripper murders.
This detailed account examines Abberline's methods and the evidence gathered during the investigation. It separates documented facts from later theories about the case. Readers interested in true crime and police history will find this examination of one of London's most notorious unsolved cases both informative and compelling.
Listen
-
Read this chapter
Overview
Frederick George Abberline was a British chief inspector who worked for the London Metropolitan Police. He is most remembered for his role in the investigation into the Jack the Ripper murders that took place in 1888. Born on January 8, 1843, Abberline spent much of his career in law enforcement, and during the height of the Ripper case, he was one of the key figures leading the effort to catch the killer. He died on December 10, 1929, leaving behind a legacy tied to one of history’s most infamous unsolved crimes.
Early life
Frederick Abberline was born in Blandford Forum, Dorset, England, the youngest son of Edward Abberline and Hannah, née Chinn. Edward held several minor local government roles: he was a saddlemaker, sheriff's officer, and clerk of the market. After Edward died in 1849, Hannah opened a small shop and raised their four children—Emily, Harriett, Edward, and Frederick—on her own.
Police career
Frederick Abberline started as a clockmaker before joining the Metropolitan Police in London on 5 January 1863, assigned to N Division in Islington. He quickly rose through the ranks, becoming Sergeant in 1865 and moving to Y Division in Highgate. By 1873, he was promoted to Inspector and transferred to H Division in Whitechapel, where he investigated Fenian activities. In 1878, he became Local Inspector in charge of H Division's CID. Later, he moved to A Division and then to Scotland Yard's CO Division, rising to Chief Inspector by 1890. After the Whitechapel murders began in 1888, he was seconded back to Whitechapel to lead the investigation. He believed George Chapman was the killer, a theory later supported by Robert Milne. Abberline also considered the possibility of a female killer. His final major case was the Cleveland Street scandal in 1889, which disillusioned him. He retired on 8 February 1892 after receiving 84 commendations.
Personal life
Frederick Abberline married twice in his lifetime. His first wife was Martha Mackness, whom he wed in March 1868; she was 25 years old and came from Elton, Northamptonshire, the daughter of a labourer. She died of tuberculosis only two months after their marriage. In December 1876, Abberline married Emma Beament, a 32-year-old from Hoxton New Town, Shoreditch, who was the daughter of a merchant. That union lasted until his death more than 50 years later, though they had no children. After retiring from the Metropolitan Police, he settled in Bournemouth and joined the Pinkerton Detective Agency in 1904, initially working in Monte Carlo casinos. He later returned to England and continued with Pinkerton before another retirement. He purchased a home named “Estcourt” at 195 Holdenhurst Road, Springbourne. Abberline passed away on 10 December 1929, at age 86, just under three months before Emma. He was laid to rest in Wimborne Road Cemetery. A blue plaque was placed at his former residence in 2001, and in 2007 a black granite headstone was installed on his grave with the approval of his surviving relatives.
-
Read this chapter
Overview
In 1888, an unidentified serial killer terrorized the East End of London, targeting prostitutes in the Whitechapel district. These murders, known as the Whitechapel Murderer and Leather Apron cases, involved throat cuts and abdominal mutilations, with internal organs removed from at least three victims, suggesting anatomical knowledge. The killer was later called Jack the Ripper after a letter sent to the press, reportedly written by the murderer himself, though many believe it was a hoax meant to boost newspaper sales. Another letter, the "From Hell" letter, came with a preserved kidney and added to the mystery. Five women—Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly—are known as the canonical five, their deaths between August 31 and November 9, 1888, most likely connected. Despite extensive investigations, no one was ever caught, and the legend has endured for over a century.
Background
In the mid-19th century, England saw a flood of Irish immigrants that swelled cities like London's East End, especially the parish of Whitechapel. By 1882, Jewish refugees from Russia and other parts of Eastern Europe also moved there. The area became overcrowded, with about 80,000 people living in Whitechapel by 1888. Work and housing conditions worsened, and poverty grew. Many children died before age five, and crime, violence, and alcohol abuse were common. Some women turned to prostitution to survive. In October 1888, the Metropolitan Police estimated there were 62 brothels and around 1,200 prostitutes in Whitechapel. About 8,500 people slept each night in 233 lodging-houses, with beds costing fourpence or two pence for a rope bed. Economic hardship led to social unrest, including demonstrations and events like Bloody Sunday in 1887. Antisemitism, racism, and deprivation shaped how people saw the area. That same year, media coverage of brutal murders linked to "Jack the Ripper" intensified those negative perceptions.
Murders
The East End experienced violent attacks on women between 3 April 1888 and 13 February 1891, complicating identification of same perpetrator among eleven murders known as the "Whitechapel murders." Most experts agree five—called the "canonical five"—were committed by Jack the Ripper, sharing features: deep throat cuts, severe abdominal and genital injuries, organ removal, and facial mutilation. First two cases excluded from this group: Emma Elizabeth Smith assaulted 3 April 1888 in Osborn Street, beaten about face, cut ear; blunt object inserted into vagina causing peritonitis death next day. She reported attackers including teenager. Press connected her case to later murders but most believe unrelated gang violence. Martha Tabram found dead 7 August 1888 in George Yard, Whitechapel, with repeated stab wounds to vital organs and additional injuries to breasts and vagina. Though all but one wound made with bladed instrument such as penknife, most inflicted by right-handed person. Brutality, lack of motive, and proximity led police to associate this murder with Ripper cases, though many experts do not connect it due to differences in wound pattern.
Canonical five
The murders attributed to Jack the Ripper occurred between August and November 1888, involving five women whose bodies were found in Whitechapel and nearby areas. On 31 August, Mary Ann Nichols was discovered in Buck's Row, her throat slashed and abdomen severely mutilated. A week later, on 8 September, Annie Chapman's body was found near Hanbury Street; her organs had been removed and placed on her shoulders. The following month, on 30 September, Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes were killed in what became known as the "double event"; Stride had a deep cut to her neck, while Eddowes suffered extensive disfigurement including removal of her kidney and uterus. A chalk message at the scene read, "The Juwes are The men That Will not be Blamed for nothing." Finally, on 9 November, Mary Jane Kelly was found in Miller's Court, her body hacked and organs arranged around the room, with ash in the fireplace suggesting a fire had been lit during the attack.
Later Whitechapel murders
After the canonical five victims, four more murders occurred in Whitechapel, though none definitively linked to Jack the Ripper. On 20 December 1888, Rose Mylett's body was found in Poplar; though initially believed to be suicide, a verdict of murder was returned after signs of strangling were noted. Alice McKenzie was stabbed in Castle Alley on 17 July 1889, with some experts suggesting the crime matched Ripper methods, while others doubted it. The "Pinchin Street torso," discovered on 10 September 1889, was a headless and legless body of a woman aged 30 to 40, badly beaten and mutilated, likely killed just before being dumped under a railway arch. On 13 February 1891, Frances Coles was found stabbed beneath a railway arch in Swallow Gardens; although her throat was cut, she wasn't dismembered, and a man named James Thomas Sadler was briefly suspected but later released due to lack of evidence.
Other alleged victims
Beyond the eleven Whitechapel murders, other attacks have been linked to Jack the Ripper. “Fairy Fay” was said to be an unidentified woman found on 26 December 1887 near Commercial Road, her abdomen pierced by a stake, though no Whitechapel killings occurred around that time; most agree she never existed. Annie Millwood, a 38-year-old widow, was admitted to the Whitechapel Workhouse Infirmary on 25 February 1888 with stab wounds and later died from natural causes in March—she was postulated as a possible first victim, but no link was proven. Ada Wilson, a dressmaker, reportedly survived a neck stab on 28 March 1888 in Bow. Annie Farmer, who lived in the same lodging house as Martha Tabram, reported a light throat cut on 21 November 1888, possibly self-inflicted. The “Whitehall Mystery” involved a headless torso discovered on 2 October 1888, with limbs found earlier in the Thames—these cases may be part of the “Thames Mysteries,” attributed to a “Torso killer.” Only one victim, Elizabeth Jackson, was identified. A seven-year-old boy named John Gill was found murdered in Bradford on 29 December 1888. Carrie Brown, nicknamed “Shakespeare,” was strangled and mutilated in New York City on 24 April 1891.
Investigation
The Metropolitan Police investigation into the Whitechapel murders was led by Detective Inspector Edmund Reid and later joined by Frederick Abberline, Henry Moore, and Walter Andrews after the murder of Nichols. Following the killings of Stride and Eddowes, Sir James Fraser offered a £500 reward. The inquiry involved more than 2,000 interviews, with 300 people investigated and 80 detained. A note from Major Henry Smith shows local butchers and slaughterers were questioned and cleared. Inspector Swanson reported that 76 butchers were visited, including their employees from the past six months. Some believed the killer was connected to the cattle boats docked at London Docks, but the timing of the murders didn't match any boat's schedule, ruling out a crew transfer between vessels. The overall direction of the case was delayed because Assistant Commissioner Robert Anderson was in Switzerland from 7 September to 6 October, prompting Chief Inspector Donald Swanson to take charge from Scotland Yard.
Whitechapel Vigilance Committee
In September 1888, after the Whitechapel murders had shocked the East End, a group of local citizens formed the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee. They took to the streets on their own, looking for anyone suspicious, frustrated by the police's lack of progress. Some were also worried the killings were hurting business. The committee asked the government for a reward for information leading to the killer’s capture. They offered their own £50 reward — a sum worth between £5,900 and £86,000 today — and hired private detectives to talk to witnesses on their own.
-
Read this chapter
Overview
Between 3 April 1888 and 13 February 1891, eleven women were murdered in or near Whitechapel, a poor area of East End London, some or all linked to Jack the Ripper, an unidentified serial killer. Most victims—Emma Elizabeth Smith, Martha Tabram, Mary Ann "Polly" Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, Mary Jane Kelly, Rose Mylett, Alice McKenzie, Frances Coles, and one unidentified woman—were involved in prostitution. Smith was sexually assaulted and robbed by a gang; Tabram was stabbed 39 times. Nichols, Chapman, Stride, Eddowes, Kelly, McKenzie, and Coles had their throats cut. Eddowes and Stride were killed on the same night within an hour and less than a mile apart—a event later called the "double event" after a phrase in a letter sent to the press by someone claiming to be the Ripper. Nichols, Chapman, Eddowes, and Kelly also suffered abdominal mutilations. Mylett was strangled. The unidentified woman's body had been dismembered and decapitated, but the exact cause of death is unclear. Despite investigations by the Metropolitan Police, City of London Police, and private groups like the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee, the killer or killers were never caught. The murders highlighted the dire living conditions in the East End slums, which were later improved. The mystery remains unsolved to this day.
Background
In the late Victorian era, Whitechapel was known as London’s most dangerous criminal area, with streets like Flower and Dean Street described as the foulest in the city and Dorset Street called the worst. Assistant Police Commissioner Robert Anderson said it was one of the capital’s prime “show places” for those interested in crime. The district was marked by extreme poverty, poor housing, and widespread prostitution, with 233 common lodging-houses holding around 8,500 people each night. Eleven deaths between 1888 and 1891 in or near Whitechapel were grouped together under the name “Whitechapel murders,” though much of the original police material has been lost. At the time, investigations depended on confessions and witness accounts, with no forensic techniques like fingerprinting or blood typing available. Policing was split between the Metropolitan Police and the City of London Police, each with their own jurisdiction.
Emma Elizabeth Smith
On Tuesday 3 April 1888, 45-year-old prostitute Emma Elizabeth Smith was attacked and robbed in Whitechapel by two or three men, one described as a teenager. She walked back to her lodging house on George Street, Spitalfields, where deputy keeper Mary Russell took her to the London Hospital. Doctors discovered a blunt object had been forced into her vagina, causing ruptured peritoneum. Smith developed peritonitis and died the next morning at 9:00 am. The inquest was held on 7 April by coroner Wynne Edwin Baxter, who also conducted inquests for several later victims. Inspector Edmund Reid of H Division investigated but never identified the attackers. Detective Walter Dew later believed this was the first of Jack the Ripper's crimes, although others thought it was the work of a criminal gang. Smith said her assailants were managed by pimps and may have killed her as punishment or intimidation. She might not have identified them due to fear of retaliation. Her murder is now considered unlikely to be connected with the later killings.
Martha Tabram
On Tuesday, 7 August, Martha Tabram, a prostitute, was found murdered in Whitechapel at about 2:30 in the morning. Her body was discovered shortly before 5:00 am at George Yard Buildings, and she had been stabbed thirty-nine times in the neck, torso, and genitals with a short blade. Almost all of the wounds were made by a right-handed person, with only one possible exception. Inspector Reid ordered soldiers to be posted at the Tower of London and Wellington Barracks for an identification parade, but no positive results came from that effort. A fellow prostitute and PC Thomas Barrett provided statements that helped shape the investigation. Though police did not initially connect Tabram's death to Emma Smith's murder, they later linked it to subsequent killings. Most experts do not believe her case was part of the Ripper's work because of how repeatedly she was stabbed, unlike the slash wounds and abdominal mutilations seen in other victims. Still, that connection cannot be completely ruled out.
Mary Ann Nichols
On Friday 31 August, Mary Ann Nichols was found murdered in Buck's Row, later renamed Durward Street, in Whitechapel. Cart driver Charles Cross discovered her at 3:45 am near a gated stable entrance. Her throat had been slashed twice from left to right, and her abdomen bore a deep, jagged wound, along with several shallower cuts from the same knife. The crime occurred in the J or Bethnal Green Division, so local detectives initially investigated. That same day, James Monro resigned as head of the Criminal Investigation Department over a dispute with Chief Commissioner Sir Charles Warren. Newspapers at first linked the killing to earlier murders, speculating it might be the work of a gang, but The Star suggested one killer was responsible. Suspicion grew of a serial murderer in London, prompting Frederick Abberline, Henry Moore, and Walter Andrews to be sent from Scotland Yard. Coroner Baxter concluded Nichols died just after 3 am, and in his summing up, he ruled out connections to the previous murders, noting different weapons and injuries. By the time his inquest ended, a fourth woman had been killed, and Baxter observed, “The similarity of the injuries in the two cases is considerable.”
Annie Chapman
The fourth victim, Annie Chapman, was found murdered on 8 September at 29 Hanbury Street in Spitalfields. She had been stabbed, her throat cut from left to right, and her intestines thrown over her shoulders. Part of her uterus was missing, leading some to believe the killer had surgical knowledge. A pathologist thought the blade was about six to eight inches long. Others doubted this, suggesting mortuary staff might have taken the organs. Chapman had left her lodgings at 2 am to collect money from a client. On 10 September, John Pizer, known as “Leather Apron,” was arrested but released after his alibis checked out. A witness said she spoke with a man near the scene just before 6 am—described as dark-skinned, over forty, wearing a deerstalker and dark coat. Another witness heard voices and something falling against a fence. The killings sparked panic, with a mob attacking a police station and anti-Semitic riots breaking out. A reward was offered by local residents, while the Metropolitan Police refused to do so. Private detectives were hired, and Chief Inspector Donald Swanson was appointed to coordinate the investigation after Chief Commissioner Sir Charles Warren took charge. A German hairdresser named Charles Ludwig was briefly held but released when another murder showed the killer was still free.
Double event: Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes
On 30 September, Elizabeth Stride, a prostitute, was found murdered in Dutfield’s Yard, Whitechapel, her throat slashed from left to right, just minutes before 1 am. She was unmutilated, unlike the later victims. At 1:45 am, Catherine Eddowes was found nearby, her body severely mutilated; a knife at least six inches long had been used. Her intestines were drawn out, and organs removed. The killer, who worked alone and seemed knowledgeable about anatomy, left a blood-stained apron fragment and chalked words at a nearby doorway. A letter signed “Jack the Ripper” claimed responsibility for the murders, calling it a “double event.” The investigation stalled, with criticism mounting against the police. The City of London offered a £500 reward, and plans to use bloodhounds were considered but abandoned due to confusion in the city streets.
Mary Jane Kelly
On Friday 9 November, Mary Jane Kelly, a prostitute, was found murdered in her room at 13 Miller's Court behind 26 Dorset Street, Spitalfields. Her body was discovered after 10:45 am, slashed in the throat, with her abdomen opened and organs removed, her breasts cut off, face mutilated, and thighs sliced through to the bone. She was wearing only a chemise, and her clothes were folded neatly on a chair except for some burned in the grate. Detective Frederick Abberline thought the fire was made to provide light since the room was dimly lit. Her murder was the most savage, possibly because she was killed in a private room, giving the killer more time. The coroner, Dr Roderick Macdonald, presided over the inquest on 12 November, and Kelly's funeral drew an enormous crowd on 19 November. On 10 November, the Cabinet resolved to offer a pardon to any accomplice who came forward with information that led to the conviction of the actual murderer. Despite 143 extra plain-clothes officers deployed in Whitechapel, the murderer remained unidentified.
-
Read this chapter
Overview
Annie Chapman, born Eliza Ann Smith, was the second of at least five women murdered by an unidentified serial killer known as Jack the Ripper. She was killed in the Whitechapel and Spitalfields areas of London between late August and early November 1888. Though earlier killings had already drawn public and press attention, Chapman’s death sparked widespread fear in the East End and increased pressure on police to catch the murderer.
Early life
Eliza Ann Smith was born on 25 September 1840 in Paddington, the first of five children to George Smith and Ruth Chapman. George, a soldier in the 2nd Regiment of Life Guards, had enlisted in December 1834, and the family's early years moved with his postings in London and Windsor. Annie’s parents married on 22 February 1842, just months after the birth of their second child in 1844. The family then settled in Knightsbridge, where George worked as a valet. Later, in 1856, they relocated to Berkshire. According to her brother Fountain, Annie began drinking at a young age and struggled with alcohol, even though both he and two of her sisters repeatedly urged her to sign a pledge to quit.
Family relocation
In 1861, census records show that most of the Smith family had moved to Clewer, leaving Annie behind in London, likely working as a domestic servant. Her father, George—also known as William Smith—was the valet to Captain Thomas Naylor Leland of the Denbighshire Yeomanry Cavalry. On 13 June 1863, George went with his employer to a horse racing event in Wrexham and stayed overnight at the Elephant and Castle inn. That night, he took his own life. Those who knew Annie described her as intelligent and friendly, though prone to drinking rum. An acquaintance said she was "very civil and industrious when sober," before adding, "I have often seen her the worse for drink." She stood just 5 ft 0 in, with blue eyes and wavy, dark brown hair, earning her the nickname "Dark Annie."
Marriage
On 1 May 1869, Annie Chapman married John James Chapman, who was related to her mother. The wedding took place at All Saints Church in Knightsbridge, London, with her sister Emily Laticia and Chapman’s colleague George White serving as witnesses. Their marriage certificate lists their home as 29 Montpelier Place, Brompton, though they are thought to have lived briefly with White and his wife in Bayswater. Over the years, the couple moved often, living at different addresses in West London. By the early 1870s, John had found work in Bond Street serving a nobleman.
Children
The couple had three children: Emily Ruth, born June 25, 1870; Annie Georgina, born June 5, 1873; and John Alfred, born November 21, 1880. Emily Ruth was born at Chapman's mother's home in Montpelier Place, Knightsbridge; Annie Georgina was born at South Bruton Mews, Mayfair; and John Alfred was born in the Berkshire village of Bray. John was born crippled. The Chapmans sought medical help for him at a London hospital before later placing him in the care of an institution for the physically disabled near Windsor. Although Annie had struggled with alcoholism as an adult, she had reportedly weaned herself off drink by 1880. Her son's disability is believed to have contributed to her gradual return to alcohol dependency. In 1881, the Chapman family relocated from West London to Windsor, where John took a job as a coachman to a farm bailiff named Josiah Weeks, and the family lived in the attic rooms of St. Leonard Hill Farm Cottage. The following year, Emily Ruth died of meningitis on her brother's second birthday, at the age of twelve. Following their daughter's death, both Annie and her husband turned to heavy drinking. Over the next several years, she was arrested on several occasions for public intoxication in both Clewer and Windsor, although no records exist of her ever being brought before a magistrates court for these arrests.
Separation
Annie Chapman and her husband separated in 1884 by mutual consent. He kept custody of their daughter, while Annie moved to London. He was required to send her ten shillings a week through the Post Office. The exact reason for their split is unclear, but a later police report cited Annie’s “drunken and immoral ways.” Two years later, in 1886, John left his job due to poor health and went to New Windsor, where he died on December 25 from liver cirrhosis and edema. Annie found out about his death from her brother-in-law. Her daughter, Annie Georgina, was then thirteen. She may have been sent to a French institution or joined a circus troupe in France. By 1891, both of Annie’s children were living with their grandmother in Knightsbridge.
Life in Whitechapel
After her split from her husband, Annie settled in Whitechapel, surviving on a weekly sum of ten shillings he provided. She lived in shared lodging-houses across Whitechapel and Spitalfields for years. In the end of 1886, the payments suddenly ended. When she asked why, Annie learned her husband had died of alcohol-related causes. Not long after his death, the man she was living with—who made wire sieves—left her, possibly because the allowance had stopped, and moved to Notting Hill. One of Annie’s friends said she became depressed and lost the will to live.
1888
By May or June 1888, Chapman lived at Crossingham's Lodging House on Dorset Street, paying eight pence a night for a double bed. Edward "The Pensioner" Stanley, a 47-year-old bricklayer's laborer, often stayed with her on weekends. She made money from crochet work and selling flowers, sometimes supplementing that with prostitution. Eight days before she died, she had a fight with fellow resident Eliza Cooper over a bar of soap, which led to a physical confrontation at the Britannia Public House, leaving Chapman with a black eye and a bruised breast. On 7 September, Amelia Palmer saw her in Dorset Street, pale and unwell, having just left the Whitechapel Infirmary. Chapman told Palmer she felt too ill to do anything. After her death, the coroner found that her lungs and brain membranes were already in an advanced state of disease, which would have killed her within months.
-
Read this chapter
Overview
Mary Ann Nichols, known as Polly Nichols, was the first of the canonical victims of Jack the Ripper, the unidentified serial killer who murdered and mutilated at least five women in Whitechapel, London, between late August and early November 1888. Her death marked the beginning of a wave of fear and fascination that gripped the city. The two earlier murders linked to the Whitechapel murderer are now believed to have been committed by someone else. When Nichols’s killing was first connected to the series, it sparked intense public and press interest in both the criminal activity and the living conditions of the East End's inhabitants.
Early life
Mary Ann Walker was born in 1845 in London, either in Dean Street off Fetter Lane or Dawes Court in Shoe Lane, to Edward Walker, a locksmith who later became a blacksmith, and Caroline Webb, a laundress. Records show she was christened by 1851. At eighteen, she married William Nichols, a printer's machinist, on January 16, 1864, at Saint Bride's Parish Church in the City of London, with Seth George Havelly and Sarah Good as witnesses. The couple lived briefly at 30-31 Bouverie Street before moving to 131 Trafalgar Street to live with Walker's father. Together, they had five children between 1866 and 1879: Edward John, Percy George, Alice Esther, Eliza Sarah, and Henry Alfred. Nichols was five feet two inches tall, with brown eyes, high cheekbones, and dark brown hair that had begun to grey by the time of her death.
Separation
On 6 September 1880, William and Mary Ann Nichols took up residence at 6 D-Block, Peabody Buildings, Stamford Street, Blackfriars Road, for five shillings and nine pence a week. Not long after, the couple went their separate ways, with William later moving to a new home near Old Kent Road along with four of their children. Nichols's father accused William of leaving his daughter behind after he had an affair with the nurse present during the birth of their final child. William maintained that the marriage lasted at least three years beyond the time of the alleged affair, blaming their problems on his wife's drinking and claiming he started the affair only after she had left him. He also told police that she had abandoned him and was surviving by working as a prostitute. In the years that followed, Nichols built up a record of arrests for minor infractions such as drunkenness, public disorder, and prostitution.
1881–1887
By 1881, Mary Ann Nichols lived at Lambeth Workhouse as a charwoman. She left on 31 May, her movements unclear, though she returned to Lambeth on 24 April 1882. The next year, she lived with her father in Walworth before leaving after a quarrel. Her husband William Nichols had been paying her five shillings weekly but stopped when he learned she worked as a prostitute. She summoned him through the Lambeth Union to continue payments. When authorities tried to collect, William claimed she had deserted her family and was living with another man while earning money through prostitution. He wasn't legally required to support her if she was making income through illegal means, so she got no more maintenance. Nichols spent most of her remaining years in workhouses and lodging houses, relying on charity and her limited earnings as a prostitute, though she often spent her money on alcohol. By 1887, she had formed a relationship with widower Thomas Stuart Drew, but they separated on 24 October. By December, she was sleeping rough in Trafalgar Square, though a clearance on 19 December sent her back to Lambeth Workhouse, where she stayed less than two weeks.
1888
In April 1888, Mary Ann Nichols began working as a domestic servant for Mr and Mrs Cowdry in Wandsworth, after Mrs Fielder, the matron of Lambeth Workhouse, arranged the position for her. Within weeks, Nichols wrote to her father, saying she was settling in well and that her employers were teetotallers and religious, which she believed would help her adjust. But after three months, possibly due to her drinking habits clashing with their strict lifestyle, she left the job, stealing clothing worth £3 10s. and disappearing from the household. Her father learned of this when a postcard dated 12 July arrived in response to his letter. Later that summer, she was staying at a lodging-house in Spitalfields, sharing a bed with an elderly woman named Emily "Nelly" Holland. On 24 August, she moved again, this time to 56 Flower and Dean Street in Whitechapel.
30–31 August
At around 11:00 pm on 30 August, Mary Ann Nichols entered the Frying Pan public house in Brick Lane, Spitalfields, leaving at 12:30 am on 31 August. By 1:20 am, she returned to her lodging-house kitchen on Flower and Dean Street, where the deputy keeper asked her for the 4d she needed for a bed. When Nichols said she didn't have the money, she was told to leave. She then showed off her new black velvet bonnet, saying: "I'll soon get my doss money. See what a jolly bonnet I've got now." She left, probably intending to earn the 4d through prostitution. Her last seen alive was by Emily Holland, who found her walking alone down Osborn Street around 2:30 am—about an hour before her death. Holland said Nichols appeared drunk, at one point leaning against a grocer's wall. She tried to convince her to go back to her Thrawl Street lodging-house, but Nichols refused, saying: "I have had my lodging money three times today, and I have spent it." The two parted, and Nichols walked toward Whitechapel Road.
Murder
At 3:40 am on 31 August, carman Charles Allen Cross—born Lechmere—found a woman's body in Buck's Row, Whitechapel, near a gated stable entrance. He initially thought it was a tarpaulin but soon realized it was a woman lying on her back, eyes open, legs straight, skirt raised, left hand near the gate. A second carman, Robert Paul, joined him and noted the body was warm at the face but cold at the hands. They covered her and called PC Jonas Mizen, who told them, "She looks to me to be either dead or drunk, but for my part, I believe she's dead." Shortly after, PC John Neil arrived and saw the woman with her throat slashed. He called for Dr Llewellyn, who confirmed death by two deep knife wounds and estimated she had been dead about thirty minutes. The body was taken to the mortuary on a handcart. Several people were questioned, including horse-slaughterers Harry Tomkins, James Mumford, and Charles Britten, all of whom were cleared. Police also checked every tenant in Buck's Row, none of whom reported anything unusual.
Post-mortem
At 5:20 am, Nichols's body was taken to the Old Montague Street Mortuary. Inspector Spratling had already sent for Dr Llewellyn after noticing the injuries to her abdomen. The surgeon found both sides of her face bruised, likely from a fist or thumb, before the throat wounds were inflicted from left to right. One cut measured eight inches, the other four, both reaching back to her spine. Her vagina had been stabbed twice, and there was a deep, jagged wound two or three inches from the left side of her abdomen, with several more incisions causing her bowels to protrude. The knife used was at least six to eight inches long—possibly a cork-cutter's or shoemaker's blade—and delivered in violent, downward thrusts. Llewellyn believed the killer had some anatomical knowledge. He estimated the injuries took four to five minutes and noted only a small amount of blood—"about enough to fill two large wine glasses, or half a pint at the outside." Death was instant, and all abdominal wounds were inflicted after death, as post-mortem cuts do not produce spatter. No organs were missing.
-
Read this chapter
Overview
Martha Tabram, born Martha White on May 10, 1849, was found murdered in August 1888 in the Whitechapel area of East London. She was part of a series of brutal killings that took place between 1888 and 1891. While not one of the five victims generally recognized by historians as Jack the Ripper’s work, many believe she is the next most likely candidate to have been his first victim.
Early life
Martha White entered the world on 10 May 1849 in Southwark, London, as the youngest of five children. Her father, Charles Samuel White, worked as a warehouseman, and her mother was Elisabeth Dowsett. The older siblings before her were Henry, Stephen, Esther, and Mary Ann. Martha was five feet three inches tall with dark hair. In May 1865, her parents went through a separation. Not long after, in November 1865, her father passed away from natural causes at the age of fifty-nine.
Marriage
On Christmas Day 1869, Martha married Henry Samuel Tabram, a furniture packer, at Trinity Church in St. Mary's Parish, Newington. The couple moved near her childhood home in 1871 and had two sons: Frederick John and Charles Henry. But their marriage was troubled by Martha's heavy drinking, which led to violent episodes. In 1875, Henry left her, though he continued paying her a weekly allowance—first twelve shillings, then reduced to two shillings and sixpence after learning she was living with another man. From about 1876 until just before her death, Martha lived on and off with Henry Turner, a carpenter. Their relationship also suffered from her drinking and nights spent out. In 1881, she and her sons were found at the Whitechapel Union workhouse's casual ward. By 1888, Turner had lost steady work, so they made money selling small items on the street while staying at 4 Star Place in Whitechapel. Around July, they left abruptly, owing rent, and separated permanently. Martha then moved to a lodging house at 19 George Street, Spitalfields, where her poverty forced her to trade sex for money.
6 August 1888
On 6 August 1888, Martha Tabram drank ale and rum with Mary Ann Connelly, known as “Pearly Poll”, and two soldiers at the Angel and Crown public house near George Yard Buildings. The group separated around 11:45 p.m., with each woman going her own way with her client. Tabram and her companion walked toward George Yard, a narrow alley linking Wentworth Street and Whitechapel High Street, entering from the latter via a covered archway beside The White Hart Inn. On the western side of the alley, near its northern end, stood George Yard Buildings—a block of tenement flats built in 1876, behind Toynbee Hall. Meanwhile, Pearly Poll and her client took a different path, heading to the nearby Angel Alley.
Murder
In the early hours of the morning, Mrs. Hewitt from the Buildings ignored cries of "Murder!" as such shouts were common in the area. At 2:00 am, Joseph and Elizabeth Mahoney returned to the buildings and saw no one on the stairs. Around the same time, PC Thomas Barrett questioned a grenadier nearby who said he was waiting for a friend. At 3:30 am, cab driver Albert George Crow came home and noticed a body on a landing above the first flight of stairs; he mistook it for a sleeping vagrant. It wasn't until just before 5:00 am that dock labourer John Saunders Reeves realized she was dead. He fetched Barrett, who sent for Dr. Timothy Robert Killeen. Killeen arrived around 5:30 am and estimated Tabram had been dead for about three hours. She had been stabbed thirty-nine times, with injuries to her neck, lungs, heart, liver, spleen, stomach, lower abdomen, and genitals, and was found on her back with her clothing raised, suggesting a sexualized position, though Killeen found no evidence of intercourse. The testimony of residents and Dr. Killeen placed the time of death between 2:00 am and 3:30 am, with no one reporting anything unusual during that time.
Investigation
The investigation into Martha Tabram's murder was led by local inspector Edmund Reid of H Division Whitechapel. PC Barrett visited the Tower of London on 7 August in hopes of identifying the man he had seen in George Yard, but recognized no one. The next day, a parade of soldiers on leave was held, and Barrett chose a man, though he later changed his mind, explaining that the person he'd first picked lacked medals while the one he selected did have them. That second choice, John Leary, said he had been drinking in Brixton with Private Law, missing each other at closing time before meeting again around 4:30 am in the Strand. Their stories matched, and Barrett's uncertain identification led to their dismissal. Another soldier, Corporal Benjamin, was also let go after it was found he had been visiting his father in Kingston-upon-Thames. Connelly, who had been hiding, didn't come forward until 9 August and missed an identity parade on 10 August. She attended one rescheduled for the 13th but couldn't identify anyone, claiming the men wore white cap-bands, which were only worn by the Coldstream Guards, not the Grenadier Guards stationed at the Tower. She was taken to another parade at Wellington Barracks on the 15th, where she picked two men, both of whom had solid alibis. The inquest concluded on 23 August at the Working Lad's Institute, with a verdict of murder by person or persons unknown.
Jack the Ripper
Martha Tabram was murdered in September 1888, and her death was linked by police to later killings, including those of Emma Elizabeth Smith and Mary Ann Nichols, though Smith had told police a gang attacked her. The five canonical victims of Jack the Ripper—Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, Mary Jane Kelly, and Mary Ann Nichols—are now recognized as part of the same case. Tabram's murder was connected to these later killings, but not to Smith's. Her throat wasn't cut in the typical manner, nor was she eviscerated; Dr Killeen believed two weapons were used, one possibly a dagger or bayonet, the other a shorter knife. Sir Melville Macnaghten suggested in 1894 that Tabram may have been killed by unidentified soldiers. Some researchers, including Philip Sugden and Sean Day, consider her a probable Ripper victim. In 1998, Australian researcher Ted Linn claimed her husband, Henry Samuel Tabram, was the real killer, based on alleged cryptographic clues in letters attributed to the Ripper.
-
Read this chapter
Overview
After the killing of Mary Jane Kelly on 9 November 1888, an English worker named George Hutchinson came forward with a detailed account to police. Kelly was the final victim among the "Canonical Five" linked to the Whitechapel Murders. In his statement, he described at length a man who might have been her killer, later identified as Jack the Ripper. The full testimony remains and has since been scrutinized by modern crime writers. Some have called it antisemitic and overly specific for a scene said to have occurred in darkness. Critics have questioned whether Hutchinson’s story was accurate or even fabricated, with certain true crime authors suggesting he himself could be a suspect.
Background
George Hutchinson lived at Victoria Home for Working Men on Commercial Street, described as an unemployed labourer and former groom. Newspapers reported his age as somewhere between twenty-two and thirty-three years old. Some accounts also mentioned that Hutchinson had served in the British Army in some capacity.
Hutchinson's statement
At the Commercial Street police station on 12 November 1888, George Hutchinson reported seeing Mary Jane Kelly just hours before her murder. He said he spotted her on the night of 9 November walking with a man who stood out in Whitechapel for his elegance and foreign look. Hutchinson claimed the man carried a small parcel, and they shared a brief exchange before entering Miller's Court. He described the companion as about thirty-five, pale, with dark eyes, a curled mustache, and dressed in a long dark coat, dark jacket, waistcoat, trousers, and a dark felt hat. The man also wore a thick gold chain, white linen collar, black tie with a horseshoe pin, and button boots with gaiters. Hutchinson followed them but lost sight of the stranger as they entered the building. Later, he said he searched for the man again in Spitalfields, attempting to track him down, but the man noticed his presence and slipped away. Inspector Frederick Abberline later told a newspaper that he believed Hutchinson's statement was truthful and sincere.
Jack the Ripper suspect
George Hutchinson, who claimed to have seen Jack the Ripper near Kelly's residence on November 9, 1888, at around 2am, provided specific details that critics suspected he may have fabricated. He said he waited outside for about forty-five minutes in freezing weather, an unlikely act if true. Some believe Hutchinson sought fame or was possibly the killer himself. Author Robert Hinton named him as Mary Jane Kelly's murderer in his 1998 book From Hell. Others argue his deposition, filed three days after the murder, was crafted to avoid suspicion. According to Stephen Senise, Hutchinson had a history of antisemitism and later left for Australia after being convicted of child molestation. In 1991, Reginald Hutchinson claimed his father, George William Topping Hutchinson, was the same man who made the statement in 1888, though this has been dismissed by researchers.
-
Read this chapter
Overview
A string of killings happened in the East End of London from August through November 1888, all linked to a man called Jack the Ripper. Over the years, more than a hundred possible suspects have been named, but experts haven’t found any theory that really holds up. Some ideas are so outlandish they’re not taken seriously at all.
Contemporaneous police opinion
The Metropolitan Police investigated eleven murders between 1888 and 1891, known as the Whitechapel murders. Five of these—those of Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly—are widely accepted as the work of one killer called Jack the Ripper. These canonical five occurred between August and November 1888 in a small area of Whitechapel. The brutal nature of the attacks led some to believe the killer had medical or butcher training, but others thought the wounds were too rough for a professional. Local butchers were questioned and ruled out. Over two thousand people were interviewed, about three hundred investigated, and eighty detained. Several men were considered strong suspects, though none were ever formally charged.
George Chapman
Seweryn Antonowicz Kłosowski, known as George Chapman, was born in 1865 in Congress Poland and moved to the UK between 1887 and 1888, just before the Whitechapel murders began. He lived in Whitechapel under the name Ludwig Schloski, working as a barber. Between 1893 and 1894, he took the name Chapman and poisoned three wives, earning him the nickname "the Borough poisoner." He was executed in 1903. At the time of the Ripper crimes, Inspector Frederick Abberline considered him a prime suspect, according to H. L. Adam’s 1930 book on the poisonings, and the Pall Mall Gazette reported that Abberline had suspected Chapman after his conviction. Some doubt he was the killer because he used poison, an unusual method for a serial murderer, though not unheard of.
Montague John Druitt
Montague John Druitt was a barrister born in Dorset, who worked as an assistant schoolmaster in Blackheath, London, before being dismissed around November 1888. He died by suicide in the Thames near Chiswick on December 31 of that year. Some believe he was dismissed because he was homosexual, while others suggest a hereditary psychiatric illness, as both his mother and grandmother had mental health issues. He was described as "sexually insane" and suspected by family members of being the Ripper. Assistant Chief Constable Sir Melville Macnaghten named him as a suspect in a note dated February 23, 1894, though he mistakenly called Druitt a 41-year-old doctor instead of 31. Inspector Frederick Abberline did not consider him a serious suspect, citing only the timing of his death after the last canonical murder, which took place on November 9, 1888. On September 1, just days after the first canonical murder, Druitt was playing cricket in Dorset, far from Whitechapel, where the killer was thought to be local.
Jacob Isenschmid
Jacob Isenschmid, also known as Joseph Isenschmid, was a Swiss butcher living on Milford Road, who suffered from severe depression and other psychiatric issues. He had a history of violent behavior toward women in Whitechapel and had been hospitalized for mental health treatment. On 11 September 1888, two physicians told police they suspected him due to his unusual habits. His wife reported that he was violent and unpredictable, carried large knives at all times, had threatened to kill her, and had vanished for two months before returning only occasionally. He was arrested on 13 September, and a psychiatric exam found he was dangerously insane. A judge ordered him committed to a mental hospital. However, the "Double Event" murders of Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes took place on 30 September, while Isenschmid was already hospitalized, clearing him of any involvement.
Aaron Kosminski
Aaron Kosminski, born Aron Mordke Kozminski, was a Polish Jew who entered the Colney Hatch Lunatic Asylum in 1891. Sir Melville Macnaghten and former Chief Inspector Donald Swanson both listed him as a suspect. Sir Robert Anderson wrote that "the only person who had ever had a good view of the murderer unhesitatingly identified the suspect," adding that Kosminski matched the profile of a sexual maniac living near the crime scenes, with his associates aware of his guilt but unwilling to turn him in. In the asylum, Kosminski was largely harmless, suffering from auditory hallucinations and paranoia, and never boasted about the murders. A 2014 DNA analysis tentatively linked him to a shawl said to belong to victim Catherine Eddowes, but experts dismissed it as unreliable due to the use of mitochondrial DNA, which can only exclude suspects. In 2019, a BBC documentary concluded Kosminski was the most likely suspect, though scientists questioned the study's findings and data.
Michael Ostrog
Michael Ostrog, a Russian-born con man and thief who lived roughly from 1833 until sometime after 1904, was one of many suspects in the Jack the Ripper case. He used numerous aliases and claimed to have been a surgeon in the Russian Navy. Inspector Macnaghten mentioned him as a suspect in 1889, after the canonical five victims were killed. Researchers have found no evidence he committed crimes more serious than fraud or theft. Philip Sugden discovered prison records showing Ostrog was jailed for petty offenses in France during the time of the murders. The last confirmed mention of Ostrog alive was in 1904, though his death date remains unknown.
John Pizer
John Pizer, a Polish Jew known as "Leather Apron" who worked as a bootmaker in Whitechapel, became an early suspect in the Whitechapel murders. Police Sergeant William Thicke believed Pizer had a history of violence including a stabbing conviction and assaults on prostitutes. After the murders of Mary Ann Nichols and Annie Chapman in late August and early September 1888, Thicke arrested Pizer on 10 September, though the investigating inspector said "there is no evidence whatsoever against him." Pizer was cleared when it turned out he had alibis for two of the killings—he was staying with relatives during one and was talking with a police officer while watching a fire at the London Docks during another. Pizer suggested his arrest was based on personal animosity rather than evidence, and he successfully obtained compensation from at least one newspaper that had named him as the killer. Thicke himself was later accused of being the Ripper by H. T. Haslewood in a letter to the Home Office dated 10 September 1889, but that claim was dismissed as without foundation.
Read
Free to download, keep and share. For general information only — not professional medical, legal or financial advice. Please consult a qualified professional.