1 00:00:06,417 --> 00:00:09,292 [dramatic music] 2 00:00:09,375 --> 00:00:12,042 ♪ ♪ 3 00:00:12,167 --> 00:00:14,625 - Tonight, a spree of gruesome murders 4 00:00:14,708 --> 00:00:18,250 that shocks Victorian England and the world, 5 00:00:18,375 --> 00:00:22,167 a homicidal maniac whose true name remains a mystery. 6 00:00:22,292 --> 00:00:26,167 - The police comb through suspect after suspect, 7 00:00:26,333 --> 00:00:28,042 but there's either no evidence to support 8 00:00:28,208 --> 00:00:30,125 that they were there or they have alibis. 9 00:00:30,250 --> 00:00:33,000 So they're left grasping at straws. 10 00:00:33,125 --> 00:00:35,167 - Now we uncover the top theories 11 00:00:35,250 --> 00:00:39,625 about one of history's most notorious serial killers. 12 00:00:39,750 --> 00:00:43,542 - A few contemporaries believe that Jack the Ripper 13 00:00:43,708 --> 00:00:46,250 might well have been a woman. 14 00:00:46,375 --> 00:00:49,042 - I hope to prove my grandfather's grandfather 15 00:00:49,167 --> 00:00:52,292 was also Jack the Ripper. 16 00:00:52,375 --> 00:00:55,625 - Can his or her identity ever be proven? 17 00:00:55,750 --> 00:00:59,458 Who is Jack the Ripper? 18 00:00:59,542 --> 00:01:06,542 ♪ ♪ 19 00:01:14,917 --> 00:01:20,167 London, England, August 31st, 1888. 20 00:01:20,250 --> 00:01:21,667 It's early morning 21 00:01:21,750 --> 00:01:25,083 in the impoverished East End neighborhood. 22 00:01:25,208 --> 00:01:27,250 - The East End of late Victorian London 23 00:01:27,375 --> 00:01:31,500 was a sprawling metropolis within the city 24 00:01:31,625 --> 00:01:33,000 of London itself. 25 00:01:33,125 --> 00:01:35,250 There were respectable artisans, 26 00:01:35,375 --> 00:01:37,583 and small traders, and shopkeepers, 27 00:01:37,708 --> 00:01:41,542 but for the most part, it was the home to the poor, 28 00:01:41,708 --> 00:01:46,167 the abject poor, and sometimes the homeless poor. 29 00:01:46,250 --> 00:01:48,000 Fishburne: Delivery driver Charles Cross, 30 00:01:48,167 --> 00:01:51,417 walks through the city's dark streets. 31 00:01:51,542 --> 00:01:53,750 - Charles Cross is walking along Box Row 32 00:01:53,875 --> 00:01:56,500 on his way to work at 3:40 a.m., 33 00:01:56,667 --> 00:02:00,500 and he spots what he perceives is an unclaimed 34 00:02:00,667 --> 00:02:03,667 or discarded tarpaulin, which is quite a find. 35 00:02:03,792 --> 00:02:06,667 Fishburne: But what he finds isn't a tarp. 36 00:02:06,792 --> 00:02:09,292 It's a female body. 37 00:02:09,417 --> 00:02:11,125 - And at first, he thinks that this woman 38 00:02:11,208 --> 00:02:13,167 is either drunk or asleep. 39 00:02:13,292 --> 00:02:15,458 In fact, she's dead. 40 00:02:15,542 --> 00:02:19,083 Her throat has been slit, and she's been mutilated. 41 00:02:19,208 --> 00:02:21,167 Fishburne: Area residents identify the victim 42 00:02:21,333 --> 00:02:24,708 as Mary Ann "Polly" Nichols. 43 00:02:24,833 --> 00:02:28,625 - Polly Nichols began life as the daughter 44 00:02:28,750 --> 00:02:33,417 of a respectable skilled artisan and his laundress wife. 45 00:02:33,542 --> 00:02:36,292 She married young. She had children. 46 00:02:36,375 --> 00:02:40,000 But alcohol and marital discord led her 47 00:02:40,125 --> 00:02:42,542 to leave the conjugal home 48 00:02:42,667 --> 00:02:45,542 and to live a life on the streets 49 00:02:45,708 --> 00:02:47,750 as a sex worker. 50 00:02:47,875 --> 00:02:49,000 - These women were living 51 00:02:49,125 --> 00:02:50,708 very much a day to day existence, 52 00:02:50,875 --> 00:02:52,250 not necessarily knowing where they were going 53 00:02:52,375 --> 00:02:53,917 to sleep that night. 54 00:02:54,042 --> 00:02:57,333 This put them at a very extreme risk to be taken advantage of 55 00:02:57,458 --> 00:03:00,375 because they did not have a steady living. 56 00:03:00,500 --> 00:03:03,500 Fishburne: At the time, most crimes against sex workers 57 00:03:03,625 --> 00:03:06,167 in London received very little attention. 58 00:03:06,250 --> 00:03:08,417 But the brutal nature of this attack 59 00:03:08,542 --> 00:03:11,458 forces police to take notice. 60 00:03:11,583 --> 00:03:14,292 - This was an attack that was beyond brutal 61 00:03:14,417 --> 00:03:16,458 and almost unprecedented. 62 00:03:16,542 --> 00:03:19,500 Murder was not uncommon in the East End, 63 00:03:19,625 --> 00:03:21,708 but a murder like this was definitely something 64 00:03:21,833 --> 00:03:24,833 that drew attention to both police and citizenry. 65 00:03:24,958 --> 00:03:27,667 - After the Nichols murder, Commissioner Warren 66 00:03:27,792 --> 00:03:30,250 assigned first-class inspector Frederick Abberline 67 00:03:30,375 --> 00:03:33,667 in charge of the Whitechapel murders case. 68 00:03:33,792 --> 00:03:36,000 Fishburne: Abberline interviews the local woman, 69 00:03:36,083 --> 00:03:38,667 looking for suspects. 70 00:03:38,792 --> 00:03:42,875 Everyone he speaks to recalls the same elusive figure. 71 00:03:43,042 --> 00:03:45,208 He's even been given a nickname. 72 00:03:45,375 --> 00:03:47,708 - A common thread amongst all the working women 73 00:03:47,875 --> 00:03:51,333 was there was a man that was extorting them for their money. 74 00:03:51,458 --> 00:03:55,250 His nickname was Leather Apron. 75 00:03:55,375 --> 00:03:57,667 The reason they called him Leather Apron 76 00:03:57,792 --> 00:03:59,958 is because that's what he always wore. 77 00:04:00,083 --> 00:04:03,333 And the working women were convinced 78 00:04:03,458 --> 00:04:05,750 that he killed Polly Nichols. 79 00:04:05,875 --> 00:04:10,125 ♪ ♪ 80 00:04:10,250 --> 00:04:12,667 Fishburne: Soon, the mysterious Leather Apron 81 00:04:12,792 --> 00:04:14,833 is making headlines. 82 00:04:14,958 --> 00:04:18,000 - The press latches onto this story almost immediately 83 00:04:18,083 --> 00:04:20,500 and starts running with it. 84 00:04:20,667 --> 00:04:23,250 - Some of the key sensational newspapers, 85 00:04:23,375 --> 00:04:25,333 like "The Star," or "The Pall Mall Gazette," 86 00:04:25,500 --> 00:04:27,500 devoted particular attention 87 00:04:27,667 --> 00:04:29,583 to the lurid details of the crime. 88 00:04:29,708 --> 00:04:34,458 All of these created a media spectacle, a frenzy. 89 00:04:34,583 --> 00:04:36,833 Fishburne: The publicity quickly generates 90 00:04:36,958 --> 00:04:38,583 a possible sighting. 91 00:04:38,708 --> 00:04:41,792 - Two days after the murder of Polly Nichols, 92 00:04:41,875 --> 00:04:44,375 a woman sees an individual 93 00:04:44,542 --> 00:04:47,000 who she thinks is Leather Apron 94 00:04:47,125 --> 00:04:49,208 and yells out to a police officer, 95 00:04:49,375 --> 00:04:51,250 "There he goes!" 96 00:04:51,375 --> 00:04:53,708 - The police officer decided to chase him down. 97 00:04:53,833 --> 00:04:55,417 He apprehended him. 98 00:04:55,542 --> 00:04:57,667 The man denies that he's Leather Apron. 99 00:04:57,833 --> 00:05:00,458 The woman still claims that he is. 100 00:05:00,583 --> 00:05:03,708 Ultimately, the police officer lets him go. 101 00:05:03,833 --> 00:05:05,458 Fishburne: Nearly a week passes 102 00:05:05,542 --> 00:05:08,667 as the police try to track down Leather Apron. 103 00:05:08,750 --> 00:05:12,708 Before they can, the killer strikes again. 104 00:05:12,833 --> 00:05:15,583 - At about 6:00 a.m., an elderly man 105 00:05:15,708 --> 00:05:18,667 walking along Hanbury Street near where he lived 106 00:05:18,792 --> 00:05:23,500 saw this body, again, in the shadows of the building. 107 00:05:23,625 --> 00:05:26,542 Later on, after the police were called, 108 00:05:26,667 --> 00:05:30,458 this second victim was identified as Annie Chapman. 109 00:05:30,583 --> 00:05:33,250 - Annie Chapman's wounds were very similar 110 00:05:33,375 --> 00:05:35,708 to Polly Nichols', but much more severe. 111 00:05:35,875 --> 00:05:38,208 The throat was cut deep to the spine again. 112 00:05:38,375 --> 00:05:41,000 The intestines were thrown over the shoulder, 113 00:05:41,167 --> 00:05:43,208 and the uterus was missing. 114 00:05:43,375 --> 00:05:45,417 - Nearby, not far from Annie's body, 115 00:05:45,542 --> 00:05:48,667 was a wet leather apron, which may have been washed 116 00:05:48,792 --> 00:05:51,500 or the killer may have used to wash their hands 117 00:05:51,625 --> 00:05:52,917 and them wiped them on the apron. 118 00:05:53,042 --> 00:05:56,458 Could this be proof that the same killer has struck again? 119 00:05:56,583 --> 00:05:59,167 Fishburne: The press thinks yes. 120 00:05:59,333 --> 00:06:01,458 After the second victim is found, 121 00:06:01,583 --> 00:06:04,875 the public sentiment in the East End turns ugly. 122 00:06:05,042 --> 00:06:08,833 - At this point, the public is becoming more and more frantic. 123 00:06:08,958 --> 00:06:12,500 "Will there be another murder?" "When will it occur?" 124 00:06:12,667 --> 00:06:16,375 "Why can't the police identify the murderer?" 125 00:06:16,542 --> 00:06:20,833 The lack of solving the crime heightened the anxiety, 126 00:06:20,958 --> 00:06:24,833 not just in Whitechapel, but in greater London as well. 127 00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:26,375 ♪ ♪ 128 00:06:26,542 --> 00:06:28,417 - The newspapers repeat the fact 129 00:06:28,542 --> 00:06:31,292 that these eyewitnesses were describing suspects as Jewish 130 00:06:31,417 --> 00:06:32,833 or "Jewish-looking." 131 00:06:32,958 --> 00:06:35,708 And so it became this idea that a Jewish man 132 00:06:35,875 --> 00:06:37,667 was killing women in Whitechapel. 133 00:06:37,750 --> 00:06:39,625 Fights are breaking out in the streets, 134 00:06:39,708 --> 00:06:41,500 crowds are chanting "down with the Jews," 135 00:06:41,625 --> 00:06:43,583 and there are full-on riots. 136 00:06:43,708 --> 00:06:45,500 Fishburne: Faced with escalating violence, 137 00:06:45,667 --> 00:06:48,333 police hurry to locate Leather Apron 138 00:06:48,500 --> 00:06:51,500 and quickly nab a suspect. 139 00:06:51,667 --> 00:06:55,083 - The police held an inquest, and they realized 140 00:06:55,208 --> 00:06:56,708 that there was a boot finisher 141 00:06:56,875 --> 00:07:00,458 who was also a Polish Jew named John Pizer. 142 00:07:00,542 --> 00:07:03,750 - And on September 10th, he was arrested. 143 00:07:03,875 --> 00:07:07,250 Pizer's neighbors and friends attested his innocence. 144 00:07:07,375 --> 00:07:09,625 They believe him to be a good man. 145 00:07:09,750 --> 00:07:12,542 That didn't stop the police from harassing him further 146 00:07:12,667 --> 00:07:14,625 and doing a search of his home. 147 00:07:14,750 --> 00:07:18,292 When searching Pizer's home, they found five knives, 148 00:07:18,417 --> 00:07:22,042 which they believed to have blood on them. 149 00:07:22,208 --> 00:07:24,250 Fishburne: While the police analyze the knives, 150 00:07:24,375 --> 00:07:26,875 they interrogate Pizer. 151 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:28,500 - On the night of Polly Nichols' murder, 152 00:07:28,625 --> 00:07:32,167 Pizer maintains that he was staying at Crossman's Lodge. 153 00:07:32,292 --> 00:07:35,458 On the second night, for Annie Chapman's murder, 154 00:07:35,583 --> 00:07:38,250 Pizer claims he was holed up in his own home, 155 00:07:38,375 --> 00:07:39,875 living in fear. 156 00:07:40,042 --> 00:07:42,792 Fishburne: Police are able to confirm Pizer's alibis 157 00:07:42,875 --> 00:07:45,583 and eliminate the key evidence against him. 158 00:07:45,708 --> 00:07:48,250 - There was no blood on those knives. 159 00:07:48,375 --> 00:07:49,833 After closer examination, 160 00:07:49,958 --> 00:07:53,500 they found out that what was on the knives was actually rust. 161 00:07:53,625 --> 00:07:56,333 - The police ultimately bring in Pizer 162 00:07:56,458 --> 00:07:58,333 for additional questioning 163 00:07:58,458 --> 00:08:00,667 as several eyewitnesses questioned 164 00:08:00,750 --> 00:08:03,042 whether he might've been at the scene 165 00:08:03,208 --> 00:08:05,458 of some of the murders. 166 00:08:05,583 --> 00:08:07,875 They put him through two lineups, 167 00:08:08,042 --> 00:08:11,500 but the lineups amount to nothing essentially 168 00:08:11,667 --> 00:08:16,333 because the accusers turn out to be non-credible. 169 00:08:16,500 --> 00:08:18,375 Fishburne: Pizer is released without charge 170 00:08:18,542 --> 00:08:20,625 on September 11th. 171 00:08:20,708 --> 00:08:23,833 - The fact that these two lineups failed to identify 172 00:08:23,958 --> 00:08:28,000 Pizer raised the ongoing further questioning. 173 00:08:28,083 --> 00:08:32,083 If Pizer wasn't the murderer, then who was? 174 00:08:35,917 --> 00:08:38,292 [dramatic music] 175 00:08:38,375 --> 00:08:42,083 Fishburne: In 1888, residents of London's East End 176 00:08:42,208 --> 00:08:45,958 are on high alert in the wake of the brutal murders 177 00:08:46,042 --> 00:08:47,750 of two young women. 178 00:08:47,875 --> 00:08:50,792 - After Annie Chapman's murder, two weeks pass with nothing. 179 00:08:50,917 --> 00:08:52,667 And so people might be wondering, 180 00:08:52,750 --> 00:08:54,792 "Is he done? Was this it? 181 00:08:54,917 --> 00:08:57,542 Did he leave? Is he in prison?" 182 00:08:57,708 --> 00:09:01,000 Nobody really knows what was happening. 183 00:09:01,083 --> 00:09:05,500 - A few weeks later, not one but two more women 184 00:09:05,625 --> 00:09:08,292 were discovered brutally murdered. 185 00:09:08,417 --> 00:09:11,417 Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes 186 00:09:11,542 --> 00:09:13,833 were discovered within hours of each other. 187 00:09:13,958 --> 00:09:16,833 Both had their throats slashed, 188 00:09:16,958 --> 00:09:21,667 and both had abdominal wounds with their viscera removed. 189 00:09:21,750 --> 00:09:23,875 This was clearly a pattern, 190 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:26,833 four young women who were brutally murdered 191 00:09:26,958 --> 00:09:29,000 within a short period of time, 192 00:09:29,083 --> 00:09:31,542 all within blocks of each other. 193 00:09:31,667 --> 00:09:34,167 This heightened the anxiety, 194 00:09:34,250 --> 00:09:39,042 not just from the neighborhood, but from the police as well. 195 00:09:39,208 --> 00:09:42,250 - This was something the likes nobody had ever seen. 196 00:09:42,375 --> 00:09:44,333 London was probably dealing 197 00:09:44,458 --> 00:09:46,833 with its first known serial killer. 198 00:09:46,958 --> 00:09:49,500 ♪ ♪ 199 00:09:49,625 --> 00:09:51,042 - At this point, 200 00:09:51,208 --> 00:09:54,667 even though we now had a third and a fourth victim, 201 00:09:54,792 --> 00:09:57,708 there were no eye witnesses, and there were no leads. 202 00:09:57,833 --> 00:09:59,500 So the police, quite frankly, 203 00:09:59,583 --> 00:10:01,708 were still very much in the dark 204 00:10:01,833 --> 00:10:04,167 as to who the murderer was. 205 00:10:04,250 --> 00:10:06,917 Fishburne: All that changes on October 1st, 206 00:10:07,042 --> 00:10:10,333 when a memo now called the "Dear Boss" letter 207 00:10:10,458 --> 00:10:12,667 transforms a local investigation 208 00:10:12,792 --> 00:10:17,042 into a worldwide phenomenon. 209 00:10:17,167 --> 00:10:20,083 - On September 27th, the Central News Agency 210 00:10:20,208 --> 00:10:23,042 received the "Dear Boss" letter but dismissed it as a hoax, 211 00:10:23,167 --> 00:10:25,500 as there were hundreds of letters coming in. 212 00:10:25,583 --> 00:10:27,708 - But then September 30th occurred, 213 00:10:27,833 --> 00:10:29,042 and Elizabeth Stride 214 00:10:29,208 --> 00:10:30,750 and Catherine Eddowes were murdered. 215 00:10:30,875 --> 00:10:33,458 And in that letter, there were two details 216 00:10:33,583 --> 00:10:35,083 that matched the murders. 217 00:10:35,208 --> 00:10:38,333 The first was that he was gonna get to work right away. 218 00:10:38,500 --> 00:10:39,500 The second was he's gonna 219 00:10:39,625 --> 00:10:41,667 clip the ear off one of the women. 220 00:10:41,792 --> 00:10:44,375 So the police decided to publish that letter. 221 00:10:44,542 --> 00:10:46,500 - It's called the "Dear Boss" letter 222 00:10:46,583 --> 00:10:49,375 because that's how the letter begins. 223 00:10:49,500 --> 00:10:51,583 The killer is addressing the head 224 00:10:51,708 --> 00:10:53,833 of the police as "Boss." 225 00:10:53,917 --> 00:10:56,958 And in it, he mocks the police efforts 226 00:10:57,042 --> 00:10:59,417 and suggests they're miles off track 227 00:10:59,542 --> 00:11:02,625 in their assumptions and searches. 228 00:11:02,750 --> 00:11:04,333 - The "Dear Boss" letter 229 00:11:04,417 --> 00:11:07,375 creates a gripping public persona 230 00:11:07,500 --> 00:11:11,000 and seems to invite both investigators 231 00:11:11,083 --> 00:11:13,917 and the public to want to know more about him. 232 00:11:30,875 --> 00:11:32,333 Fishburne: The disturbing letter ends 233 00:11:32,417 --> 00:11:36,292 with perhaps the most famous alias of all time. 234 00:11:36,375 --> 00:11:39,417 - "My knife's so nice and sharp 235 00:11:39,542 --> 00:11:42,875 "I want to get to work right away if I get a chance. 236 00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:48,000 Good luck. Yours truly, Jack the Ripper." 237 00:11:48,125 --> 00:11:51,875 The "Dear Boss" letter fundamentally changed 238 00:11:52,042 --> 00:11:54,917 how people began to think about the murderer 239 00:11:55,042 --> 00:11:58,667 because it endowed the murderer with a playful, 240 00:11:58,792 --> 00:12:01,500 sardonic, wicked, 241 00:12:01,625 --> 00:12:06,292 and some thought perverted and maniacal lust 242 00:12:06,375 --> 00:12:11,167 to violate the bodies of these sex workers. 243 00:12:11,333 --> 00:12:15,500 This letter associated these murders 244 00:12:15,583 --> 00:12:17,875 as the victims of Jack the Ripper 245 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:21,292 rather than what they had been beforehand, 246 00:12:21,375 --> 00:12:23,667 the Whitechapel murders. 247 00:12:23,792 --> 00:12:25,167 Fishburne: On November 9th, 248 00:12:25,250 --> 00:12:27,500 the Ripper claims another victim. 249 00:12:27,667 --> 00:12:32,333 25-year-old sex worker, Mary Jane Kelly. 250 00:12:32,458 --> 00:12:35,833 - Mary Jane Kelly's murder was the most horrific 251 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:37,208 of all of the murders. 252 00:12:37,333 --> 00:12:40,208 She had her own little room at 13 Miller's Court 253 00:12:40,333 --> 00:12:43,833 where she spent her nights, and so the Ripper was able 254 00:12:43,958 --> 00:12:47,042 to take his time with her after he murdered her. 255 00:12:47,208 --> 00:12:49,375 When they opened the room in the morning, 256 00:12:49,500 --> 00:12:53,375 they discovered pieces of her spread out around the room. 257 00:12:53,542 --> 00:12:56,542 She had been carved down to the bone in some cases. 258 00:12:56,708 --> 00:12:58,542 And they also weren't entirely sure 259 00:12:58,667 --> 00:13:00,500 that the body was Mary Jane Kelly 260 00:13:00,625 --> 00:13:02,083 because her face was so mutilated 261 00:13:02,208 --> 00:13:04,667 that identification is nearly impossible. 262 00:13:04,792 --> 00:13:06,375 ♪ ♪ 263 00:13:06,542 --> 00:13:09,667 - It was long assumed that the killer had anatomical 264 00:13:09,792 --> 00:13:11,833 or medical knowledge of the human body. 265 00:13:11,917 --> 00:13:15,000 And Mary Kelly's murder totally cemented that. 266 00:13:15,125 --> 00:13:16,833 She had many organs removed. 267 00:13:16,958 --> 00:13:20,000 And they were removed cleanly and precisely. 268 00:13:20,083 --> 00:13:22,000 And that took a significant level of skill 269 00:13:22,125 --> 00:13:23,542 to be able to achieve that. 270 00:13:23,708 --> 00:13:24,875 Fishburne: After Kelly's murder, 271 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:26,500 the killing stopped, 272 00:13:26,625 --> 00:13:29,375 but the culprit remains at large. 273 00:13:29,500 --> 00:13:32,875 - It's easy to go back and look at the police work 274 00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:35,250 of 1888 and be critical. 275 00:13:35,375 --> 00:13:39,792 However, we have to realize they had so few tools 276 00:13:39,917 --> 00:13:42,833 in order to investigate any crime. 277 00:13:42,917 --> 00:13:46,500 So much of the evidence was innuendo, 278 00:13:46,667 --> 00:13:48,750 was suspicion, was rumor. 279 00:13:48,875 --> 00:13:52,500 And that doesn't pin down the identity of Jack the Ripper. 280 00:13:52,583 --> 00:13:55,833 Fishburne: The case languishes for several years 281 00:13:55,917 --> 00:13:59,875 until a new detective is assigned in early 1892. 282 00:14:00,042 --> 00:14:02,917 - Melville Macnaughten is asked to investigate 283 00:14:03,042 --> 00:14:05,458 the Ripper murders further. 284 00:14:05,542 --> 00:14:08,167 Macnaughten began to build a profile, 285 00:14:08,292 --> 00:14:11,833 which a lot of people still turn to today. 286 00:14:11,917 --> 00:14:14,208 He believed the Ripper was well-educated, 287 00:14:14,333 --> 00:14:17,042 potentially a Polish immigrant, 288 00:14:17,167 --> 00:14:19,042 and he also thought that it was somebody 289 00:14:19,208 --> 00:14:23,375 that, again, had anatomical or medical knowledge. 290 00:14:23,500 --> 00:14:27,750 ♪ ♪ 291 00:14:27,875 --> 00:14:30,250 He conducts different interviews, 292 00:14:30,375 --> 00:14:32,167 compiling suspects, 293 00:14:32,250 --> 00:14:35,583 and a name that pops out to him is Michael Ostrog. 294 00:14:35,708 --> 00:14:39,208 Fishburne: Ostrog seems to fit the profile perfectly. 295 00:14:39,375 --> 00:14:42,833 - Macnaughten stated two main points about Ostrog, 296 00:14:42,917 --> 00:14:46,042 that he had surgical experience from Russia, 297 00:14:46,208 --> 00:14:49,292 and also that he was a homicidal maniac. 298 00:14:49,375 --> 00:14:50,625 He writes, 299 00:14:50,750 --> 00:14:54,083 "This man was said to have been habitually cruel to women 300 00:14:54,208 --> 00:14:56,917 "and for a long time was known to have carried with him 301 00:14:57,042 --> 00:14:58,833 "surgical knives and other instruments, 302 00:14:58,958 --> 00:15:00,208 "and his whereabouts 303 00:15:00,333 --> 00:15:01,833 "at the time of the Whitechapel murders, 304 00:15:01,958 --> 00:15:04,625 could never been satisfactorily accounted for." 305 00:15:04,708 --> 00:15:06,208 Fishburne: Despite a manhunt, 306 00:15:06,375 --> 00:15:08,875 police are unable to locate Ostrog. 307 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:12,000 Later investigations reveal why. 308 00:15:12,083 --> 00:15:13,833 - Several of the original investigators 309 00:15:13,958 --> 00:15:15,208 went to their graves believing 310 00:15:15,375 --> 00:15:17,125 that Jack the Ripper was Michael Ostrog. 311 00:15:17,250 --> 00:15:19,208 But Ostrog could not have, in fact, been Jack the Ripper 312 00:15:19,375 --> 00:15:20,833 because he was imprisoned in France 313 00:15:20,958 --> 00:15:23,417 at the time under the name of Grand Guidon. 314 00:15:23,542 --> 00:15:25,875 Fishburne: But Ostrog isn't the only potential suspect 315 00:15:26,042 --> 00:15:27,500 named by Macnaughten. 316 00:15:27,583 --> 00:15:29,833 There's another possibility. 317 00:15:29,958 --> 00:15:33,333 ♪ ♪ 318 00:15:33,458 --> 00:15:35,292 - Macnaughten also named another suspect 319 00:15:35,375 --> 00:15:38,375 in his memoranda, and it wasn't a full name, 320 00:15:38,500 --> 00:15:40,792 it was just simply a last name, Kosminski. 321 00:15:40,875 --> 00:15:44,833 He was a tailor who arrived in Whitechapel in the 1880s, 322 00:15:44,958 --> 00:15:47,542 early 1880s, and later became a barber. 323 00:15:47,708 --> 00:15:50,833 Kosminski was a great fit for the Ripper profile. 324 00:15:50,958 --> 00:15:54,667 He was considered violent towards women, 325 00:15:54,792 --> 00:15:57,375 he had homicidal tendencies, 326 00:15:57,500 --> 00:16:00,458 his mental stability came into question, 327 00:16:00,542 --> 00:16:03,042 and he was also local during the murders. 328 00:16:03,208 --> 00:16:05,708 Tick, tick, tick, tick. 329 00:16:05,833 --> 00:16:07,708 Fishburne: Little else is known 330 00:16:07,833 --> 00:16:09,708 about Aaron Kosminski at the time. 331 00:16:09,833 --> 00:16:12,458 But in 2014, a British author, 332 00:16:12,583 --> 00:16:16,125 Russell Edwards, makes a shocking discovery. 333 00:16:16,250 --> 00:16:18,708 - Edwards attends an auction and buys a shawl 334 00:16:18,875 --> 00:16:21,125 that is supposed to have belonged to Catherine Eddowes 335 00:16:21,208 --> 00:16:24,333 and had been found on her body the night of her murder. 336 00:16:24,417 --> 00:16:27,875 - Her found two blood samples on Eddowes' scarf. 337 00:16:28,042 --> 00:16:30,833 It was his hope that these blood stains 338 00:16:30,917 --> 00:16:33,208 might lead to the identify of the Ripper, 339 00:16:33,333 --> 00:16:36,833 and specifically to Kosminski. 340 00:16:36,958 --> 00:16:39,417 The results were very, very intriguing. 341 00:16:39,542 --> 00:16:41,875 - When they compare the DNA on the shawl 342 00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:43,917 with the DNA of Kosminski's descendants, 343 00:16:44,042 --> 00:16:48,000 they discover a match of 99.2% and a match of 100%. 344 00:16:48,083 --> 00:16:49,917 It sounds like they found him. 345 00:16:50,042 --> 00:16:52,417 However, the DNA on the shawl that was tested 346 00:16:52,542 --> 00:16:56,292 was mitochondrial DNA and not nuclear DNA. 347 00:16:56,417 --> 00:16:59,833 - Nuclear DNA can pretty much identify 348 00:16:59,958 --> 00:17:02,458 an individual, specifically. 349 00:17:02,542 --> 00:17:05,500 On the other hand, mitochondrial DNA can say 350 00:17:05,583 --> 00:17:10,250 this blood came from someone with Eastern European ancestry. 351 00:17:10,375 --> 00:17:15,167 So even though this blood on the scarf of Eddowes 352 00:17:15,250 --> 00:17:17,625 was consistent with Kosminski, 353 00:17:17,750 --> 00:17:22,333 it by no means identified Kosminski as the murderer. 354 00:17:22,500 --> 00:17:25,250 - So it appears Jack the Ripper has again 355 00:17:25,375 --> 00:17:27,458 slipped through our grasp. 356 00:17:27,583 --> 00:17:29,125 Fishburne: Or has he? 357 00:17:32,750 --> 00:17:33,083 [dramatic music] 358 00:17:33,208 --> 00:17:34,167 perhaps Offi 359 00:17:34,250 --> 00:17:35,542 Fishburne: As London police struggle 360 00:17:35,708 --> 00:17:37,000 to find Jack the Ripper, 361 00:17:37,167 --> 00:17:40,625 their task seems nearly impossible. 362 00:17:40,708 --> 00:17:43,042 - The police comb through suspect after suspect, 363 00:17:43,167 --> 00:17:45,167 but there's either no evidence to support 364 00:17:45,292 --> 00:17:47,458 that they were there, or they have alibis. 365 00:17:47,542 --> 00:17:49,667 So they're left grasping at straws. 366 00:17:49,792 --> 00:17:53,042 John Pizer, Michael Ostrog, Aaron Kosminski. 367 00:17:53,167 --> 00:17:55,708 Each of them has seemed like a promising suspect, 368 00:17:55,833 --> 00:17:57,500 but ultimately each is cleared. 369 00:17:57,625 --> 00:17:59,250 Fishburne: But one expert believes 370 00:17:59,375 --> 00:18:01,667 Macnaughten was on the right track with one name, 371 00:18:01,792 --> 00:18:03,167 Kosminski. 372 00:18:03,333 --> 00:18:06,500 It's just a simple case of mistaken identity. 373 00:18:06,625 --> 00:18:10,167 ♪ ♪ 374 00:18:10,250 --> 00:18:12,167 - Macnaughten's initial instincts 375 00:18:12,250 --> 00:18:15,042 with Kosminski were sound, 376 00:18:15,167 --> 00:18:19,375 but later research led us to a different person 377 00:18:19,500 --> 00:18:21,958 with an even darker history. 378 00:18:22,083 --> 00:18:26,333 Fishburne: In December, 1888, a man named David Cohen 379 00:18:26,417 --> 00:18:28,792 is admitted to a London asylum. 380 00:18:28,875 --> 00:18:31,417 - David Cohen wasn't actually a real name. 381 00:18:31,542 --> 00:18:33,250 It's the name that the police would use 382 00:18:33,375 --> 00:18:34,875 for an unknown Jewish suspect, 383 00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:38,208 much like we use the name John Doe today. 384 00:18:38,333 --> 00:18:41,458 - Whilst committed, Cohen exhibits violent behavior. 385 00:18:41,583 --> 00:18:43,875 He attacks staff. He attacks women. 386 00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:45,792 He shows violent tendencies, 387 00:18:45,875 --> 00:18:48,625 the very tendencies that elevates somebody 388 00:18:48,750 --> 00:18:50,958 to Ripper suspect status. 389 00:18:51,042 --> 00:18:54,167 Cohen also had syphilis and had been treated for it, 390 00:18:54,250 --> 00:18:57,292 which suggests that he potentially engaged 391 00:18:57,375 --> 00:18:59,333 with prostitutes and may have caught it from them, 392 00:18:59,458 --> 00:19:01,375 which would attribute his disdain 393 00:19:01,542 --> 00:19:04,000 to the working ladies of the East End. 394 00:19:04,125 --> 00:19:07,792 Fishburne: Most notable about this suspect is the timing. 395 00:19:07,917 --> 00:19:10,458 - The murders cease after Cohen is committed, 396 00:19:10,542 --> 00:19:13,083 but the police don't make the connection in time, 397 00:19:13,208 --> 00:19:15,333 and he dies before his true identity is known. 398 00:19:15,500 --> 00:19:18,292 Fishburne: Cohen remains anonymous 399 00:19:18,375 --> 00:19:21,542 until 1987 when British researcher, Martin Fido, 400 00:19:21,667 --> 00:19:25,000 claims to finally know his true identity. 401 00:19:25,083 --> 00:19:28,167 - Cohen's real name is believed to be Nathan Kaminski. 402 00:19:28,250 --> 00:19:31,000 Kaminski, Kosminski, it's very easy to see 403 00:19:31,083 --> 00:19:32,208 how Macnaughten could have 404 00:19:32,375 --> 00:19:34,250 confused one name for the other. 405 00:19:34,375 --> 00:19:37,250 Fishburne: And the parallels don't end there. 406 00:19:37,375 --> 00:19:40,333 - Nathan Kaminski was a Jewish resident at the East End 407 00:19:40,458 --> 00:19:42,833 who was treated for syphilis. 408 00:19:43,000 --> 00:19:45,333 There's one other key detail about Kaminski. 409 00:19:45,417 --> 00:19:47,333 He was a boot maker, so he spent hours 410 00:19:47,458 --> 00:19:50,667 working with very sharp tools, and he wore a leather apron. 411 00:19:50,750 --> 00:19:53,250 - It certainly appears plausible 412 00:19:53,375 --> 00:19:55,583 that this simply may have been a mistake 413 00:19:55,708 --> 00:19:58,667 between two names that were very similar. 414 00:19:58,792 --> 00:20:00,583 ♪ ♪ 415 00:20:00,708 --> 00:20:03,708 - When Inspector Abberline retired in 1892, 416 00:20:03,833 --> 00:20:06,000 that was not the end of the case for him. 417 00:20:06,167 --> 00:20:07,667 He still conducted more research 418 00:20:07,792 --> 00:20:10,000 in compiling a list of suspects. 419 00:20:10,167 --> 00:20:12,333 For him, it was unfinished business. 420 00:20:12,458 --> 00:20:16,542 Fishburne: In 1903, almost 15 years after the crime, 421 00:20:16,708 --> 00:20:19,333 the now retired chief investigator, 422 00:20:19,500 --> 00:20:23,167 Frederick Abberline, announces another suspect. 423 00:20:23,292 --> 00:20:26,667 - So a man named George Chapman was executed 424 00:20:26,792 --> 00:20:29,000 in February, 1903. 425 00:20:29,125 --> 00:20:32,625 And Abberline after reading that saw the similarities 426 00:20:32,708 --> 00:20:35,292 between the Whitechapel murders and the murders 427 00:20:35,375 --> 00:20:36,708 that Chapman did. 428 00:20:36,875 --> 00:20:38,417 It convinced him enough 429 00:20:38,542 --> 00:20:41,208 that Chapman may very well have been Jack the Ripper. 430 00:20:41,333 --> 00:20:44,333 ♪ ♪ 431 00:20:44,500 --> 00:20:46,208 - George Chapman was not his birth name. 432 00:20:46,333 --> 00:20:48,583 He was born as Seweryn Klosowski, 433 00:20:48,708 --> 00:20:51,500 and he came to London from Poland in 1888, 434 00:20:51,667 --> 00:20:54,708 coincidentally the same year of the Ripper murders. 435 00:20:54,833 --> 00:20:57,542 - In Poland, he was a surgeon's assistant, 436 00:20:57,708 --> 00:21:00,167 dressing wounds and the like. 437 00:21:00,250 --> 00:21:02,708 In London, he became a barber 438 00:21:02,833 --> 00:21:06,000 and ran a barbershop on Cable Street 439 00:21:06,083 --> 00:21:07,417 during the times of the murders. 440 00:21:07,542 --> 00:21:10,417 Klosowski left for America, 441 00:21:10,542 --> 00:21:14,083 and his departure from English shores 442 00:21:14,208 --> 00:21:19,208 coincided with the ceasing of the Jack the Ripper murders. 443 00:21:19,333 --> 00:21:21,708 Fishburne: If Chapman was Jack the Ripper, 444 00:21:21,875 --> 00:21:26,500 it's possible his killing streak didn't stop after all. 445 00:21:26,667 --> 00:21:29,958 - George Chapman marries three more times 446 00:21:30,042 --> 00:21:31,750 over a period of nine years, 447 00:21:31,875 --> 00:21:36,333 and all three succumbed at his hand to poisoning. 448 00:21:36,458 --> 00:21:38,375 Fishburne: Chapman is tried 449 00:21:38,500 --> 00:21:41,167 and executed for his wives' murders in 1903. 450 00:21:41,250 --> 00:21:43,667 ♪ ♪ 451 00:21:43,792 --> 00:21:46,833 The case generates headlines for weeks. 452 00:21:46,958 --> 00:21:50,000 - Upon his arrest and hanging in 1903, 453 00:21:50,083 --> 00:21:52,292 he says to Inspector Godley, 454 00:21:52,375 --> 00:21:54,208 "Congratulations, you have caught 455 00:21:54,375 --> 00:21:55,625 Jack the Ripper at last." 456 00:21:55,708 --> 00:21:57,667 On Abberline's own admission, 457 00:21:57,750 --> 00:21:59,833 Chapman was not even on his radar 458 00:21:59,958 --> 00:22:02,333 as a suspect at the time of the murders, 459 00:22:02,417 --> 00:22:05,542 but due to subsequent research and Abberline 460 00:22:05,708 --> 00:22:09,000 building a greater profile of what he was after, 461 00:22:09,083 --> 00:22:12,083 George Chapman just ticked every box for him. 462 00:22:12,208 --> 00:22:14,500 ♪ ♪ 463 00:22:14,583 --> 00:22:17,625 Fishburne: But Abberline's suspicions come too late. 464 00:22:17,750 --> 00:22:20,583 - Chapman was hung, so he went to his death 465 00:22:20,708 --> 00:22:24,667 without ever being identified as Jack the Ripper. 466 00:22:24,792 --> 00:22:27,167 We will never have that answer. 467 00:22:27,292 --> 00:22:27,750 ♪ ♪ 468 00:22:31,375 --> 00:22:32,625 - Jack the Ripper, 469 00:22:32,708 --> 00:22:35,917 three words at the end of an 1888 letter 470 00:22:36,042 --> 00:22:39,000 that continue to elicit fear to this day. 471 00:22:39,125 --> 00:22:41,833 For over a century, that letter has been thought 472 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:45,042 to be the only piece of physical evidence 473 00:22:45,167 --> 00:22:46,917 tied to the true killer. 474 00:22:47,042 --> 00:22:49,625 That changes in 2011 475 00:22:49,750 --> 00:22:52,958 when one man uncovers a dark family secret. 476 00:22:53,083 --> 00:22:54,417 ♪ ♪ 477 00:22:54,542 --> 00:22:59,458 May 7th, 1896, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 478 00:22:59,583 --> 00:23:01,792 Inside Moyamensing Prison, 479 00:23:01,875 --> 00:23:05,542 a serial killer is executed by hanging, 480 00:23:05,708 --> 00:23:09,958 his name, H.H. Holmes. 481 00:23:10,042 --> 00:23:12,750 - H.H. Holmes was taken down off of the scaffold 482 00:23:12,875 --> 00:23:14,667 and placed in a double-wide coffin 483 00:23:14,792 --> 00:23:17,125 that was already half full of cement. 484 00:23:17,208 --> 00:23:20,250 Then the coffin was filled the rest of the way with cement 485 00:23:20,375 --> 00:23:22,500 and buried in an unmarked grave. 486 00:23:22,625 --> 00:23:24,333 Fishburne: Decades later, 487 00:23:24,500 --> 00:23:27,125 one man finds out an alarming fact. 488 00:23:27,208 --> 00:23:29,417 - When I was 40 years old 489 00:23:29,542 --> 00:23:31,458 and my grandfather had passed away, 490 00:23:31,542 --> 00:23:35,500 I was given some material which led me to believe 491 00:23:35,583 --> 00:23:38,583 that the man known to history as Dr. H.H. Holmes 492 00:23:38,708 --> 00:23:42,167 was actually Herman Webster Mudgett, 493 00:23:42,250 --> 00:23:45,375 my great-great-grandfather. 494 00:23:45,542 --> 00:23:47,833 For the last 10 to 15 years of my life, 495 00:23:47,958 --> 00:23:52,500 I've been researching the possibility that Dr. Holmes, 496 00:23:52,667 --> 00:23:55,375 along with the 40 other aliases 497 00:23:55,542 --> 00:23:57,667 he used on his criminal exploits, 498 00:23:57,833 --> 00:24:01,167 was also the most notorious cold case of all time, 499 00:24:01,333 --> 00:24:03,000 Jack the Ripper. 500 00:24:03,083 --> 00:24:06,500 ♪ ♪ 501 00:24:06,667 --> 00:24:08,667 Fishburne: Born Herman Mudgett, 502 00:24:08,833 --> 00:24:11,208 Holmes moves to Chicago in 1886, 503 00:24:11,333 --> 00:24:15,500 where he eventually rushes to build a three-story hotel 504 00:24:15,625 --> 00:24:17,708 for the upcoming World's Fair. 505 00:24:17,875 --> 00:24:19,833 - This World's Fair was especially important 506 00:24:19,958 --> 00:24:21,833 for Chicago because Chicago 507 00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:24,167 won out over so many better-known cities. 508 00:24:24,292 --> 00:24:27,083 This was the chance for Chicago to prove to the world 509 00:24:27,208 --> 00:24:28,917 that they were a city worth reckoning with. 510 00:24:29,042 --> 00:24:30,750 ♪ ♪ 511 00:24:30,875 --> 00:24:33,375 - Everyone that went to the Fair 512 00:24:33,542 --> 00:24:34,750 needed a place to stay. 513 00:24:34,875 --> 00:24:37,833 Holmes knew that. He planned the building. 514 00:24:37,958 --> 00:24:42,792 He constructed it as a motel in order for innocent victims 515 00:24:42,875 --> 00:24:45,792 to spend the night so that he could choose 516 00:24:45,875 --> 00:24:49,833 which one he wanted to pursue his terrible business. 517 00:24:49,958 --> 00:24:53,625 - He had secret rooms, rooms that could be sealed off 518 00:24:53,708 --> 00:24:55,333 and people could be suffocated 519 00:24:55,417 --> 00:24:57,375 or rooms that could be filled with gas. 520 00:24:57,500 --> 00:25:00,125 After Holmes murdered his victims on the upper floors, 521 00:25:00,208 --> 00:25:01,958 he sent them down chutes into the basement, 522 00:25:02,083 --> 00:25:05,792 where they could be dissolved in vats of acid or quicklime. 523 00:25:05,875 --> 00:25:08,167 He would then sell the skeletons to medical schools 524 00:25:08,292 --> 00:25:10,083 for about $200 each, 525 00:25:10,208 --> 00:25:13,042 which would be $5,000 to $10,000 in today's money. 526 00:25:13,167 --> 00:25:15,333 This is someone who is truly monstrous. 527 00:25:15,500 --> 00:25:19,500 So much time and dedication to create the perfect space 528 00:25:19,667 --> 00:25:23,125 for him to murder exactly when and how he wants to. 529 00:25:23,250 --> 00:25:25,667 Fishburne: Then in 2011, 530 00:25:25,792 --> 00:25:28,750 fresh information raises new questions. 531 00:25:28,875 --> 00:25:30,667 Could Britain's infamous serial killer 532 00:25:30,833 --> 00:25:33,500 actually be H.H. Holmes? 533 00:25:33,667 --> 00:25:35,792 - I was approached by a group of gentlemen 534 00:25:35,917 --> 00:25:38,500 who are also investigating the possibility 535 00:25:38,625 --> 00:25:41,750 that Holmes had been in London 536 00:25:41,875 --> 00:25:44,583 during the infamous Whitechapel murders. 537 00:25:44,708 --> 00:25:48,083 He had been there looking into the possibility 538 00:25:48,208 --> 00:25:51,833 of opening up a business selling human body parts 539 00:25:51,917 --> 00:25:54,875 and articulated skeletons to medical schools 540 00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:58,958 and universities, just as he had done in America. 541 00:25:59,083 --> 00:26:01,667 Fishburne: Jeff believes Holmes' background 542 00:26:01,792 --> 00:26:04,083 is a perfect match for the Ripper. 543 00:26:04,208 --> 00:26:06,708 - H.H. Holmes, as Herman Webster Mudgett, 544 00:26:06,833 --> 00:26:09,375 obtained his degree as a doctor, 545 00:26:09,542 --> 00:26:13,833 a licensed physician to practice medicine in America. 546 00:26:13,958 --> 00:26:16,375 Fishburne: Some speculate that like H.H. Holmes, 547 00:26:16,542 --> 00:26:20,833 Jack the Ripper might be selling pieces of his victims. 548 00:26:20,958 --> 00:26:22,917 - One of the rumors going around at the time 549 00:26:23,042 --> 00:26:25,833 was that there was a doctor who was willing to pay £20 550 00:26:25,958 --> 00:26:27,750 for each human uterus he received. 551 00:26:27,875 --> 00:26:30,042 Two of Jack the Ripper's victims had 552 00:26:30,208 --> 00:26:31,458 their uteri removed. 553 00:26:31,542 --> 00:26:33,500 This is similar to the idea of Holmes 554 00:26:33,583 --> 00:26:35,417 selling human skeletons for money. 555 00:26:35,542 --> 00:26:36,833 Could they be connected? 556 00:26:36,958 --> 00:26:38,333 Fishburne: As a next step, 557 00:26:38,458 --> 00:26:41,708 Jeff investigates the infamous "Dear Boss" letter. 558 00:26:41,875 --> 00:26:43,417 - While I was investigating the possibility 559 00:26:43,542 --> 00:26:46,458 that Holmes had been in London, had written "Dear Boss," 560 00:26:46,542 --> 00:26:48,000 and had murdered Catherine Eddowes, 561 00:26:48,167 --> 00:26:51,083 I was approached by a gentleman from Pennsylvania, 562 00:26:51,208 --> 00:26:55,167 and he presented me with some handwriting comparisons. 563 00:26:55,292 --> 00:26:59,500 I was shown these handwriting comparisons 564 00:26:59,625 --> 00:27:03,333 with perhaps the most infamous true crime letter of all time, 565 00:27:03,458 --> 00:27:04,833 "Dear Boss." 566 00:27:04,917 --> 00:27:06,458 It chilled me to the bone. 567 00:27:06,583 --> 00:27:08,458 It was obviously the same handwriting. 568 00:27:08,542 --> 00:27:12,000 I knew that graphology and handwriting comparison 569 00:27:12,125 --> 00:27:14,458 was a powerful forensic science. 570 00:27:14,583 --> 00:27:16,958 I went to the scientists at the University of Buffalo 571 00:27:17,042 --> 00:27:19,458 who had designed a computer program, 572 00:27:19,542 --> 00:27:21,083 the CEDAR-FOX system, 573 00:27:21,208 --> 00:27:23,458 which was recognized by the federal courts, 574 00:27:23,542 --> 00:27:25,708 which was recognized by the FBI, 575 00:27:25,875 --> 00:27:28,167 which was recognized by Scotland Yard. 576 00:27:28,292 --> 00:27:30,333 They took the material, the "Dear Boss" letter 577 00:27:30,500 --> 00:27:34,542 and the Holmes correspondence, and their professional opinion 578 00:27:34,708 --> 00:27:37,208 was that it was similar in style. 579 00:27:37,333 --> 00:27:39,042 They ran it through their system, 580 00:27:39,208 --> 00:27:41,375 and when they returned with their results, 581 00:27:41,542 --> 00:27:43,667 over 90% similarity. 582 00:27:43,792 --> 00:27:46,500 I needed to tell the world we had done it. 583 00:27:46,667 --> 00:27:48,625 We had--after 134 years, 584 00:27:48,750 --> 00:27:50,792 we had finally solved Jack the Ripper. 585 00:27:50,917 --> 00:27:53,250 Fishburne: With such a prolific crime spree 586 00:27:53,375 --> 00:27:54,833 in America, 587 00:27:54,958 --> 00:27:58,042 how could Holmes have committed a murder in London? 588 00:27:58,208 --> 00:28:00,583 - While investigating the possibility 589 00:28:00,708 --> 00:28:02,333 that Holmes had been in London 590 00:28:02,458 --> 00:28:06,417 at the exact time of the Whitechapel murders, 591 00:28:06,542 --> 00:28:08,375 we were able to discover letters 592 00:28:08,500 --> 00:28:12,583 that Holmes had written expressing his frustration 593 00:28:12,708 --> 00:28:16,708 with being unable to obtain his favorite American periodicals 594 00:28:16,875 --> 00:28:18,667 while he was in London. 595 00:28:18,833 --> 00:28:22,000 Fishburne: In 2006, Scotland Yard and the BBC 596 00:28:22,125 --> 00:28:25,583 commissioned a composite rendering of Jack the Ripper 597 00:28:25,708 --> 00:28:28,917 based on firsthand accounts from 1888. 598 00:28:29,042 --> 00:28:32,125 - While it's not something that could prove guilt 599 00:28:32,250 --> 00:28:36,750 at a murder trial, the drawing, if you'll take a close look, 600 00:28:36,875 --> 00:28:41,542 has a remarkable resemblance to the photograph 601 00:28:41,708 --> 00:28:44,208 the Boston police took of H.H. Holmes 602 00:28:44,375 --> 00:28:45,625 after they arrested him. 603 00:28:45,750 --> 00:28:47,667 It's almost exact. 604 00:28:47,833 --> 00:28:49,792 ♪ ♪ 605 00:28:49,875 --> 00:28:51,333 There is a fascination 606 00:28:51,500 --> 00:28:55,375 with how many H.H. Holmes actually murdered, 607 00:28:55,542 --> 00:28:57,333 just as there is a fascination 608 00:28:57,417 --> 00:29:00,000 with serial killing in our society. 609 00:29:00,167 --> 00:29:05,333 We all want to know how many innocents died at his hand. 610 00:29:05,417 --> 00:29:09,167 One day, I hope to prove that H.H. Holmes, 611 00:29:09,292 --> 00:29:12,500 my direct ancestor, my grandfather's grandfather, 612 00:29:12,625 --> 00:29:14,500 is also Jack the Ripper. 613 00:29:14,625 --> 00:29:16,458 ♪ ♪ 614 00:29:16,583 --> 00:29:19,167 Fishburne: Until that day, the Holmes theory remains 615 00:29:19,292 --> 00:29:22,042 yet another intriguing possibility. 616 00:29:25,667 --> 00:29:27,833 Fishburne: At the time of Jack the Ripper's murders, 617 00:29:27,917 --> 00:29:30,042 and in the decades since, 618 00:29:30,167 --> 00:29:32,500 nearly every investigator has relied 619 00:29:32,667 --> 00:29:35,458 on one crucial assumption, 620 00:29:35,542 --> 00:29:38,708 that the killer was male. 621 00:29:38,833 --> 00:29:41,333 - Most violent murderers of women are men, 622 00:29:41,500 --> 00:29:43,458 but not all of them. 623 00:29:43,542 --> 00:29:48,417 - The poor women of East London were no strangers to courts. 624 00:29:48,542 --> 00:29:51,208 Many were hauled in for disorderly conduct, 625 00:29:51,375 --> 00:29:54,042 for rough taunts, for fighting, 626 00:29:54,167 --> 00:29:57,833 for themselves engaging in violent acts, 627 00:29:57,958 --> 00:30:02,292 sometimes against men, sometimes against other women. 628 00:30:02,417 --> 00:30:08,292 This understanding that women were capable of violence 629 00:30:08,417 --> 00:30:11,958 perhaps fueled at least a few to speculate 630 00:30:12,083 --> 00:30:15,375 that Jack the Ripper might have been Jill the Ripper... 631 00:30:15,500 --> 00:30:17,292 ♪ ♪ 632 00:30:17,417 --> 00:30:20,083 A female killer. 633 00:30:20,208 --> 00:30:22,417 - The idea of Jill the Ripper actually originates 634 00:30:22,542 --> 00:30:24,625 from the time of the murders themselves. 635 00:30:24,750 --> 00:30:26,292 After the murder of the fifth victim, 636 00:30:26,417 --> 00:30:27,875 Mary Jane Kelly, 637 00:30:28,042 --> 00:30:29,583 Mary Kelly's estimated time of death 638 00:30:29,708 --> 00:30:31,833 was between 3:30 and 4:00 a.m. 639 00:30:31,958 --> 00:30:34,458 And this is based on the doctor looking at her body, 640 00:30:34,583 --> 00:30:35,875 the stiffness of her limbs, 641 00:30:36,042 --> 00:30:37,542 and the temperature of her body, 642 00:30:37,708 --> 00:30:39,292 as well as witnesses who heard 643 00:30:39,417 --> 00:30:42,542 or last saw Mary Jane Kelly alive. 644 00:30:42,708 --> 00:30:45,667 There is, however, one witness, Caroline Maxwell, 645 00:30:45,750 --> 00:30:48,292 who claims to have seen Mary Jane Kelly the morning 646 00:30:48,375 --> 00:30:51,167 after her murder at 8:00 and 9:00 a.m. 647 00:30:51,333 --> 00:30:53,833 Caroline was very certain of her identification 648 00:30:53,958 --> 00:30:56,417 because she knew Kelly and because Kelly was 649 00:30:56,542 --> 00:30:59,917 wearing a very specific outfit that Maxwell had seen before, 650 00:31:00,042 --> 00:31:02,833 including a very specific red shawl. 651 00:31:02,917 --> 00:31:05,083 Despite the fact that her evidence seems 652 00:31:05,208 --> 00:31:07,083 to go against what the doctors have said, 653 00:31:07,208 --> 00:31:09,667 Caroline Maxwell is very certain of both the date 654 00:31:09,833 --> 00:31:11,125 and the time 655 00:31:11,250 --> 00:31:13,250 because of when her husband would have to go to work. 656 00:31:13,375 --> 00:31:15,792 Fishburne: Although it was just one witness' account, 657 00:31:15,875 --> 00:31:17,708 Inspector Frederick Abberline 658 00:31:17,875 --> 00:31:20,583 believes there could be something to it. 659 00:31:20,708 --> 00:31:22,667 - Abberline concludes 660 00:31:22,792 --> 00:31:24,333 that it could've been the Ripper 661 00:31:24,417 --> 00:31:26,958 who put on Mary Jane Kelly's clothes 662 00:31:27,083 --> 00:31:29,125 and was seen by Caroline Maxwell. 663 00:31:29,250 --> 00:31:31,667 So therefore, the Ripper could be a woman. 664 00:31:31,833 --> 00:31:34,083 ♪ ♪ 665 00:31:34,208 --> 00:31:35,917 Fishburne: Abberline, however, 666 00:31:36,042 --> 00:31:39,375 is never able to identify who this woman might be. 667 00:31:39,542 --> 00:31:43,208 So he moves on to investigate other theories. 668 00:31:43,375 --> 00:31:46,167 But in 1939, author William Stewart 669 00:31:46,333 --> 00:31:49,417 picks up where Abberline left off. 670 00:31:49,542 --> 00:31:53,083 - William Stewart believes that if Jack the Ripper 671 00:31:53,208 --> 00:31:55,958 actually had been a woman that she, 672 00:31:56,042 --> 00:31:59,042 in fact, might've been a midwife. 673 00:31:59,167 --> 00:32:02,375 Many of these young women were prostitutes. 674 00:32:02,500 --> 00:32:05,000 It would not have been uncommon 675 00:32:05,125 --> 00:32:07,667 that they would be seeking an abortion 676 00:32:07,750 --> 00:32:10,000 or, in some cases, a delivery. 677 00:32:10,125 --> 00:32:13,333 So, therefore, a midwife walking those streets 678 00:32:13,458 --> 00:32:16,542 in the middle of the night with an apron with blood 679 00:32:16,667 --> 00:32:21,000 on it would not necessarily have caused suspicion. 680 00:32:21,125 --> 00:32:23,667 It could've been fairly commonplace, 681 00:32:23,833 --> 00:32:26,917 given that environment at that time. 682 00:32:27,042 --> 00:32:28,875 Fishburne: Stewart points to the state 683 00:32:29,042 --> 00:32:32,042 of Mary Jane Kelly's room as further proof. 684 00:32:32,167 --> 00:32:34,292 - A midwife could have gotten close to these women. 685 00:32:34,417 --> 00:32:36,333 When Mary Jane Kelly's body was discovered, 686 00:32:36,458 --> 00:32:38,750 her clothes were folded on the chair next to the bed. 687 00:32:38,875 --> 00:32:41,250 This was an indication that she was very comfortable, 688 00:32:41,375 --> 00:32:43,333 and calm, and was not surprised 689 00:32:43,458 --> 00:32:45,417 by somebody coming in unexpectedly. 690 00:32:45,542 --> 00:32:47,125 Fishburne: But why would a midwife 691 00:32:47,250 --> 00:32:49,625 specifically target Mary Kelly? 692 00:32:49,708 --> 00:32:52,000 - We don't know Mary Jane Kelly was killed, 693 00:32:52,167 --> 00:32:54,417 but Stewart suggests that she asked the midwife 694 00:32:54,542 --> 00:32:55,958 to come to perform an abortion, 695 00:32:56,083 --> 00:32:57,500 changed her mind, 696 00:32:57,625 --> 00:33:00,083 and then threatens to rat the midwife out to the police 697 00:33:00,208 --> 00:33:02,792 since abortions were, at the time, illegal. 698 00:33:02,917 --> 00:33:06,000 Fishburne: If the killer was a woman, who was she? 699 00:33:06,125 --> 00:33:07,917 - Any surgeon will tell you 700 00:33:08,042 --> 00:33:10,208 that to make an abdominal incision, 701 00:33:10,375 --> 00:33:13,625 to remove the viscera, requires a fair amount of strength. 702 00:33:13,750 --> 00:33:17,750 It's not something that can be done without some power. 703 00:33:17,875 --> 00:33:20,042 And it takes some time. 704 00:33:20,208 --> 00:33:22,458 So that, again, leads me to believe 705 00:33:22,583 --> 00:33:24,125 that Jack the Ripper 706 00:33:24,208 --> 00:33:27,792 was a fairly well-built, strong individual. 707 00:33:27,917 --> 00:33:32,542 About two years later, the police identified a woman 708 00:33:32,667 --> 00:33:36,833 who they thought might have been Jack the Ripper. 709 00:33:36,958 --> 00:33:40,792 - In December of 1890, a woman named Mary Pearcey is executed 710 00:33:40,875 --> 00:33:43,417 because she murdered her lover's wife and child 711 00:33:43,542 --> 00:33:45,042 and dumped their bodies in the streets. 712 00:33:45,208 --> 00:33:47,000 Similar to the Ripper's victims, 713 00:33:47,125 --> 00:33:49,750 both the wife and child had their throats cut. 714 00:33:49,875 --> 00:33:52,667 We don't actually know very much about Mary Pearcey. 715 00:33:52,792 --> 00:33:54,625 We don't know for sure that she was a midwife 716 00:33:54,708 --> 00:33:56,000 or had medical knowledge. 717 00:33:56,125 --> 00:33:58,083 But we do know that she was capable 718 00:33:58,208 --> 00:34:00,083 of this kind of violence. 719 00:34:00,208 --> 00:34:02,167 Ripper investigator Melville Macnaughten 720 00:34:02,333 --> 00:34:04,167 describes Pearcey saying, 721 00:34:04,292 --> 00:34:06,958 "I have never seen a woman of stronger physique. 722 00:34:07,042 --> 00:34:09,667 Her nerves were as iron-cast as her body." 723 00:34:09,833 --> 00:34:12,333 Fishburne: Ultimately, no female is arrested 724 00:34:12,458 --> 00:34:14,833 in the Jack the Ripper case. 725 00:34:14,958 --> 00:34:16,417 - I can understand why Macnaughten 726 00:34:16,542 --> 00:34:18,667 may have thought this, but people at the time 727 00:34:18,792 --> 00:34:20,292 especially would not have wanted to believe 728 00:34:20,417 --> 00:34:22,917 that a young woman would've been capable of such things. 729 00:34:23,042 --> 00:34:24,708 Fishburne: At the time, 730 00:34:24,833 --> 00:34:27,042 that was the end of the Jill the Ripper theory 731 00:34:27,208 --> 00:34:29,333 until new evidence surfaces. 732 00:34:29,458 --> 00:34:33,167 - In May of 2006, an Australian researcher, 733 00:34:33,250 --> 00:34:35,208 Ian Findlay, 734 00:34:35,333 --> 00:34:39,333 identified female DNA from the saliva 735 00:34:39,417 --> 00:34:43,625 of one of the envelopes that was sent by Jack the Ripper. 736 00:34:43,708 --> 00:34:47,167 However, I think you need to put this in the context 737 00:34:47,292 --> 00:34:50,875 of even with modern DNA analysis, 738 00:34:51,042 --> 00:34:55,250 you're still dealing with samples over a century old. 739 00:34:55,375 --> 00:34:58,000 And I think that calls into question 740 00:34:58,125 --> 00:35:01,708 how valid those findings are. 741 00:35:01,875 --> 00:35:05,417 It's really a shame that we can't explore this further. 742 00:35:05,542 --> 00:35:07,917 But I think for the time being, 743 00:35:08,042 --> 00:35:12,125 we should continue to refer to him as Jack the Ripper. 744 00:35:15,917 --> 00:35:17,667 Fishburne: There's no doubt that the most famous 745 00:35:17,792 --> 00:35:20,875 unsolved murder case in London's history is 746 00:35:21,042 --> 00:35:23,333 that of Jack the Ripper. 747 00:35:23,458 --> 00:35:28,917 - Jack the Ripper ruthlessly ended the lives of five women. 748 00:35:29,042 --> 00:35:31,667 But his legacy has been 749 00:35:31,792 --> 00:35:35,250 immensely productive of cultural forms, 750 00:35:35,375 --> 00:35:39,417 of novels, documentaries, works of art, 751 00:35:39,542 --> 00:35:43,333 each of which seeks to try to tell this story 752 00:35:43,458 --> 00:35:46,833 and understand its meanings. 753 00:35:46,958 --> 00:35:49,292 Fishburne: But what if this famed British mystery 754 00:35:49,417 --> 00:35:52,500 isn't strictly British? 755 00:35:52,667 --> 00:35:56,083 - In 2005, Trevor Marriott releases a book 756 00:35:56,208 --> 00:35:59,583 that offers a new possibility, a new suspect, 757 00:35:59,708 --> 00:36:02,375 bringing infamy to a relatively unknown. 758 00:36:02,542 --> 00:36:04,792 It suggests that the Ripper might have been 759 00:36:04,875 --> 00:36:09,250 a merchant seaman who never lived in London at all 760 00:36:09,375 --> 00:36:11,833 but was docked at the Thames 761 00:36:11,958 --> 00:36:14,125 during the times of the Jack the Ripper murders. 762 00:36:14,208 --> 00:36:17,000 [dramatic music] 763 00:36:17,167 --> 00:36:19,542 ♪ ♪ 764 00:36:19,708 --> 00:36:23,250 In 1894, Juliana Hoffman is found slain 765 00:36:23,375 --> 00:36:25,167 in her New York apartment. 766 00:36:25,250 --> 00:36:27,375 Her throat was cut from ear to ear. 767 00:36:27,542 --> 00:36:31,458 Two years later, the culprit was executed 768 00:36:31,542 --> 00:36:34,667 in Sing Sing Prison via electrocution. 769 00:36:34,750 --> 00:36:37,833 Her killer was a man named Carl Feigenbaum, 770 00:36:38,000 --> 00:36:41,208 and his lawyer upon his execution has said, 771 00:36:41,333 --> 00:36:43,417 "I believe that Carl Feigenbaum, 772 00:36:43,542 --> 00:36:45,833 whom you have just seen put to death in the electric chair, 773 00:36:45,917 --> 00:36:48,708 "can easily be connected with the Jack the Ripper murders 774 00:36:48,875 --> 00:36:50,500 in Whitechapel, London." 775 00:36:50,625 --> 00:36:52,583 Fishburne: When Trevor Marriott digs deeper, 776 00:36:52,708 --> 00:36:54,667 he realizes there's a chance 777 00:36:54,833 --> 00:36:56,917 that Feigenbaum's lawyer was right. 778 00:36:57,042 --> 00:37:00,333 - The docks on the Thames are in very close proximity 779 00:37:00,458 --> 00:37:03,208 to the murder sites in Whitechapel, 780 00:37:03,333 --> 00:37:05,250 so that does lend to the fact 781 00:37:05,375 --> 00:37:06,708 that he could have done this. 782 00:37:06,875 --> 00:37:09,625 He was definitely close enough. 783 00:37:09,750 --> 00:37:13,250 - As a merchant seaman, such as Feigenbaum, 784 00:37:13,375 --> 00:37:14,542 they would never have been caught 785 00:37:14,708 --> 00:37:16,333 because they come into port, 786 00:37:16,458 --> 00:37:18,208 commit the murder, and then leave, 787 00:37:18,375 --> 00:37:21,333 only to return again to commit the next murder. 788 00:37:21,458 --> 00:37:23,042 Fishburne: When Marriott analyzes 789 00:37:23,167 --> 00:37:24,500 London's port records, 790 00:37:24,625 --> 00:37:27,083 his theory becomes more plausible. 791 00:37:27,208 --> 00:37:31,250 - Trevor Marriott believes that Carl Feigenbaum was German. 792 00:37:31,375 --> 00:37:34,292 And his theory on Feigenbaum centers 793 00:37:34,375 --> 00:37:37,250 around the Norddeutscher Lloyd Shipping Company. 794 00:37:37,375 --> 00:37:38,958 According to Trevor's theory, 795 00:37:39,083 --> 00:37:43,083 a lot of vessels from this German shipping company 796 00:37:43,208 --> 00:37:47,708 had boats docked in London at the time of the murders. 797 00:37:47,875 --> 00:37:49,333 And that could place him 798 00:37:49,500 --> 00:37:51,792 on the Norddeutscher line of vessels. 799 00:37:51,917 --> 00:37:53,417 Fishburne: According to Marriott, 800 00:37:53,542 --> 00:37:56,708 the killings might not stop there. 801 00:37:56,833 --> 00:37:59,167 - This theory makes a lot of sense, 802 00:37:59,333 --> 00:38:01,083 in part because the police were looking 803 00:38:01,208 --> 00:38:02,500 very specifically at locals, 804 00:38:02,625 --> 00:38:05,542 at people living there or with connections to the area. 805 00:38:05,708 --> 00:38:08,583 And especially because Jack the Ripper was never caught. 806 00:38:08,708 --> 00:38:10,667 And so Jack the Ripper may have had murders 807 00:38:10,833 --> 00:38:14,333 in other ports of call that were never connected back. 808 00:38:14,417 --> 00:38:15,958 - Marriott does further research 809 00:38:16,083 --> 00:38:18,167 into the Norddeutscher Lloyd Shipping Company 810 00:38:18,250 --> 00:38:22,958 and tracks departures from Bremen and analyzes the times 811 00:38:23,083 --> 00:38:25,375 that they are docked in other countries. 812 00:38:25,500 --> 00:38:27,458 He stated in addition 813 00:38:27,583 --> 00:38:29,000 to the London killings, 814 00:38:29,125 --> 00:38:31,667 there are six prostitutes murdered in Nicaragua 815 00:38:31,833 --> 00:38:35,000 in January, 1889, one in Wisconsin in 1890, 816 00:38:35,125 --> 00:38:38,333 two more in Germany and Switzerland that same year, 817 00:38:38,458 --> 00:38:40,750 and three more in America through 1894, 818 00:38:40,875 --> 00:38:44,042 all of which coincide with those German merchant vessels 819 00:38:44,208 --> 00:38:45,667 coming and going. 820 00:38:45,750 --> 00:38:47,667 Many of the woman had their throats cut, 821 00:38:47,792 --> 00:38:50,167 which is a Ripper trademark. 822 00:38:50,292 --> 00:38:54,625 The targets were also similar. Many were prostitutes. 823 00:38:54,750 --> 00:38:58,833 So there was definitely a crossover between the killings 824 00:38:59,000 --> 00:39:01,333 that Marriott found in other countries, 825 00:39:01,458 --> 00:39:04,375 along with the Ripper murders in London. 826 00:39:04,500 --> 00:39:06,500 Fishburne: But without more solid evidence, 827 00:39:06,625 --> 00:39:10,083 it's impossible to prove Feigenbaum's guilt. 828 00:39:10,208 --> 00:39:11,792 - While there is evidence 829 00:39:11,875 --> 00:39:15,667 that contradicts Feigenbaum as Jack the Ripper, 830 00:39:15,833 --> 00:39:18,708 the underlying theory of the killer 831 00:39:18,875 --> 00:39:22,708 being a merchant seaman is very credible. 832 00:39:22,875 --> 00:39:26,167 - It's interesting, sure, but tying all of this 833 00:39:26,333 --> 00:39:29,167 to one man is a bit of a stretch. 834 00:39:29,333 --> 00:39:31,833 I mean, there are plenty of misogynistic, 835 00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:34,333 violent men in the world. 836 00:39:34,458 --> 00:39:35,333 I mean, just look at how many 837 00:39:35,458 --> 00:39:36,833 we've spoken of just from London. 838 00:39:36,958 --> 00:39:38,750 ♪ ♪ 839 00:39:38,875 --> 00:39:41,500 - The most powerful evidence that we have 840 00:39:41,667 --> 00:39:46,792 about the Ripper's crimes were the bodies of his victims. 841 00:39:46,875 --> 00:39:48,083 ♪ ♪ 842 00:39:48,208 --> 00:39:51,875 And while he taunted the police and the public 843 00:39:52,042 --> 00:39:56,250 by producing for himself a diabolical, 844 00:39:56,375 --> 00:40:00,167 wicked, witty public persona, 845 00:40:00,333 --> 00:40:04,083 he left behind so few hard clues 846 00:40:04,208 --> 00:40:08,083 by which we can actually nail down who he was. 847 00:40:08,208 --> 00:40:12,667 Fishburne: Can we ever crack the case of Jack the Ripper? 848 00:40:12,792 --> 00:40:14,667 - I don't think we're ever going to find out 849 00:40:14,792 --> 00:40:16,375 who Jack the Ripper really was, 850 00:40:16,542 --> 00:40:18,750 but I also don't think we're gonna stop looking. 851 00:40:18,875 --> 00:40:22,333 ♪ ♪ 852 00:40:22,417 --> 00:40:24,667 - There may be no killing spree in history 853 00:40:24,792 --> 00:40:26,500 with more possible suspects 854 00:40:26,667 --> 00:40:28,625 and fewer pieces of concrete evidence 855 00:40:28,708 --> 00:40:30,208 than the one committed 856 00:40:30,375 --> 00:40:33,500 by the self-proclaimed Jack the Ripper. 857 00:40:33,667 --> 00:40:35,708 But with so many obsessed investigators 858 00:40:35,875 --> 00:40:37,833 dedicated to closing this case, 859 00:40:37,958 --> 00:40:41,917 perhaps soon Jack the Ripper will get a new name, 860 00:40:42,042 --> 00:40:45,958 one that finally reveals his true identity. 861 00:40:46,042 --> 00:40:47,292 I'm Laurence Fishburne. 862 00:40:47,417 --> 00:40:51,000 Thank you for watching "History's Greatest Mysteries."