Jack the Ripper: the most complete online resource. A wealth of information, from scanned letters purportedly sent by the killer, to contemporary police reports, to recent scholarship and discussion, articles about Victorian London, social history, and dissertations. To my mind the most interesting of all are the detailed biographies of the victims, which give a glimpse of the difficult life experienced by working-class Londoners, especially women, during the mid 19th century. Note: The site has been mentioned here before, but only in the context of two discussions about Patricia Cornwell's book claiming that the murders were committed by artist Walter Sickert (1, 2). Some images NSFW.
posted by jokeefe on Nov 11, 2004 - 16 comments

Shortly after Jack The Ripper retired, a man named Henry Holmes moved to Chicago. Using insurance fraud money, in 1892 he built an elaborate mansion with over 60 rooms. This mansion, which became known as The Murder Castle, was perhaps the first extraordinary building in a city that has become known for its architecture, from Frank Lloyd Wright to the Sears tower. In his home, which he ran as a hotel for the unfortunate traveler, Holmes murderd & disposed of as many as 200 victims over the course of the next four years... (more inside)
posted by jonson on Feb 3, 2003 - 26 comments

Walter Sickert was a renowned impressionist painter. In her new book, author Patricia Cornwell also claims that Sickert was Jack the Ripper. Whether you believe her theory or not, Cornwell is certainly getting a lot of press out of this. If all these links aren't enough for you, you can also watch a documentary on Cornwell and her Jack the Ripper theory tonight at 10 p.m. EST on The Learning Channel.
posted by Reggie452 on Dec 9, 2002 - 18 comments

Is this man Jack the Ripper? [via strandmagazine.tvheaven.com] On the same day that forensic doubts about Albert DeSalvo's role as the Boston Strangler threaten to reopen that question, we had an episode of "Primetime Thursday", where crime writer Patricia Cornwell (who spent 4 million dollars in the effort) tells Diane Sawyer she has closed the book on indentifying Jack the Ripper. Although her guess is among the usual gang of suspects, she claimed to have indisputable and decisive new evidence.
posted by RavinDave on Dec 7, 2001 - 11 comments