Study Sources A, B & C.
Does the evidence of source C support the evidence of sources A & B about the Ripper murders?
Explain your answer.
Source C was ‘The report of Dr. Frederick Blackwell on the Body of Elizabeth Stride’ which was written for the purpose of other doctors and police to help with solving the murder, therefore it is written in a formal style, as it contains more professional words, like ‘deceased’, ‘The deceased was lying on her left side’. The source tells me that Elizabeth was ‘On her left side facing the right wall’ this suggests that the murderer had enough time after the murder to position the body. It also tells me that ‘the neck and the chest were still warm’ this suggests that the murderer had left not to long before the body was discovered. It tells me that ‘the face was smeared with blood’ this suggests that after cutting the victims thought, the murderer wiped his bloody hands on the victims face, so he didn’t walk around Whitechapel with bloody hands. Also, it tells me that ‘Breath mints were found in her left hand’ this suggests that she would need fresh breath for clients as she was a prostitute, and that because she was from Whitechapel she would probably be drunk and her breath would smell like alcohol, which may put potential clients off. It tells me that ‘her appearance was placid’, this suggests the victim probably trusted and knew the killer or she was ambushed from behind. It tells that ‘her neck had a long incision cutting the windpipe in two’ this suggests the killer knew how to killer her so she would not scream or make a noise during the almost instantaneous death. It also says she ‘had no money’, suggesting that she was poor and probably going out to earn her rent.