WHY DID THE WHITECHAPEL MURDERS ATTRACT SO MUCH ATTENTION IN 1888?
There were many reasons why the “Jack the ripper” murders attracted so much attention in the streets of Whitechapel. The time span of the murders was 5 murders in 12 weeks. His identity remains unknown, but he was a serial killer who brutally and sometimes even inhumanely butchered at least 5 prostitutes in the Whitechapel district of Victorian London.
The area of Whitechapel was an area of violence, notorious and of course crowded at that time. No wonder that the murders took place there. Full of prostitutes who wondered the streets at night, which made it simple for the murderer to get any helpless woman he wanted to slaughter. He was the first serial killer. This attracted attention because this was the first ever time that someone had brutally murdered several people in a row without being caught. But these weren’t ordinary murders, this murderer not only slit their throat, he mutilated the prostitutes by taking out their intestines and other parts of the body, he cut them and stabbed them. But the worst was Catherine Eddowes. He cut off the right ear lobe, the tip off the nose cut off, intestines and kidney pulled out and “V” cuts in her eyelid and cheeks. If you read about his in the newspaper, drinking your cup of tea, this story would surely attract your attention. The fact that the killer was mutilating people not to far from your house attracted attention. But this takes me to my next point. There was one murder that took place in the city of London. This was not merely alerting people in the area but also cities near by. Which city would be next? This attracted attention because Whitechapel was no longer the only area where murders took place. People in nearby cities started getting worried that the murderer would come to them. The night of the double murder was one of the events that is most remembered. It is due to the fact that he was able to kill two prostitutes. It was showing the people that he was able to kill people whenever he wanted. It was simply outrageous and shocking.
