Jack The Ripper 1. Source A shows that the murder of Polly Nicholls was totally unprovoked and was the work of a 'demented being'. It is an article describing the murders of both Polly Nicholls and Martha Tabram which say that both of the victims 'have been of the poorest of the poor' which might have been a more polite or formal way to describe prostitutes at that time. This meant that the killer didn't really have any reasons or motives to kill them. It says that the killer used an 'excess of effort' in each murder which meant that Jack the Ripper didn't leave the body or flee straight away, he concentrated on the disfigurement of the corpse and creating carnage with the bloodbath. The source is only part of the article which could have included more gruesome details of the murder, the whereabouts, more about the victims and more about the location of east London. The source also says that the murders startled London, which shows that this was turning out to be the first serial killer case ever and brought great shock and fear to people in London. 2. Source C shows the report of the third victim, Elizabeth Stride. The report suggests that the ripper spent a long time on the corpse. I can see this from the second sentence, 'her legs were drawn up, her feet close against the wall of the right side of the passage'. It also shows the Jack the Ripper might have attempted to create some sort of image as it says 'The right hand was open and on the chest' and 'The left hand, lying on the ground, was partially closed, and contained a small packet of cachous [breath fresheners] wrapped in tissue paper'. This might have been an attempt of depicting some sort of image but to which no one has actually identified. It also shows that the Ripper adjusted his murders to his own accord and decapitated his victims with great precision which shows his great attention to detail. It also says that 'In the neck there was a long incision which commenced on the left side, two and a half inches below the angle of the jaw, cutting the windpipe completely in two' which supports Source A of the evidence that he put in an 'excess of effort' and he was also a demented being to inflict such atrocities. Source C does support Source A because there were no motives therefore he had no reason to spend time on the body after murdering them. Had he left the body in a hurry or a rush, then there might have been a sign that he did have a motive and he wanted to escape. It also shows the 'extraordinary violence' that was used. I think Source C partly supports Source B because it says 'there are no meaningless cuts (like in the Tabram murder)', meaning that the Martha Tabram murder did have meaningless cuts which suggests that it could have been two different murderers. Although Source B, part of the Coroner's report of the death of Polly Nicholls says this about the Tabram murder it does support Source C where it says 'the injuries have been made by
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someone who had considerable anatomical skill and knowledge' which gives the idea that perhaps a doctor or someone in medical related could have committed this crime. It says that 'no unskilled person could have known where to find the organs' and eliminates the possibilities of the ripper being a butcher when it says 'No mere slaughterer of animals could have carried out these operations'. It also says that 'it was done by one who knew where to find what he wanted' which shows that his intentions were clear in the three of the sources. 3. Sources D and E are ...

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