You may have seen the story of Jeff The Killer, a teenager who loses his sanity, cuts his eyelids off and a smile from cheek to cheek, with his signature quote: “Go To Sleep.” Or maybe you read the novel “Silence Of The Lambs” where a psychiatrist named Dr. Hannibal Lecter is actually a serial killer who skins his victims and eats their flesh, or you might’ve seen the movie of the same name. But you breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that these stories are made up, fictional. You think that people like this never existed in real life. But you are surely mistaken. There is a person like Hannibal and Jeff, but this guy was never caught. Yes, my friends, we are talking about the most famous serial killer, Jack the Ripper.

Now, I know what some are you are asking: Who is Jack the Ripper?! Jack the Ripper is the nickname of a mysterious and sly serial killer from England. And, Mr. Jack, or whatever his/her’s name was, of course, was never caught. England was terrorized from August 7th to September 10 in the year of 1888 by this shady man. He was responsible for the murders of five prostitutes in the counties of Whitechapel, Spitalfields, Aldgate, and the big city of London. Jack was not his/her’s real name, but it was assumed to be a male. Not only that, but this killer sent letters to the police department, at the time known as Scotland Yard, taunting them, saying they will never catch him. Many people speculate about what Jack the Ripper’s true identity is, with the most famous theories being the famous painter Walter Sickert, a Polish migrant, and even Queen Victoria’s own grandson. More than 100 people have been accused as being the infamous killer, most of them being false accusations or attempts to harm one’s image as a public figure.

At this time period, London was known for their skilled immigrant workers. But it was also known for its bloodshed and violence. However, prostitution was only illegal if it caused public unrest. And most of the prostitutes never really caused unrest. It was also uncommon for working girls, including the prostitutes, to be killed during their “night shifts,” but a few crimes stood out for their sheer brutality. Jack was never kind to women, especially prostitutes. He humiliated them, sometimes even abusing them. But, eight years later, the crimes of Jack the Ripper suddenly stopped, and he simply disappeared from London. It seemed Jack may have never been caught.

In 2011, a British detective named Trevor Marriott may have found a break in the case. He found out there were undisclosed documents with details on the Ripper’s murders. But London, strangely, wouldn’t let him read or even view the documents, which caused much controversy. Why wouldn’t he be allowed to see the documents? Was there something about Jack we didn’t know? Or did he even exist? A few years later in 2014, a detective/author named Russell Edwards concluded that he had figured out the identity of the sly murderer. How, you may ask. He took DNA evidence from a shawl belonging to one of his victims, Catherine Eddowes. However, this has not been proven. The mystery continues.

https://www.biography.com/people/jack-the-ripper-9351486