Over the years there have been many different theories about who Jack the Ripper was. Some claim it was a Whitechapel mortician, called Robert Mann, who examined the bodies after they had been found. One of the more outlandish theories is that it was the famous novelist Lewis Carroll (author of Alice in Wonderland) for making anagrams of Jack the Ripper in his books. Some people also believe the Duke of Clarence (grandson of Queen Victoria) had a hand in it. Prince Albert Victor was rumoured to have had a child with a woman who lived in Whitechapel. The belief is that the Royal family and the government tried to remove any evidence of the child by killing it and anyone who knew about it.

The most probable suspect of the Ripper case was young American who came over to England in 1888. Francis Tumblety arrived in England two months before the first canonical murder happened. And when compared to the profile, we see that he matches it almost perfectly.

Tumblety was staying near Whitechapel, so had local knowledge. He was trained as a medical assistant, so had the necessary skills to find organs and remove them quickly. He left his wife when he found out she was a prostitute and was believed to harbour a hatred for women. This gave him a motive for the attacks.


Sadly, anyone who had evidence of who Jack the Ripper was is dead now. And with the murders being more than 130 years ago, most of the evidence is now so contaminated that it can’t provide much insight. But more than that, with all potential suspects now dead, getting a confession from the real Ripper is now impossible. As a result of this, Jack the Ripper’s real identity will almost certainly never be known.

© Manishi Anand