Yeoman lays out theories on Jack the Ripper
by Kristin Johansen, Reporter

   Note: This story contains some graphic descriptions.
   No matter what people call him, Jack the Ripper brutally killed five women and never got caught, a guest speaker told NE Campus students last week.
   Being a Yeoman warder and residing in the London Tower, Tony Strafford has all the stories behind Jack the Ripper, and dressed in his Yeoman worker uniform, he regaled a NE Campus audience Oct. 30 with those stories.
   “The police at that time were not allowed to give any information to the press,” he said.
   According to Strafford, the lack of police disclosure and two different police precincts working on the case added to the distortion of facts and difficulty of finding the perpetrator.
   The killings began in the east end of London in 1888. All occurred in the poor, disease-ridden, urban streets where, at the time, most children did not live past the age of 5, Strafford said.
  The first murder happened Aug. 31 on a deserted street. Two men discovered the dead body and called the police. The woman was identified as Mary Ann Nicholls, 43. She was last seen at a pub where most prostitutes spent their nights. Strafford said her throat had been cut twice ear-to-ear, and her body was ripped open groin to breastbone with her intestines poking out.
  The second killing happened eight days later. The victim was Annie Chapman, a 46-year-old mother of two. She was also found with her throat cut twice and body cut from her groin to breastbone with her intestines over her shoulder.
  After her body was examined, the coroner found that her womb was missing and reported it had been removed from her body with clinical precision. Strafford said this disclosure led people to believe Jack the Ripper had medical training.
   After the second killing and the discovery of Jack’s medical talents, the townspeople, according to Strafford, began to get scared and upset that the police were not doing anything to try to stop this killer. The people eventually formed their own committee and put patrols on the street corners and had detectives out trying to find Jack the Ripper.
   The newspaper were not getting the facts from the police, so they turned to the stories from civilians, Strafford said.
  “Most were embellished with little true facts,” he added.
  The third and fourth murders happened Sept. 30. The third body was found by a bar owner, who when going home that night in his carriage noticed his horse acting nervous and scared. Strafford said the man claimed to have heard noises but went inside first before finding out what had happened. He found the body of Lizzy Stride.
   However, her throat was cut only once, and no other damage to her body was made. Therefore, Strafford said, detectives believed Jack the   Ripper had been interrupted, perhaps by the bar owner, and left.
  The Ripper was not satisfied that night with Lizzy Stride, Strafford said.
  Catherine Eddowes, 45, was put in jail after passing out drunk outside a church. The jail keeper would not release her until she told him her name, but she gave him a false name, Mary Kelly.
   Eddowes was later found with her throat cut twice, disemboweled from groin to breastbone and intestines hanging out. Her face was also attacked and cut. The killer had removed her womb and one kidney.
  Now, Strafford said, both police forces were on the hunt for Jack the Ripper.
  “The only real pieces of evidence found from Jack was a cloth he used to wipe some blood and a note written in chalk on a wall,” Strafford said. “The note said, ‘The Juwes are the men that will not be blamed nothing.’”
   According to Strafford, the only place, at the time, where Jews was spelled Juwes, was in Victorian England among the Free Masons.    Commissioner Charles Warner heard about this and ordered police to wipe away the chalk, Strafford said. Warner happened to be a Free Mason.
   Days later a package was sent to George Lusk, president of The Whitechapel Vigilance Commit-tee. Inside was half a kidney and a note postmarked “From Hell,” saying the sender had eaten the other half, Strafford said.
  The fifth and final murder was Mary Kelly, 25, on Nov. 9. She was found in her small apartment, room #13, with only one organ left in her, her brain, Strafford said. A Catholic, she had been staying at a convent with the Sisters of Mercy.
  No one was ever arrested for or charged with these murders. The case was closed in 1892.
  Although many theories and stories have been made up and passed around, Strafford said the most common involves the English royal family.   During this time, Queen Victoria reigned. Her son, Prince Edward, was very wild and had many lovers, Strafford said. Supposedly, one of those girls became pregnant.
  “She had to keep it secret, however, because she was Catholic, and it was against the law for any Catholic to come into royalty,” he said.
  However, Strafford said, the girl told four other women, also prostitutes, about the baby. Nov. 9 was also Prince Edward’s birthday,   Strafford pointed out. Many at the time believed on that day in 1888 all his problems disappeared.
  Although the truth will never be found and the killer will never be exposed, Strafford said, Jack the Ripper is still out there in legend and stories seeking women of the night.