1888. It was an era that would become
known as the "autumn of terror." A madman was stalking the streets of
London, preying on women of the night in the Whitechapel area. A string of grisly murders
set London on edge that fall. A number of women, all prostitutes, were found with their throats
cut, their bodies mutilated, mercilessly, brutally, randomly, and without motive. Early on
the killer was dubbed The Whitechapel Murderer, and Leather Apron. He was not the first
serial killer, but he was the first to create a worldwide media frenzy, extensive newspaper
coverage giving him international notoriety. And as the man has never been identified,
and the murders never solved, has risen to become the stuff of legend and folklore,
with wildly varying theories -- a chronicle of the worst of humanity. It's unknown just how
many women he killed -- upwards of 11 some say. But there are five confirmed cases attributed
to him known as The Canonical Five. Today we remember and visit the final resting places of
these five known victims of Jack the RIpper. This is the City of London Cemetery. In the 1880s
Mary Ann Nichols was separated from her husband and found herself living in
workhouses and common lodging houses. Poor unmarried women in the slums had little
recourse in those days. She worked for a time as a domestic servant, but prostitution was
for her, like so many in poverty, an occasional source of income -- a means of survival that would
tragically lead to her demise. On the evening of August 30th Mary Ann Nichols, sometimes called
Polly, set out to earn money for her lodging, proud of the new black velvet bonnet she was
wearing. She was sure it would bring her much needed attention. But unfortunately for Mary, the
black velvet bonnet would capture the attention of one of the world's most notorious serial killers,
not yet known to the world as Jack the Ripper. Mary was last seen alive walking alone down
Osborne Street at approximately 2 30 a.m. An hour later her body was discovered on Buck's
Row near a gated stable entrance. Her throat had been deeply cut in two places, and after death her
abdomen mutilated. The instrument of death was a knife six to eight inches in length. She had
no form of identification on her, but a fellow workhouse friend was eventually able to identify
her. Mary Ann Nichols was 43 when she was killed, and was laid to rest here in the City of London
Cemetery on September 6 1888. Her grave remained unmarked until 1996 when the cemetery decided
to formally mark her grave with this plaque. The ripper murders had begun, and two days
after Mary Ann Nichols was laid to rest Jack found his second victim. We're at Manor Park
Cemetery now in the Forest Gate area of London, where lies Annie Chapman. Similar to Mary Ann,
Annie Chapman had been separated from her husband and fallen into alcoholism, leading her to the
doss houses and prostitution in east London. In the early morning hours of September
8th Annie was seen in the company of a man near 29 Hanbury Street -- the last time
she was seen alive. At approximately 6 a.m, about an hour later, a resident of 29 Hanbury
Street discovered the body of Annie Chapman lying near the doorway in the backyard of the property.
There were two deep slash wounds to her throat and her abdomen had been cut open. Investigators
immediately drew the connection between this murder and that of Mary Ann Nichols,
which occurred just a half a mile away. They had a serial killer on their hands.
The injuries also suggested to investigators that the perpetrator had to have some
rudimentary knowledge of human anatomy. The press latched on to the connected murders
and the newspaper sensationalization began, each sharing their own theories and suspects,
often with false or speculative information, which only confounded the investigation. Adding
to the confusion were hundreds of letters sent to police and the press claiming to have information
on the killer or to be the killer himself. Most were written off as hoaxes but a few letters
were taken seriously by investigators. One such letter sent to the central news agency, known as
the "boss letter," would give this phantom killer a new name. In it he mocked the investigators
and reveled in his work, signing "yours truly, Jack the Ripper." Weeks before this letter arrived
and the killer was given this headline-grabbing moniker Annie Chapman was laid to rest on
September 14th in an unmarked grave. She was 47. Her remains are somewhere within this area, this
marker having been placed in 2008 in her memory. September 30th 1888 would become known as the
"double event," the only time the ripper killed twice the same night, setting the city
of London into a rising state of panic. This is East London Cemetery where we find the
final resting place of the third victim, Elizabeth Stride. She was born in Sweden and came to London
to work as a domestic servant in the 1860s, eventually marrying John Stride. By the 1880s
the marriage had broken down and Elizabeth found herself at a workhouse. She earned income through
various means, including sowing, housekeeping, and occasional prostitution. Elizabeth was last
seen in the company of various men, acquaintances or clients, in the waning hours of September
29th, into September 30th on Berner Street. Elizabeth Stride's body was discovered at
approximately 1am in Dutfield's Yard. Blood was still flowing from a single knife wound to
her neck, but there was only a single wound and no postmortem mutilation, as was the hallmark of
the ripper. So some have speculated that Elizabeth Stride's death was unrelated, but the more
likely explanation is the ripper was interrupted before he could finish the deed, because less than
an hour later, within walking distance of Stride, Jack struck again. Elizabeth Stride was 44
and was laid to rest here on October 6th 1888. Having been unable to carry out his gruesome
task with Elizabeth Stride, Jack the Ripper was not done for the night. We're back again
at the City of London Cemetery and Crematorium, where rests Catherine Eddowes. On the evening of
September 29th 46 year old Catherine was found lying drunk on the road and was arrested,
held until she was sober enough to leave. Upon leaving the police station at approximately
1am, instead of heading home she made her way toward the dimly-lit Mitre Square. It was a
fatal decision. At 1:45 am a policeman found her body in the shadows of the southwest corner
of Mitre Square. Her throat had been deeply cut, her body mutilated, just like the previous
victims. But Jack went further still, escalating his brutality against his victim, mutilating her
face so badly that she could only be identified by a pawn ticket she had in her pocket. The
killer also removed and kept one of her kidneys. Two weeks later the chairman of the Whitechapel
vigilance committee received a letter and a package, purportedly from Jack the Ripper,
postmarked "from Hell." In the package was half a human kidney which the sender claimed
to have removed from one of his victims. Many experts doubt that this kidney originated
from Eddowes, or that the letter was even from the ripper. Just another mysterious piece
of the puzzle that may never be completed. Catherine was buried on October
8th in an unmarked grave. Along with Mary Ann Nichols the cemetery
had this marker placed here for her in 1996. October passed relatively quietly in Whitechapel.
But it was merely the quiet before the final storm. We find ourselves now at St Patrick's
Roman Catholic Cemetery in the Leytonstone area of London, where rests the final known and
youngest victim of Jack the Ripper: Mary Jane Kelly. The beautiful 25 year old Mary, sometimes
known as Dark Mary, worked for a while in a posh brothel in the west end. By 1888 Mary was living
alone in a small rented room in Miller's Court, off Dorset Street, having broken up with her
boyfriend and once again resorting to selling her body, now on the streets of the east
end. It was the evening of November 8th, close to midnight. The light was on in
a little room occupied by young Mary, and neighbors reported hearing her singing the
song was "A Violet I Plucked From Mother's Grave." The haunting tune would be the last
song ever sung by Mary Jane Kelly, and the last thing few but her
killer would ever hear from her. Around 2 am the morning of the 9th an
acquaintance reported seeing her on the street and spoke with her briefly. She then left with
an unidentified man, taking him back to her room. There the ripper carried out his most grisly
attack -- the culmination of his maniacal fury. Unlike the other victims who were
attacked in a rush on the open streets, Jack's mutilation of poor Mary
was done in the relative privacy of her own home. He had time to carry out his
darkest urges. When police peered through the small broken window into her room the next
morning they were met with a horrific sight. Mary was lying in her bed -- she had literally
been butchered from head to toe. Mary Jane Kelly was laid to rest here on November 19 1888. Her
aging stone reads, "In loving memory of Marie Jeanette Kelly. None but the lonely hearts
can know my sadness. Love lives forever." If any good came from the Autumn of
Terror, it brought attention to the plight of those living on the brink of society...
particularly in the slums of the east end. Jack the Ripper would become something of a
symbol of, and the embodiment of, social neglect. Had these women had the sixpence to pay the rent
they wouldn't have been out on the streets. They are not to blame for their own deaths. They are
a reminder that we can all fall on hard times, and it's up to us as a society to look after
the most needy and the most vulnerable among us. None but the lonely hearts can know
their sadness. May they all rest in peace.
