- Well we've done it. We're in Ripper town now. - Rip city. - This is what the people wanted. We're gonna bag us a ripper today. - We're gonna slap the cuffs on 'em. - It's been over 100 years. Who better to solve it than the boys? - I mean, if we don't, I'm
hangin' my head in shame and I'm never going back to America. - We can't go back to the States. Well, here we go. - Any of you seen a ripper? - This week on Buzzfeed
Unsolved, in our season premiere, we investigate Jack the Ripper. Perhaps the most infamous
serial killer of all time. Hundreds of suspects have
been named for this case and it has baffled investigators
and ripperologists alike for over 100 years. - But it's not gonna baffle the boys. - Yeah and if we're ripperologists. - We're unbaffleable. - That's not a word. - I think it's a word. - I've done so much research on this one. I'm very, very pleased with
the case I'm about to present. I think I've done it. - You think this is your white whale? - I didn't solve it, but I did a good job. - Okay, well you got me all excited. - [Ryan] The year is 1888. The stage, the shadowy
and bog-filled streets of the East End of London. More specifically, the
Whitechapel District, an area with a proclivity
for violence and crime amongst the backdrop of poverty. But suddenly, a string of
murders terrorize the public in a way never seen before. The culprit, a mad man
with no clear motive. The world's most notorious
serial killer, Jack the Ripper. While most believe the Ripper claimed the lives of only five, now referred to as "The Canonical Five," others believe the
Ripper claimed the lives of up to 11 women. All five of the canonical
victims were prostitutes, as many women in the Whitechapel District had to turn to prostitution
as a way to survive. The morbid intrigue is
not a recent development. At the time of the murders, literacy was increasing
amongst the general population. The murders were covered in the newspaper and the public became
morbidly fascinated by them. In the end, the public was so upset at the failed attempts
to identify the killer that the police commissioner
and home secretary eventually resigned. - [Shane] So was this like, one of the first instances of like, sort of a media frenzy
around something like this? 'Cause this sounds like O.J. or JonBenet. - I wonder if they had
true crime shows back then. - I don't think they did, Ryan. - I could see them having
little sock puppets like they do in Game of Thrones. - Okay, I could see that. Little puppets, yeah.
- Yeah, little puppets. - I'm on board with that. - Also, touching on the
police commissioner, I think this is the first time I've actually seen a
police commissioner resign because he was so upset and that makes sense to me
because, I've said this before, when there's a serial killer on the loose, you really are just playing
cat and mouse with the killer and he's just getting out
foxed by him at every corner. - It's your whole livelihood. - That could drive you insane. I feel like that would drive me insane. Today, we're gonna cover
the five canonical victims and by the end will have examined the most suspects we've ever presented with eight possible killers. Without further ado, let's
jump into the timeline. On August 31, 1888 at 3:40 a.m., the body of Mary Ann Nichols was found in Buck's Row in Whitechapel. The body was discovered by
a man named Charles Cross, who claims he was walking along Buck's Row when he noticed a bundle
towards the western end. Another man named Robert Paul approached the body with Cross. Police would eventually
arrive on the scene. Mary Ann Nichols was found on her back, her throat severely slashed,
and she was disemboweled. It was determined she had only been dead for about a half hour, meaning the killer was likely nearby when Cross first saw the body. - Now how did they, at this point in time, I don't know what their
forensics are like, how do they know what a half hour is? Do they just sort of like.. - I mean, he just goes over.. Let's see. - That's half hour blood right there. - Yeah, that's 30 minutes. Maybe they had a bloodhound? I don't know. - That's not what bloodhounds-- - (laughing) I don't know. I know bloodhounds are used
to track things, but I-- - You don't feed them
blood if they don't-- - You don't feed
bloodhounds bags of blood? - You feed a bloodhound some blood and it barks for every minute. - And it goes, "A positive. "Universal donor." - "Dead for five minutes." (laughter) - Right now we're at the
site of the first murder. This is Mary Ann Nichols. They found her at the
western end of Buck's Row, which is now Durward Street. You can kind of see where it was. Like, see that building right
there with the white windows? We can't go over there 'cause
there's construction now. - It's a growing city. - But just below that and
a little bit towards us, she was found in the
gateway of one of the houses that lined this street before. Kind of similar to these gateways here. I mean, it's kind of weird to think that they didn't know this
was the first of what would be the most infamous serial
killer of all time. - One crazy summer. (laughter) - [Ryan] On September 8, 1888, the body of Annie Chapman was
found at 29 Hanbury Street. Her body was discovered
by a man named John Davis, an elderly resident of the
29 Hanbury Street building. Her throat was cut and this
time the violence escalated in that the murderer took her womb. So this is the approximate
location of the second killing. Annie Chapman was killed
at 29 Hanbury Street, but my sources have told me
that street actually moved. 29 Hanbury is actually over there, but where it approximately
happened, back in the day, was around the entrance to Truman Brewery, which is right there. - Imagine the pandemonium. - [Ryan] Dr. George Baxter Phillips was serving as the divisional
police surgeon at the time and proposed the idea that the killer had anatomical knowledge by the manner in which Annie
Chapman's womb was removed. That's the first clue, he's a doctor. Probably.
- Probably. - [Ryan] Or has basic
anatomical knowledge. Later that month on September 27, 1888, the Central News Agency receives a letter from the apparent killer. It reads, "Dear Boss, "I keep on hearing the
police have caught me "but they won't fix me just yet. "I have laughed when they look so clever "and talk about being on the right track. "That joke about Leather
Apron gave me real fits. "I am down on whores and
shant quit ripping them "till I do get buckled. "Grand work the last job was. "I gave the lady no time to squeal. "How can they catch me now? "I love my work and want to start again. "You will soon hear of me
with my funny little games. "I saved some of the proper red stuff "in a ginger beer bottle over the last job "to write with but it went thick like glue "and I can't use it. "Red ink is fit enough I hope. Ha. Ha. "The next job I do I shall
clip the lady's ears off "and send to the police officer
just for jolly wouldn't you. "Keep this letter back
till I do a bit more work, "then give it out straight. "My knife's so nice and sharp "I want to get to work right
away if I get a chance. "Good luck. "Yours truly, Jack the Ripper. "Don't mind giving me the trade name. "Wasn't good enough to post this "before I got all the
red ink off my hands. "Curse it. No luck yet. "They say I'm a doctor now. Ha. Ha." - [Shane] Hoo, I mean..
What a piece of work. - [Ryan] Yeah, I--
I gotta give it to him though, - [Ryan] Jack the Ripper
is a very catchy name. This guy had a knack for naming things. - He knows his brand. If this was happening today or if social media
existed during this time-- - Oh, this guy would be a Viner for sure. - He'd be a Viner. He'd have extensive
hashtags on every post. - Instagood. Instafood. - #Ripped. - This letter wasn't released to the public until October 1st and many believe that it was
fabricated by a journalist, but regardless, it made
its way to the papers. Once in the eyes of the
public, the name stuck, and the killer from that point on went by the now famous
moniker, Jack the Ripper. Three days later on
September 30 at 1:00 a.m., the body of Elizabeth Stride
was found on Berner Street by a man named Louis Diemschutz. Only her throat was cut, which led police to believe
that the murder was interrupted when Diemschutz approached. Right now we're walking up on the site of the second murder, Elizabeth Stride. She was found by a man right around here. This is now, I think, a schoolyard. Well a lot of people actually question whether or not this was the Ripper because her throat was cut rather hastily. None of the other little
tricks that he pulled. No disembowelment, none of that stuff. Almost as if he was walked
up on and he had to run. - Yeah, just, "Oh, gotta
murder this one quickly." - Can't do the whole fixin's here. It was determined that she
was dead for 30 minutes when examined around 1:15 a.m. Shockingly, only 45
minutes after the discovery of Elizabeth Stride, another body was found in Mitre Square, just west of the Stride murder. A woman named Catherine Eddowes was the second victim in the same night. Her body was severely
mutilated, including her face. Her uterus was removed, as
well as her left kidney. So only 45 minutes after the
murder of Elizabeth Stride, investigators stumbled upon the body of Catherine Eddowes here. - Like, right here? - In this general area. There used to be a flowerbed here that was kind of, in a way,
served as a memorial for her, but this was just, like I said, 45 minutes after a
murder had just happened about 10 to 15 minutes away. Walking distance. What's weird is that after he
killed Catherine Eddowes here, he went back towards the
direction of the first murder. - This guy knows how to zag. - Either that or he just
knew the police routes. - I think he's just a zagger. - So the body is back there. Right now we're walking
somewhat near the path that he would have taken away, walking east away from the body and then we're about to arrive at a site where he dropped one of the only clues he actually left investigators. It's here that police would discover one of the few solid
clues in the entire case, a piece of Catherine Eddowes apron found near the scene of the crime. The apron was found by Alfred Long in the doorway of an apartment
block near Goulston Street, a nearby street east of
the Eddowes murder site. Near this apron a message was
written in chalk that read, "The Juwes are the men that
will not be blame for nothing." A sign of the anti-Semitism
that was common in the area. However, the crucial detail
of this clue is the fact that it was found east of
the Eddowes murder site, in the direction of Elizabeth
Stride's murder site, the murder that occurred
just 45 minutes prior. This perplexing decision
could mean that the killer willingly entered an area
that was swarming with cops. Aside from demonstrating the
killer's evasive abilities, this could suggest the killer lived in this East London area, as it possibly explains the motive for entering a dangerous situation. Later, a postcard is received
by the police department dated October 1st and written by someone also claiming to be the Ripper
with similar handwriting. "I was not codding, dear old
Boss, When I gave you the tip. "You'll hear about Saucy
Jacky's work tomorrow. "Double event this time. "Number one squealed a bit,
couldn't finish straight off. "Had not the time to get ears for police. "Thanks for keeping last letter back "till I got to work again. "Jack the Ripper." This isn't confirmed, but
there is information out there that this postcard was
received by the press agency, or whoever received it, the morning after the
night of the double event. The thing being there that's strange is none of the public knew
about this double event because it hadn't been in papers yet. Yet this guy was able to
describe what happened in detail. - Yeah 'cause they're not runnin' around. - No, there's not like-- - Two people got murdered tonight. - There's not Twitter.
Pass it down. Yeah, they're not playing
a giant game of telephone with dixie cups. There isn't Twitter. So it's possible and quite likely that if the timing of this is
true, this is Jack the Ripper. On the 13th of October in 1888, the police spent a week
searching every house in the East Densworth
slums, but found nothing. On October 16th, a man named George Lusk received a letter. Lusk was the head of the
Mile End Vigilance Committee, a group comprised of local
businessmen to assist the police. The letter was signed "from hell" and it was delivered in a
box with half a human kidney. The kidney, at the time, was believed to be Catherine
Eddowes' missing kidney. However, it was found to be
a prank by a medical student. - [Shane] Wait, so the "from hell" letter was a medical student? That's disappointing. - [Ryan] I suppose, yeah. - 'Cause I love "from hell." Just that as a sign off. - From hell. - This also demonstrates the
climate surrounding this. People weren't like, "This
is the worst thing on Earth." - They're like, "Well we
can have fun with this." - "Wouldn't it be funny--" - It's like the Ice Bucket Challenge. (laughter) Let's everybody get involved in this. - Nearly a month later,
on November 9, 1888, the body of the fifth and
final canonical victim, Mary Kelly, was found at
13 Millers Court in her bed by her landlord's assistant,
who was seeking rent. This murder was by far the most gruesome as her body was disemboweled and "virtually skinned down." This is the last victim. It's a little tricky because where there used
to be an apartment building is now, as you can see, it's
a parking lot or a car park so we can't really know
where exactly it was, but we know it was near the church. We know it was near the Ten Bells Pub. We could be actually at
the place of residence of Jack himself. Here's the landlord on
the state of the body. "The sight that we saw I
cannot drive away from my mind. "It looked more like the work
of a devil than of a man." And with that we arrive at the end of the five canonical
victims, but as stated before, some believe there could
be up to 11 victims. With Jack the Ripper's reign of terror, one should wonder if
anybody caught a glimpse of this monster, and it
would seem that people did. When aggregating eyewitness testimonies of those who believed they saw the Ripper, a rough outline of the
killer can be visualized. It can be assumed that he was
between 25 to 35 years old, roughly 5'5 to 5'7, stocky, with a fair complexion, and a mustache. Allegedly, he was seen
wearing a dark overcoat and a dark hat. The Scotland Yard's
Violent Crime Command team has said that Jack the Ripper, who one could call evil incarnated, could be described in appearance as "perfectly sane, frighteningly normal, "and yet capable of
extraordinary cruelty." Sir Melville MacNaughten, the Scotland Yard's head of the criminal
investigation department in 1903, had a general suspicion
of who the killer was. He knew that the Ripper had
basic knowledge of anatomy, possibly a doctor and
in McNaughten's notes he had narrowed his list of
suspects down to three names. That being said, due to the overwhelming
amount of compelling suspects and the fact that many feel the official three are not the Ripper, we're going to examine eight names, starting with McNaughten's
three official suspects. The first suspect was
Montague Johnson Druitt. Druitt was a barrister who may
have had an uncle and cousin who were doctors. Around the time of his death, Druitt may have been around the age of 40 and supposedly had an interest in surgery. Montague possibly lived with his cousin who was practicing medicine close to where the Whitechapel
murderers occurred. It also appears that about a month before the first canonical murder, Montague's mother went insane and Montague had written in a note that he feared he was also going insane. In his notes, McNaughten adds, "From private information, "I have little doubt
but that his own family "suspected this man of being
the Whitechapel murderer; "it was alleged that he
was sexually insane." After the final murder,
Montague disappeared, only to be found dead within
four weeks of the last murder. His body was found floating
in the Thames River on December 3rd, 1888. - I get the sense, this
is only the first suspect, but I have a hunch everyone we look at is going to have 10 things
that make them sound like they are definitely Jack the Ripper because London at the time sounds like it was full
of insane psychopaths. - [Ryan] The second
suspect was Michael Ostrog, a Russian doctor and a criminal. Ostrog has been in an asylum previously for homicidal tendencies. McNaughten notes that Ostrog
couldn't provide a strong alibi for his whereabouts during the murders. Ultimately, he was not convicted because there wasn't enough evidence linking him to the crime. - [Shane] How does a
homicidal tendency work? You just dabble in murdering someone? - [Ryan] Yeah, I don't
know if that's tendencies. You either murder someone or you don't. I can't imagine there's
a half measure there. - [Shane] "He only killed a nanny." - [Ryan] Yeah, (wheeze) yeah. - [Shane] It was a funny
thing when he was 15. - [Ryan] The third suspect
was Aaron Kosminski, a Polish and Jewish
resident of Whitechapel, who spent some time in an asylum in 1889 after the last murder. Kosminski would actually reside in asylums until his death in 1919. Kosminski was known for
his hatred towards women, particularly prostitutes. According to McNaughten, his
appearance matched descriptions provided by the police
of a man in Mitre Square, which, if you'll recall, was
the night of the double murder, where the Ripper likely
zig-zagged between the police. Kosminski might be a name
familiar to the public due to the fact that recently
his name made headlines due to his being featured
in a book entitled, "Naming Jack the Ripper." In this book, Russell Edwards claims that a
shawl purchased at an auction contains DNA evidence proving
Kosminski is the killer. The shawl was bought under the impression that it reportedly was at the murder scene on the person of Catherine Eddowes, the fourth ripper victim. Edwards enlisted the help
of molecular biologist Jari Louhelainen of Liverpool
John Moores University. Edwards and Louhelainen
believed the blood stained shawl is connected to Catherine Eddowes, based off of comparison from
one of Eddowes' descendants. They also claim that semen on the scarf is linked to relatives of Kosminski. With this discovery, many
felt that the case was closed, including Edwards. Which if it was true, that's
the smoking gun, right? - [Shane] You got semen, you got blood. - [Ryan] Time to drag his name in the mud? - [Shane] Oh, I like that! You got the semen, got the blood, drag his name on through that mud. - [Ryan] There you go.
That's not bad. It isn't bad, but let's find
out why we can't do that. "I've got the only piece
of forensic evidence "in the whole history of the case. "I've spent 14 years working on it, "and we have definitely solved the mystery "of who Jack the Ripper was. "Only non-believers "that want to perpetuate
the myth will doubt. "This is it now - we have unmasked him." - [Shane] So he's confident. - [Ryan] He's very confident. - [Shane] But he's also
spent a bunch of money and time on this. - I can understand why he's confident. He thought he has it from the beginning, then he goes to a molecular biologist, that guy analyzes it and goes, "Yeah!" I'd be gloating like, a fuckload. Could you imagine that? You just solved one of the
greatest mysteries of all time because you got confirmation
that you wanted to hear. But much to the chagrin of Mr. Edwards, that may not be the case. It turns out that the scientist may have made a critical
error of nomenclature. Summed up, Dr. Louhelainen
identified a mutation in DNA on both the scarf and in Eddowes' relative
named Karen Miller. This mutation was believed
to be named 314.1C, a mutation only found
in 1 in 290,000 people, making it very likely it was a match. However, this identification
was reportedly incorrect and was not 314.1C, but instead 315.1C, which is a mutation shared
by more than 99% of people of European descent. Basically, this DNA
could be anyone if true. - [Shane] So it went from
being "it's that guy!" to "it's one of those million people." - Basically, it was like, "Oh! "The blood on the scarf
and Eddowes' descendant "had this very, very rare mutation. "Oh wait, I misnamed the mutation. I"t's actually this other one, which--" - Wasn't he wrong? - Exactly. He hit a wrong keystroke
and then oh, all the sudden, 99% of European people have this mutation. Furthermore, Kosminski's
DNA was linked to the scarf, using mitochondrial DNA, using a subtype that is far from unique. Sir Alec Jeffreys, who's regarded as the godfather
of DNA fingerprinting, has said that this evidence "needs to be subjected to peer review. "No actual evidence
has yet been provided." Further adding fuel to
the fire of skeptics is the fact that Dr. Louhelainen has yet to publish this finding in a peer-reviewed scientific journal and has refused to answer
questions to news outlets. Thus, making it impossible to verify his and Edwards' claims and effectively doing quite the opposite. - How did Edwards react to this? - Could you imagine getting the call? Like, this doctor having
to pick up the phone and be like, "Oh fuck." - Hello. - Remember that scarf I told you was a.. - Why yes. The most famous piece of
evidence in the world. - Yeah, about that. I think my pinky may have hit the five when I was tryin' to hit the four and it turns out it's kind
of useless and proves nothing so all that smack you've
been talkin' in the press kind of makes you look like a big fool. - I've wasted my life. - The fourth suspect is the notion that Jack the Ripper
was actually a female. A theory that ripperologists
call Jill the Ripper. This theory was allegedly a hunch of famed inspector Abberline, as well. The idea that all of the police
were on the hunt for a man when they should have
been searching for a woman would explain the Ripper being able to slip by without suspicion. ????? pointed out that a midwife would have sufficient anatomical knowledge and blood on her clothing
would have raised no eyebrows. Though, it should be pointed out that all eyewitness
testimony points to a man. I love this theory. I think it makes sense that a woman would be able to slide through the crowd in a way that all these stupid police, not stupid police but police, would be able to not pick up on it because they're looking
for a man with a mustache. Far cry from a midwife covered in blood. - Feels a little too Joss Whedon-y for me. - Like, what if Jack
the Ripper was a lady? - The fifth suspect is Prince Albert Victor Christian Edward, aka "The Royal Conspiracy." - You know how they say you never trust someone
with two first names? This guy's got four of 'em. - So that either doubles that
mistrust or it cancels it out. Four names, fuck with me. That's what he said. - I'm gonna double it. - I'm gonna cancel it out. - This theory is often scoffed at, but is still perpetuated
due to its wild popularity. Prince Edward was known to frequent areas where the victims were found, an activity that led to
him contracting syphilis, which some believe drove him to insanity. Some posit that this also resulted in Albert having a
child with a local woman and Queen Victoria demanded that everyone who knew of the child to be taken care of. Some believe that the
insanity spawned by syphilis drove him to commit the murders himself. Conspiracy theorists believe
he was never discovered because royal aids assisted
in covering his identity. However, as mentioned before, this theory is mostly
regarded as ludicrous as there is no substantial evidence to indicate its credibility. Looking into this, it's pretty clear that the
movements of a prince let alone, or anybody that the Queen would hire, would be able to be tracked, but I also do think
they could cover it up. I don't know. I don't think it's that
strong of a theory, but it is interesting. - I feel like if you've got so many things at your disposal. If you're a queen you
probably have guards. I don't know. You'd get away with a lot. Just grab people off the street. - The sixth suspect is famed
painter Walter Sickert, a theory mainly posed by the successful crime
novelist Patricia Cornwell. After making millions on her crime novels, Cornwell has devoted her time to the pursuit of Sickert as the Ripper. In 2001, Cornwell spent 2 million pounds buying 32 of Sickert's paintings, letters, and even Sickert's writing
desk in one bizarre stunt that was described by
art curator Richard Shone as "monstrous stupidity." Cornwell went full National
Treasure Nicholas Cage by cutting up a painting
in search of clues. Aside from stunts,
Cornwell rightfully claims that Sickert was obsessed with
the Ripper, which was true. Sickert referenced the Ripper
in some of his paintings, even titling one "Jack
the Ripper's Bedroom." Cornwell claims one painting
mirrors the body position of fifth Ripper victim, Mary Kelly. She claims another painting
mimics the facial wounds of fourth Ripper victim, Catherin Eddowes. There are also reportedly accounts of Sickert cosplaying as Jack the Ripper. You realize this is before
cosplay was a thing. I don't even know if Halloween
was that big of a thing. - [Shane] Are you kiddin' me? They had like Carnivale. They had Venetian masks. They had a whole ton of weird shit back. - [Ryan] You don't find it
strange that a grown man is dressing up as Jack the Ripper for fun? No holiday. - This just feels like
when people shame furries. Just let 'em live their life. If they wanna dress up like a pony-- - Okay, this is the
furthest thing from a furry. A furry is just dressing
up as an a furry creature because you have a sexual thing. - Why are they so muscular all the time? - I don't care about that. Dressing up as a furry animal is a far cry from dressing up as a serial killer. - It's fucking weird. - It's like a horse with pecs, right? - I think you're getting
lost in the furry culture. - It's strange. - You just said people were shaming them. - I'm not shaming it, I
just don't understand it. - Cornwell also shoots down the notion that Sickert's alibi was
that he was in France at the onset of the murders. She cites sketches that place
him in London in music halls at the time of at least three killings. By the way, anybody could sketch anybody. That means if I drew a sketch of you murdering somebody back in the day, I could show up to the police station and be like, here it is. Here is evidence that
Shane Madej, in cold blood, killed this woman dressed as a furry. - But I feel like you would do that. - And they'd be like, "You're right. "We've had a lot of reports "that Shane Madej is in fact a furry." - Slap the cuffs on those hooves. (laughter) - However, the biggest piece of her case is the analysis of forensic
paper expert Peter Bower. Bower identified three
of Sickert's letters and two of the Ripper's letters as coming from a handmade paper run of only 24 possible sheets. Basically, the odds of
both the Ripper and Sickert both writing letters on a batch of paper that only had 24 copies in existence is relatively slim, and while that is undoubtedly
compelling evidence, it should be reminded that all of the Jack the
Ripper letters are unconfirmed. I think he probably didn't do it, but he is indeed a weirdo. - Yeah, he's a weirdo, but I don't think we need
to throw him in jail for it. - The seventh suspect is Joseph Barnett, who's particularly suspicious as he actually lived with Mary Kelly, the final Ripper victim. In fact, Barnett may have
lived in 10 different locations in East London, making him
well versed in the area and capable of navigating back streets. Barnett worked as a fish porter and it's believed that Barnett
was in love with Kelly. According to an issue
of the Daily Telegraph, on November 10, 1888, Barnett referred to Mary
Kelly as "his wife," when she was in fact only a roommate. Barnett also disagreed with
Mary's life as a prostitute and strived to make money
to keep her off the streets. "Marie never went on the
streets when she lived with me." Some theorize that Barnett
committed the first murders to scare Kelly off the streets, which, for a time, actually worked. But when Barnett lost his job, Kelly returned to the
street to make ends meet. Their financial struggles
often led to fights and Barnett also disliked
Kelly's love of gin. This culminated in one final fight over Kelly bringing home
two different prostitutes, an act that Joseph found unacceptable. This fight apparently got violent. Even a window was broken. Shortly after, Barnett moved out and only 10 days later, Mary Kelly was found
dead in her apartment. After the murder, Barnett was
questioned for four hours, but eventually set free. Having lived there, Barnett would have intimate
knowledge of the household, including how to unlock
the door from the outside. He was also aware of Kelly's
schedule and tendencies. Details from the scene suggest Kelly was killed in her sleep, not by an outsider she invited in. Her clothes were folded by the bed "as though they had been taken
off in the ordinary manner," and she was wearing a night gown. As a fish porter, Barnett would have crude
anatomical knowledge. - [Shane] They posit that
he had anatomical knowledge because he was a fish porter? - [Ryan] As a known associate of Kelly's, he would be someone
local prostitutes knew, allowing him to get close
enough for a sneak attack. Reportedly, one newspaper of the time stated that Barnett's
friends called him Jack. He also matches the physical description and the psychological profile created of Jack the Ripper by the FBI, and finally, the murders allegedly
stopped after Mary Kelly, the last canonical victim. After her death, Barnett
would have no other reason to kill anymore now that his lover, who he was trying to keep of
the streets, was now dead. - [Shane] I like it. - Pretty good, right? I mean, also to me, most of them, frankly, are very circumstantial. This one, to me, it -
while also circumstantial, seems the closest to actual evidence in that he lived with her, they fought ten days before her death, he was not a fan of prostitution, he tried to keep her off the streets. I could totally see him killing people to try and scare her
from doing that, right? - The motive here is
certainly the most compelling. - For sure. - Out of all of the suspects. - And even the access
is the most compelling. This is the only one where I feel like there
was a very clear tie between the possible
killer and the victim. The eighth and final suspect is the most popular
suspect on casebook.org, a site devoted to Jack the Ripper and a place for ripperologists to work together to solve the case. The final suspect is James Maybrick. Maybrick's death coincided
with the stopping of the Ripper killings, as he died one year after the murders. Maybrick was an
upper-class cotton merchant who resided in an estate called the "Battlecrease
House" in Liverpool. Some would consider this
to be a damning detail, as many feel the Ripper was a local man who likely wasn't upper-class. However, it should be pointed out that all the murders were
committed on a weekend. It stands to reason that
a wealthy cotton merchant would have the ability
to travel on weekends and it is also worth mentioning that he would have the benefit of not killing in his own locale. Though, what makes Maybrick
such a popular suspect is what many consider the biggest
piece of physical evidence that links him to the crimes. That piece of evidence is a
diary reportedly discovered under the floorboards
of Maybrick's estate. A diary that is signed, "I give my name that all know of me, "so history do tell what love
can do to a gentleman born. "Yours truly, Jack the Ripper." Also within the diary are reportedly intimate details of the killings. Backing up the diaries
authenticity are scientific tests that have confirmed the diary seems to roughly match the era
of the Ripper killings. The diary was apparently discovered by a scrap metal dealer named Mike Barrett and this is where the story
starts to lose its footing. Barrett actually admitted
that he fabricated the diary only to recant the statement later, chalking it up to not
wanting the publicity as he was going through
a failing marriage. Also shaky is the definitive details of the discovery of the diary. Some sources have it
falling into Barrett's hands via being handed down by
various generations of family. While other sources have
Barrett discovering it himself or Barrett's associates discovering it and then giving it to him
due to their knowledge of Barrett being an aspiring author. However, all that aside, if
the diary was in fact found under the floorboards
of Maybrick's estate, it is a very strong possibility that he was in fact Jack the Ripper. Following this discovery, a gold pocket watch was reported as potential Ripper evidence. The watch apparently contains
the scratched initials of the five canonical victims, in addition to the phrase, "I am Jack," and also "J. Maybrick." The scratches were analyzed
via electron microscope by Dr. Stephen Turgoose, whose studies suggests that the scratches were not done in modern times. Another doctor named Robert Wild at Bristol University's
Interface Analysis Center concluded that the scratches "could have been very, very
old and were certainly not new, "but it is difficult to be precise." The watch, which was displayed
in a Liverpool jewelry shop by a college caretaker
named Elbert Johnson, is dated 1846 and was purchased for 225 pounds. But given the circus around
the main piece of evidence and Maybrick's far
location from the crimes, it's understandable to have
doubts of him as the Ripper. - I don't know, I liked
the other guy better. - Barnett?
Yeah. Yeah, I think I might, too. From just looking at circumstance, it seems like he'd be the most likely. - This guy seems like kind
of a boring fuddy duddy. Like, a rich guy who's like, "Ah, I guess I'll go
into town this weekend "and murder some people." - Like, he's treating it
like, playing 18 holes, right? Yeah, I could see that. - "And back for some squash." - I do think these are
the two strongest ones. - Yeah. - And if I had to put money on it, I'd probably say Barnett, too. - All right. - You don't seem as convinced
as I thought you would be. I thought this was really cool. A hidden diary under floorboards. A watch. - I know you don't like to hear this. This is sort of my approach to a lot of these real old true crime ones and sort of a JFK approach. - Oh no, I know what you're going to here. No, please don't say it. - Let it be a mystery. - Oh my.. - We'll never know. We'll just never know. - You'd be a very, very bad judge. - Why? - Let it be a mystery (pounding of table). (laughter) Court is adjourned. For over 100 years, the
mystery of Jack the Ripper has continued to fascinate, confound, and infuriate the public. Perhaps one day we will have
the means to solve the crime. Or perhaps this famous case will be yet another victim to time. But, for now, the age old
question will continue to persist. Who was Jack the Ripper? The case remains unsolved. - Saucy Jack, truly saucy. Saucy guy. - Kind of a douche. - Well, I mean, you could say that about most murderers, right? - Yeah, they're all douches. - You ever think that was
someone's last word to a murderer? - "You're a douchebag." Slash. (laughter) - All right. (faint, perplexed music)
Did anyone else think that they wasted a lot of time on McNaughten's three when two of them have been largely dismissed? I'd have loved to see them spend more time on some of the more interesting suspects rather than just plowing through those old ones again.