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Description
5'2" tall; brown eyes; dark complexion; brown hair turning grey; three front teeth missing; two bottom-one top front, her teeth are slightly discoloured.
She is described as having small, delicate features with high cheekbones and grey eyes. She has a small scar on her forehead from a childhood injury.
She was nearly 44 years old but looked much younger.
Lifestyle
She is described by Emily Holland as "a very clean woman who always seemed to keep to herself." She was also an alcoholic and was addicted to gin.
In 1882, William (Polly’s husband) found out that his wife was living as a prostitute. At the time of her death, he had not seen his wife in three years.
In 1887 she was caught "sleeping rough” (homeless) in Trafalgar Square.
Victim 1: Mary Ann Nicholls: “Polly”
Night of the Crime
The rain was sharp and frequent and was accompanied by peals of thunder and flashes of lightning.
12:30 AM – Polly returns to her Lodging House (like a hotel) after a day working the streets looking for male clients.
1:40 AM -- She is told by the Lodging House deputy to leave because she can’t afford the night’s rent.
2:30 AM -- She meets a friend, Emily Holland. Holland describes her as "very drunk and staggered against the wall”. Polly says she is going out to try and find a man and make some more money. She says she will return soon.
3:45 AM -- Polly Nichols' body is discovered in Buck's Row by Charles Cross, a local man. He says that she is still breathing. The police and doctors are called, but by the time they arrive she is dead.
A woman who lived on Buck Row, where Polly’s body was found, said she heard no unusual sounds.
Polly’s injuries
- Bruising on the face, neck
- Cuts on her tounge
- Knife slashes on her neck
- The knife must have been used with “great violence” as it was only half-sharp.
- Her belly was slashed.
- The injuries were from left to right, suggesting a left-handed killer.
- All injuries were caused by the same knife.
PC Neil discovers Nichols' body in Buck's Row, from Famous Crimes Past and Present , 1903.
Anne’s injuries
- Swollen face and tongue
- Neck cut deeply
- Same knife used again for all injuries
- The doctor said it had to be some kind of surgical implement or slaughterhouse knife.
- The knife marks were left to right, meaning the killer was left handed.
- Some of her organs had been removed. The doctor was impressed with the skills of the murderer – he said he could not have done a better job of the surgery even if he had all the time he needed.
Anne Chapman and her ex-husband, John Chapman in 1883
Description
She was 5’5’’ tall. She was very pale with light grey eyes.
She had curly dark brown hair.
All the teeth in her lower left jaw were missing
She was 45 years old.
Lifestyle She was described as a quiet woman by her friends, but had often been charged with drunkenness and had sworn at the judge in court.
She was skilled at sewing and made some money from that, but also made money as a prostitute.
She had a room in a Lodging House on Dean Street but she spent most of her time living with an unknown man.
Night of the Crime
The night was wet and rainy with heavy clouds.
11:00 PM: She is seen leaving a pub with a short man with a dark moustache. He is wearing an unusual hat and a long dark coat. He looks respectable but is groping and kissing Elizabeth.
11:45 PM: She is seen talking to a man with a sailors hat on by Berner Street, they are kissing and laughing.
12:35 AM: Isreal Schwartz witnesses a fight, two men seem to be aggressively attacking Elizabeth, they throw her into an alley. He hears the attackers speak in a strange language. He begins to walk away but one of the attacking man chases him, he runs away. Later he describes one of the men as being small (5’5’’) with a dark moustache and dark hair.
01:00 AM: Another man is walking with his pony and cart down the alley, his pony begins to shy away and refuses to proceed. There is the noise of footsteps in the dark alley. He investigates and finds Elizabeth’s body. The police are called.
Victim 3: Elizabeth Stride
Description
She was 5’’ tall. She has hazel eyes.
She had dark brown hair.
She has a tattoo in blue ink on her left forearm "TC.“
She was 46 years old.
Lifestyle Friends spoke of Catherine as an intelligent, scholarly woman but one who was possessed of a fierce temper.
Her relatives described her "as very good looking and jolly sort of girl."
She was not an alcoholic and did not often drink. She was usually in bed by 10 PM and was not known to be a prostitute.
She was very poor and may have been living on the street.
Night of the Crime
The night was dark but dry, with heavy clouds.
8:00 PM: Catherine is found drunk on the street, she can barely speak. She is locked up in the jail until she sobers up.
12:55 AM: Several hours later she is released from the jail, she appears much more sober and is able to talk without issue.
1:35 AM: She is seen talking to a man outside a pub, she has her hand on his chest. They appear to be laughing. He is described as 5’7’’, white and with a moustache. He looks like a sailor and wears a handkerchief around his neck.
01:45 AM: Her body is discovered violently murdered in Mitre Square.
Victim 4: Catherine Eddowes
Catherine’s injuries
- Throat cut so viciously it cut through to bone
- Intestines pulled out and put over her shoulders
- Her ear was half-cut off.
- Her face was mutilated
- Her eyelids were sliced through
- Her nose was cut off
- Her cheeks were slashed across
- Part of each cheek was cut deep.
- Her belly was sliced.
- Her liver was stabbed.
The doctors believed she had been quickly killed, then mutilated after.
A photograph of Catherine Eddowes before her murder
Mary’s injuries
- Extreme injuries to her face
- Throat slashed as though to remove the head
- Same knife used again for all injuries
- Massive injuries to her chest and belly – surgery had been done.
- Her legs had been violently attacked
Police breaking down the door of the building
