Who was Behind the Jack the Ripper Killings?

For decades people have wondered who Jack the ripper really was. Many theories have arisen of who the infamous killer was. Some of these theories include, the idea that Jack was actually a woman, he had an accomplice, and many other suspects in the area. However, a new idea to the case is that Jack the ripper was actually H.H. Holmes, because he was living in London during the time of the killings, both killers had very similar killing styles, and once he was in America he started killing and got arrested for murders.

        At the first look people would not think Jack the Ripper and the H.H. Holmes killings were related, however there are many factors that would lead someone to believe Holmes may just be Jack the Ripper. One of these factors is Holmes was living in London during the time of the Ripper killings. According to History.com, Holmes went missing from The United States during 1888 and 1889 which also happens to be when the killings took place, As Mudgett and Fox discovered, there's a bizarre gap in documentation from mid-1888 to early 1889. In other words, during the exact period of the Ripper murders, Holmes seemed to have vanished from the United States. Ship records dug up by Mudgett and Fox also show that someone called H Holmes was a passenger on a ship travelling from Britain to the US after the final Ripper murder(Mudgett). Also, Holmes said himself, I roamed about the world seeking whom I can destroy(Mudgett). This portrays how Holmes would travel the world to kill people not just killing inside the United States of America. All this being said, the idea of Holmes being Jack the Ripper may not be as far fetched as it may seem.

        As the case into Holmes and the Rippers, the killing styles start to become oddly similar to each other which can further the case of holmes being Jack the Ripper. H.H. Holmes was an extremely methodological killer, shown by his extremely complicated Murder House' where he set up trap doors all around the house to set up the killings while in the U.S. While, many people believe Jack the Ripper was more of a slasher style killer, running around the streets at night stabbing his victims, that is not completely the case. Jack the Ripper was also methodological in his killings, as it is shown in this quote by history.com, He would throttle the women silently, carefully lay their bodies down on the ground and then proceed with the mutilation(Mudgett). This can be seen as evidence Jack the Ripper took times with his killings and did not just run around stabbing people. Now, on the other hand H.H. Holmes at first glance may seem to be far more advanced in his tactics, but this also is just not the case. Holmes tactics of luring his victims were different in the U.S., but once he actually killed the victims the styles were nearly identical. Both killing sprees, mutilated the victims in certain organs, in a manner that would cause the most pain. Holmes had medical training which he used to mutilate the victims, Let's also remember he was a qualified doctor, adept at dissection and organ removal just as many experts believe the Ripper to have been(Mudgett). The similarities between Jack the Ripper and H.H. Holmes are eerily similar, which furthers the case of the killers being the same killer even further than ever before.

        H.H. Holmes moved back to America around the end of 1889 and many people believe this is when he started working on his new creation called the Murder Castle. Holmes, when constructing the Castle, used complex architecture and a series of intuitive designs to suit his preference. Inside the Castle, Holmes built an operating room, a torture chamber, a mortuary, and a room for conducting human experiments(Gibson 1953). The murder castle further shows the complexity of Holmes killings and many believe the Jack the Ripper Killings were the start of it all for Holmes, learning how he would evolve as a killer. H.H. Holmes was apprehended in America in october 1893, for the Murder castle. Holmes was apprehended soon after he fled Chicago, in October 1893, following the conclusion of the World's Fair(History.com Jack H.H. Holmes). These findings can lead to potential evidence of Holmes being Jack the Ripper because he was apprehended in America just a short three years after the Killings in London.

        H.H. Holmes is the real Jack the Ripper because he was living in London during the time of the Ripper killings, he had extremely similar killing styles to Jack the Ripper and he was apprehended in America shortly after the killings ended in London and he returned to Chicago.

For over 100 years the world has wondered who was behind the Jack the Ripper killings, however the world should look no further than one of the most infamous killers of all time; H.H. Holmes.

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