Jack the Ripper: the Man Behind the Blade

By S.M. Cornthwaite

A theory like no other and an over century long secret, revealed

The Whitechapel murders during the Autumn of terror in 1888 left a city paralyzed in fear. The murderer went down in infamy as his identity has never been uncovered—until now! Many have speculated over the Ripper’s identity since then, but S. M. Cornthwaite believe to have truly uncovered the truth behind the mystery. The author takes you on a journey of discovery by piecing together the evidence by using psychology, sociology, criminology, and historical facts to reveal the truth. The theory presented in these pages is one that hasn’t been explored by anyone since the killings began. Most researchers believe the Ripper to be a Polish Jew, a lunatic, or even some other known killer, but you’ll soon understand, this couldn’t possibly be the case. how could everyone have gotten it so wrong, for so long, and not seen the horrible truth?

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Feb 28, 2021
• ISBN: 9781665518376

S.M. Cornthwaite

S.M. Cornthwaite has been researching Jack the Ripper since his Freshman year of high school in 1998, when his English class was given the assignment to research a historical figure. While his classmates chose people such as Thomas Jefferson, Michael Jordan and Will Smith; Shannon instead chose to go against the grain and research Jack the Ripper. This began his lifelong fascination with true crime and serial killers. After dropping out of school in 2001 at the age of 18, he began his college education at the age of 36 in 2019. Shannon has dedicated himself to the study of psychology and sociology for his degree and used his spare time to study Criminology, Graphology, Victorian History, and Neurology not only for the purpose of this book, but also out of his sheer fascination for the subjects. Before this, he had served in two apprenticeships as a tattooist and even opened his own shop for a time. He has owned his own lawn care business and has long held an interest in research and writing. In fact, all the events of his life up until this point could quite easily be transformed into multiple novels which he has expressed interest in pursuing once this book is complete. He has currently been with his wife Elizabeth since 2009 and has three children as well as a dalmatian they’ve had for the past ten years. He spent the past ten years in the lawn care industry as well as developing a number of YouTube channels and prior to that was a paranormal investigator with a love of comics and psychology.

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© 2021 By S.M. Cornthwaite. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse  02/26/2021

ISBN: 978-1-6655-1838-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6655-1836-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6655-1837-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021903989

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Dedication

I dedicate this book to my wife Elizabeth and our three children; Marissa, Alexandria, and Duke. Without your support, I would have never taken this off the back burner and completed it. Your love is what drives me each and every day, and your support sustains me physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

Foreword

I am so pleased to have been given the privilege of writing this forward by the author, who happens to be my student as well. However, when he asked me, I was hesitant simply because I knew nothing about Jack the Ripper and didn’t know how much could be said about him that hasn’t already been written. But, as my students often witness, I was mistaken.

Not only does this book postulate who Shannon believes Jack the Ripper is, but it lays out the argument so well that I believe his theory to be correct. Before he reveals Jack’s identity, Shannon dives into the histories of other accused men and we learn why they can be removed from the list of usual suspects. Further, the background of Jack and the family issues he faced clearly helps the reader better understand his motives for the killings.

Prior to focusing on Jack, Shannon teaches us much about serial killers and writes about the brain physiology of a psychopath in general, and then presents psychological profiles of each killer along with their family histories. Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, Dennis Rader, John Wayne Gacy, Edmund Kemper, H.H. Holmes and even Lizzie Bordon, along with many others, are described to the reader so that we can better understand the dynamics of serial killers as a whole. Also, Shannon theorizes about possible mental illnesses and other psychological disorders these killers might have had; not only are these interesting to read, but they’re helpful in seeing patterns these different killers have collectively.

The author also includes 16 different characteristics regarding the psychopathy of a serial killer, as well as the difference between various motives behind each one’s crimes. After reading this book, you will find yourself very knowledgeable about serial killers and related matters. In fact, I now feel like a sort of ‘expert’ in this area of study and have so much more to lecture on in future classes.

One thing that makes me cringe is how often we highlight the killers while not giving their victims attention as well. Shouldn’t they be remembered too? Luckily, Shannon gives us information about each victim of Jack and has included crime scene photos. I do the same in my class lectures on serial killers in that I show pictures of some of the victims. Although this may seem macabre, remembering that these killers are truly monsters, and not ‘celebrities’ like Bundy often seems to be thought of, is so important. Finally, the author’s research is impeccable and being able to further read about these people, theories, etc. is something die-hard fans of true crime will enjoy.

Without further ado, it is my pleasure to present you with this superbly written work for you to peruse. I know you will find it time well spent as I did and if you’re anything like me, you will definitely want to read parts of it again and again.

Kristi Palmer, M.S. / Professor of Sociology & Psychology

Jan. 20th, 2021

Contents

Part I

Chapter 1 Victorian London

Chapter 2 The Ripper Murders

Chapter 3 Mary Ann Polly Nichols

Chapter 4 Annie Chapman

Chapter 5 Long Liz

Chapter 6 Catherine Eddowes

Chapter 7 Mary Jane Kelly

Chapter 8 Non-Canonical Victims

Part II

Chapter 9 Victimology

Chapter 10 The Ripper Correspondence

Chapter 11 Attachment and Stage Theory

Chapter 12 Personality Disorders

Chapter 13 The Neurology of a Killer

Chapter 14 The Ripper Profile

Chapter 15 The Usual Suspects

Chapter 16 Eliminating the Impossible

Part III

Chapter 17 The Life of the Man Who Would be Jack

Chapter 18 Reborn the Ripper

Chapter 19 How the Ripper Got Away

Revelation

About the Author

Part I

"The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any

chance ever observes. It is a capital mistake to theorize

before one has data. Insensibly, one begins to twist facts

to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts"

– Sherlock Holmes (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Introduction

The case of Jack the Ripper has intrigued the public for 132 years or more, depending on when you’re reading this book. It’s a common misconception that the murderer known as Jack the Ripper was the first serial killer to plague humanity, even though he may not be the first, he is however the most famous. Historians often suggest that the legends of vampires and werewolves were inspired by some of the earliest serial killers.

One of the earliest known accounts of serial murder, was that of Gilles de Rais, the former companion of Joan of Arc during her time defending France in the Hundred Years War. Rais would abduct peasant children from villages which were near his castle. His victims were often boys whom he’d take back to his castle, sexually assault and then murder. The estimate of victims he consumed, ranges between 140 and 800. It wasn’t until 1440 that Rais was brought to justice after he violently attacked a clergyman and an investigation followed. When he was tried for his crimes, he was found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging.

Furthermore, other infamous murderers also committed their crimes either soon before, at the same time as, or just a few years after the Ripper murders. Murderers such as H.H. Holmes in Chicago, Lizzie Borden in Fall River, Dr. Thomas Cream also in Chicago, and George Chapman of Poland. In fiction we saw the likes of Sweeney Todd, Edward Hyde, and Andrew Christie commit murder after murder. But then we have those who murdered as acts of conquest, defense, or as a show of their power, such as Genghis Khan, Vlad Dracula, Caligula, Ivan the IV of Russia, Bloody Mary, Elizabeth Bathory, Attila the Hun, and Nero. Serial Killers are not limited to the lower class or even the modern era. In fact, serial killers were often people you’d least suspect.

There’s a common misconception that serial killers have a specific look or act a certain way. But the majority of serial killers who’ve gotten away with their crimes for any period of time, usually don’t stand out in a crowd and are generally considered by those who knew them as the least likely suspect. Killers like Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Edmund Kemper, John Wayne Gacy, Israel Keyes, BTK, and the Son of Sam, all got away with their crimes for quite some time before they were apprehended, and no one was ever the wiser. People are often surprised by the revelation that their brother, neighbor, husband, or father is a serial killer. They don’t usually give off any of the stereotypical signs one might think of when you hear the term serial killer.

It would seem that serial killings have often occurred throughout history alongside each other. What I mean by this, is that serial killers often function alongside each other; not as teams but within similar time frames. Jack the Ripper, H.H. Holmes, Lizzie Borden, Thomas Cream, and George Chapman each operated around the same time within the same or close decades such as the 1870’s, 1880’s, and 1890’s. Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Edmund Kemper, John Wayne Gacy, BTK, and Son of Sam each operated throughout the 70’s and 80’s with some of their crimes possibly even taking place in the 60’s.

What causes serial killers to operate so closely to each other? Is it a sign of the times they live in? Is it a shared upbringing? Is it the sociocultural influence? What exactly do these murderers have in common? Let’s take a look at those I mentioned from the later part of the 19th century, first.

Dr. Thomas Neil Cream committed what is considered his first murder in 1877, when his wife of less than a year, Flora Brooks seemingly died of alleged consumption. In 1879, his mistress Kate Gardener, was found poisoned by chloroform behind his office in Canada. Soon after he was accused of the crime, Cream moved to the United States where he established a medical practice in Chicago, IL. It was at this practice where he performed illegal abortions on prostitutes and was even investigated for the 1880 murder of Mary Anne Faulkner but managed to escape justice due to lack of evidence. Again in 1880, another patient who was only known as Miss Stack, died after treatment by the good doctor. In 1881, Alice Montgomery was poisoned by strychnine not even a block away from Cream’s office. Later that year, Daniel Stott was killed by the same means. In fact, Cream had provided the medication to the victim as a remedy for epilepsy.

The doctor moved to London, England in 1891 at which time a 19-year-old prostitute by the name of Ellen Donworth was murdered by Cream via strychnine poisoning. Soon thereafter, Cream murdered Matilda Clover, a 27-year-old prostitute. The following year, he attempted to poison Lou Harvey. The potential victim, however, was suspicious of the doctor and only pretended to swallow the pills he had given her. Later that year, Cream poisoned a pair of roommate prostitutes, 21-year-old Alice Marsh and 18-year-old Emma Shrivell, both with strychnine.

Dr. Cream was eventually apprehended, tried and sentenced to death by hanging, by which his final words are noted as being I am Jack the… This of course led to his consideration as a suspect in the Jack the Ripper case by many investigators, even today. However, as you’ll come to realize in later chapters, this was simply a misdirection by the doctor, as it would have been impossible for him to have committed the Whitechapel murders attributed to Jack the Ripper. Often, serial killers will claim murders that aren’t theirs, simply to increase their body count so as to increase their notoriety. While others kept their murders for themselves, not even admitting to their total body count while awaiting execution.

George Chapman was also eventually a suspect for the Ripper murders, but just like Cream, his crimes were far different from Jack’s. Chapman murdered three out of four of his mistresses from 1897-1902 via poisoning. The poison he gave to each of them was tartar-emetic which if administered improperly can cause just as painful a death as arsenic. George however was only actually charged with one murder for which police had acquired enough evidence for. By this he was convicted and sentenced to death by hanging in 1903.

H.H. Holmes was the man behind the infamous Murder Castle in Chicago, Illinois; which was the plot device behind a season of American Horror Story. The building he purchased and remodeled extensively featured soundproof rooms, mazes of hallways, rooms with shoots that went straight to the basement which held vats of acid for disposing of human remains. Holmes constructed secret passageways into rooms of the hotel and even included an extensive number of torture rooms.

He was confirmed to have taken 9 victims, confessed to 27, and suspected of up to 200 murders. He was arrested in Boston, Massachusetts on November 17th, 1894 by the Pinkertons (a detective agency which exists to this day but is known as Securitas). Holmes stood trial in 1895 for the murder of Benjamin Pitezel, of which he was found guilty and sentenced to death. He was later hanged on May 7, 1896 at Philadelphia County Prison.

Lizzie Borden as the rhyme goes, took an axe and gave her mother forty whacks. When she saw what she had done, she gave her father forty-one. Though she’s only known to have had two victims, Borden cannot be discounted from this list because of the brutality of her alleged crimes. According to forensic evidence, Lizzie’s stepmother Abby had been facing her murderer at the time of her death. She had been struck multiple times with a hatchet to the head. Unlike the rhyme however, she was only struck a total of 18 times by said weapon. Lizzie’s father Andrew was murdered via 10 to 11 whacks with a hatchet while he slept on the living room couch. Both crimes took place in 1892 and Lizzie Borden was soon arrested for the murders and convicted.

She was however, later acquitted due to Portuguese immigrant Jose Correa de Mello having committed and found guilty of similar crimes in a neighboring town. To this day, it’s believed that Lizzie actually got away with murder only by coincidence.

In the mid to late twentieth century, Ted Bundy became infamous for confessing to have committed 30 murders between 1974 and 1978. Bundy was raised by his maternal grandparents as their son with his mother as his sister. He found out his true parentage in 1969 after finding his birth certificate. Bundy attended the University of Puget Sound before transferring to the University of Washington. During his time in college he held a number of majors, such as Chinese, Psychology, and even Law. He attended the 1968 Republican National Convention as a delegate for Nelson Rockefeller’s Presidential campaign as well as driver and bodyguard of Arthur Fletcher during his campaign for Washington state Lieutenant Governor.

During his time as a psych major, Bundy was an honor student and highly regarded by his professors. It was during this time that he also worked at Seattle’s Suicide Hotline Crisis Center where he managed to talk a number of individuals down from committing suicide. For many of his murders, Bundy would pose with his arm in a sling and needing help from many co-eds. Once their backs were turned, he would hit them over the head and force them into his VW Beetle, which he had removed the passenger seat from in order to fit them into without drawing attention.

Ted was arrested on August 16th, 1975 and stood trial in February of 1976 for kidnapping where he was found guilty and sentenced to up to 15 years in prison. Later that year, he was discovered in the prison yard hiding in the bushes with an escape kit and placed into solitary confinement. Shortly thereafter, he was charged with the murder of Caryn Campbell where he stood trial. During his preliminary hearing, he chose to serve as his own attorney and managed to convince the judge not only to release him from his restraints but also allow him to use the law library free from observation by guards. It was at that time in which he opened a window and made his first escape. He managed to remain free for six days until he was re-apprehended.

However, on December 30th, Bundy managed to escape confinement once again. This time by obtaining a detailed map of the jail and crawling through a hole in the ceiling to a closet where he changed his clothes and walked out the front door undetected. It was at this time that Ted increased his victim count but was arrested the following month. At his 1979 murder trial Bundy, while acting as his own attorney, proposed to his then girlfriend while on the stand to which she accepted and due to an obscure Florida law that stated any declaration of marriage before a judge in a courtroom was legally binding which made the two officially married. Bundy was convicted and sentenced to three sentences of death in February of 1980. While in prison, Ted received conjugal visits from his wife, with whom he fathered a child. At 7:16 in the morning on January 24th, 1989 Ted Bundy’s death by electrocution was carried out. During his time active, Bundy murdered girls and young women by beating them with a metal bar and/ or strangulation. He had also admitted to necrophilia.

Jeffrey Dahmer was convicted of raping, killing, dismembering, and cannibalizing at least 17 victims between 1978 and 1991. All of Dahmer’s victims were homosexual males, of which Dahmer attempted relations with before killing them. The method in which he would kill his victims was generally strangulation and cutting their throat after he poisoned them to eliminate the possibility of a struggle. After their deaths, Dahmer would perform necrophilia on them sometimes before, during and after dismembering them. He eventually pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity and was sentenced to 15 life sentences but was killed in prison by convicted murderer Christopher Scarver on November 28, 1994.

Edmund Kemper was known as the Co-Ed Killer and committed his crimes between 1964 and 1973. His first two victims were his maternal grandparents by way of gunshot while he was a child. He murdered his grandmother because he just wanted to see grandma die and killed his grandfather, because Edmund didn’t want him to see his wife like that.

After serving time in a psychiatric facility, Kemper was released and went on to kill six female hitchhikers by offering them rides while appearing unassuming, often acting as if he was going out of his way to help them. He would kill the women by one of two methods, either by gunshot or by hitting them with a hammer. He would then decapitate them and perform necrophilia with their corpses as well as their severed heads and then take the heads home with him. He told investigators that he buried the heads under his mother’s bedroom window facing up because his mother always wanted people to look up to her. His final two victims were his mother who was quite emotionally and verbally abusive toward Ed throughout the entirety of his life to that point and her best friend.

While Ed was growing up, he was quite large for his age. His mother eventually moved him into the basement where all he had was a cot. This was done out of an irrational fear of hers, that he would rape his sisters. The woman would often tell Ed that he wasn’t good enough and blamed him for all of her hardships. The night of her murder, she came home late from drinking and said it was because of him that she hadn’t been with a man in quite some time.

After Kemper killed his mother, he severed her head and stuffed her vocal cords down the garbage disposal and then performed necrophilia with her head and said to it, There, now you have. After this he used her head as a dart board before inviting her best friend over for dinner. He decided to kill his mother’s best friend as a way to get away with the murder, so that if anyone asked, he could tell them that the women went on vacation together.

Kemper eventually turned himself in, even though at first the police he often drank with, thought he was just drunk and didn’t know what he was saying. He eventually managed to convince them that he was the Co-Ed Killer and waited at a phone booth to be arrested. He was sentenced to life in prison in 1973.

John Wayne Gacy who many know better as the Killer Clown, raped and murdered 33 boys and young men via strangulation in Chicago, IL. Between 1972 and 1978. Gacy was known to dress as a clown and perform at children’s birthday parties. He was a small business owner and engaged in political and charitable activities. Once he committed the murders, Gacy would bury the bodies in a crawl space under his house, as well as under his garage and driveway. He also admitted to disposing of 4 others in the Deplanes River. He was found guilty of the 33 murders in March of 1990 and sentenced to death. His sentence was carried out via lethal injection on March 10th, 1994; his final words were kiss my ass.

Son of Sam, also known by his real name of David Berkowitz and the .44 Caliber Killer, took 6 victims by shooting them with a .44 caliber Charter Arms Bulldog Revolver between 1976 and 1977. Berkowitz told investigators that his neighbor’s dog was possessed by and ancient demon and commanded him to kill. Berkowitz was one of the few serial killers who didn’t seem to have a type when it came to murder, he killed 5 women and at least 1 man, stating that he would hunt for his victims and eventually claim the life of whoever he thought looked good. He was sentenced to six life sentences on June 12, 1978.

BTK (Bind, Torture, Kill) also known by his given name Dennis Rader was a pillar of the community, serving on the Sedgwick County Zoning Board of appeals and the animal control advisory board. He was president of the congregation council of Christ Lutheran Church and a Cub Scout leader, he was even married with children. Rader was convicted of taking 10 victims between 1974 and 1991 having only been caught due to his own ignorance of technology in 2005. He is considered a sadist and fetishist having performed many acts of sexual deviancy during the murders as well as taking photos of the murders.

Dennis Rader named himself BTK, due to the way in which his crimes were committed, i.e. binding his victims, torturing them, and then killing them; either by ligature strangulation or stabbing them with a knife. His victims included Joseph Otero (38), Julie Otero (34), their two children Joseph II (9) and Josephine (11) as well as Kathryn Bright (21), Shirley Vian (24), Nancy Fox (25), Marine Hedge (53), Vicki Wegerle (28), and Dolores E. Davis (62). His victims either lived within some vicinity of Rader’s neighborhood or along his work route. He was sentenced to 10 consecutive life sentences on August 18th, 2005.

Israel Keyes is a serial killer you may or may not have heard of. It wasn’t until I read American Predator by Maureen Callahan, that I learned about him. The total number of Keyes’ victims is unknown, but it’s thought to be over eight with Samantha Koenig (18) as well as Bill and Lorraine Currier being the only three, he had admitted to killing via strangulation. He also raped and dismembered them as well. He was apprehended on March 13th, 2012 and committed suicide in his cell by cutting his wrists and choking himself with