The Rest Is History, Episode 626

Jack The Ripper: The Killer Strikes Again (Part 3)

Hosts: Tom Holland & Dominic Sandbrook
Original Release Date: December 15, 2025

Main Theme

This episode continues Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook’s immersive exploration of the Jack the Ripper murders, zeroing in on the double event of September 30, 1888—when two women, Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes, were killed within hours of each other. The hosts blend storytelling, source analysis, and cultural context to unravel the crimes themselves, public fear, contemporary investigations, and the beginning of the Ripper’s transformation into a cultural and literary phenomenon.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Setting the Scene: Atmosphere and Public Hysteria

• The episode opens with Tom reading a vivid contemporary report from a Whitechapel lodging house, illustrating the paranoia and dark humor that rippled through Victorian London as the murders continued.
  • “So that, Dominic, was the Evening News, published on 5th October, 1888... describing the atmosphere in Cooney's lodging house ... in Spitalfields, in Whitechapel.” (Tom Holland, 02:22)
• The notoriety of Jack the Ripper is explored as both a source of terror and grim fascination, both then and now:
  • “It remains the case to this day. ... The case seems to embody so many anxieties of late Victorian London, but also the inherent fascination—so savage, so horrific, and also that mystery.” (Dominic Sandbrook, 05:00)

The Double Event: Two Murders, Two Jurisdictions

• Recap of the series of killings: Martha Tabram, Mary Ann (Polly) Nicholls, Annie Chapman, and the events of the night of 29–30 September 1888.
• Details of the “double event”:
  • Elizabeth Stride: Found at Dutfield’s Yard, just outside a club for Russian and Polish Jewish immigrants.
  • Catherine Eddowes: Discovered by PC Edward Watkins in Mitre Square, City of London, less than an hour after Stride.

Jurisdictional Divide

• The investigations occur under two police forces: The Metropolitan Police (Whitechapel) and City of London Police (Mitre Square).
  • “They are under different police jurisdictions because the City of London has its own police force...” (Tom Holland, 08:57)

Details of the Crimes

Elizabeth Stride

• Stride’s murder bears Ripper hallmarks (throat cut, East End location) but crucially, her body isn’t mutilated.
• Theorizing why:
  • “The Ripper was disturbed in the process… Louis Diemschutz came into the yard, actually disturbed the Ripper.” (Dominic Sandbrook, 13:00)
  • “That would then explain perhaps why he goes on to commit a second murder, because ... he hasn't had the opportunity to do what he wants to do, namely get ripping.” (Tom Holland, 13:00)
• Witness sightings: PC William Smith spots a man with a woman (red rose) about 12:30 AM; several witnesses describe a short man in a dark coat, peaked cap/deerstalker.
• The enigmatic “Lipski!” shout: Explored as an anti-Semitic taunt, with Inspector Abberline suggesting it was shouted at a Jewish witness, Israel Schwartz, rather than being a clue to accomplices or a conspiracy.

Catherine Eddowes

• Victim identified through personal effects and partner John Kelly.
• The most mutilated victim so far: throat cut, face and abdomen slashed, organs (kidney, womb) removed and arranged beside her.
• Discussion of whether the killer had anatomical skill:
  • “The killer must have had a degree of expertise... not necessarily a doctor—perhaps a butcher, slaughterman, or a very talented amateur.” (Tom Holland, 24:39)
• Witnesses: Joseph Lavender and Joseph Levy see a man (deerstalker cap, moustache) talking with a woman at 1:30 AM.

The Goulston Street Graffito

• Eddowes’ bloodied apron found near graffiti: “the Jews are the men that will not be blamed for nothing” (J U W E S).
  • Explored as possible coincidence, deliberate taunt, or red herring.
  • “Sir Charles Warren had to have it erased swiftly to prevent anti-Semitic riots.” (Dominic Sandbrook, 26:26)

Panic, Public Response, and the Press

• The East End gripped by fear; streets deserted at night and women arming themselves or seeking safer neighborhoods.
  • “There’s a massive sense of panic... streets are deserted at night... women are huddling together...” (Dominic Sandbrook, 34:21)
• Immediate commercialization and myth-making: printed ballads, “Ripper tours,” and sensationalist press coverage.
• Foreigners and minorities scapegoated:
  • "Some say it was Old Nick himself, or else a Russian Jew. Some say it was a cannibal from the Isle of Kickaboo…" (Tom Holland, reading 37:27)

Police Investigation and Challenges

• Disagreement over offering rewards; Home Office and Met Commissioner at odds.
• Chief of CID, Robert Anderson, is in Switzerland during the height of the investigation, provoking media outrage.
• Failed police tactics: bloodhound experiments, lack of undercover policewomen, and male officers unsuccessfully disguised (and sometimes assaulted).
  • “There are no police women in the Met so they can't entrap the Ripper.” (Dominic Sandbrook, 44:39)
• Vigilante patrols surge—organized and supported by local Jewish tradesmen, possibly delaying further murders.

Letters, Hoaxes, and Ripper Mythos Begins

• The "Dear Boss" letter and "Saucy Jack" postcard: Likely hoaxes sent to the press/news agency; introduce the name “Jack the Ripper.”
  • “It's also someone who can come up with the brilliant name of Jack the Ripper... Almost certainly a reporter or someone like that.” (Dominic Sandbrook, 49:34)
• The “From Hell” letter to George Lusk: Arrived with half a human kidney. Handwriting and style contrast previous letters; the possibility of an Irish connection is discussed.
  • “I sent you half the kidney I took from one woman, preserved it for you. Tell the peace I fried and ate it... From Hell.” (Tom Holland, 50:37)
• Flood of hoax and confessional letters overwhelms the investigation.

Public & Cultural Impact

• The Ripper crimes spark debate about the failures of urban society and Victorian values:
  • “People didn’t just say it’s a foreign menace... there is something deeply buried in us that has now come out.” (Dominic Sandbrook, 39:36)
  • “There is a darkness... lurking in the soul, perhaps even of the most outwardly respectable figure walking the streets...” (Tom Holland, 40:13)
• The first hints at Jack the Ripper becoming a legend and literary figure—a motif that will endure.
  • “All these letters suggest Jack the Ripper is already becoming a literary figure ... people writing words for him, composing actions for him...” (Tom Holland, 53:47)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Witness Perception and Hysteria:

  • “I mean, just to think... a deer stalker, you wear it because you're stalking deer, and when you capture a deer, you rip it open and disembowel it.” (Tom Holland, 14:18)

• On Policing and Press Sensationalism:

  • “Dr. Anderson, the chief official responsible... is as invisible to Londoners as the murderer himself. Dr. Anderson is taking a pleasant holiday in Switzerland. ... Newspapers don't change, right?” (Dominic Sandbrook, 41:33)

• On Police Blunders:

  • “The press have been pestering the Home Office, use bloodhounds... but comically, this doesn't happen in Sherlock Holmes. There's a massive disagreement about who's going to pay for the dog's insurance.” (Dominic Sandbrook, 44:36)
  • “He dressed up and stood around ... they shouted at him, you're cats and dogs, aren't you? And then they stabbed him in the face.” (Dominic Sandbrook, 45:29)

• On the Goulston Street Graffiti:

  • “Some of the people say, should we wait for a photographer to photograph the graffiti? And [Commissioner Warren] says, no ... we cannot risk people seeing it. ... The chalk is wiped away. And so ... we have no photo of it.” (Dominic Sandbrook, 26:26)

• Regarding Letters and Public Engagement:

  • “The result of the police publicizing this is a flood of hoax letters... deluged with false leads.” (Dominic Sandbrook, 49:34)
  • “Jack the Ripper is already becoming a literary figure ... people are writing words for him... and this is something that will be repeated decade after decade.” (Tom Holland, 53:47)

• On the Ripper as Cultural Symbol:

  • “That's part of the Ripper mystique... the idea that there is a darkness, a murderousness, a savagery lurking ... even in the most outwardly respectable figure walking the streets of the West End.” (Tom Holland, 40:13)

Closing Cliffhanger

• The episode concludes with the discovery of Mary Jane Kelly’s mutilated body—setting up the next episode’s deep dive:
  • “When my eyes had become accustomed to the dim light, I saw a sight which I shall never forget to my dying day.” (PC Walter Dew, recalled by Dominic Sandbrook, 56:53)
  • “Next time we will reveal what he saw through the window... and how Jack the Ripper came to be enshrined as history's first serial killer.” (Tom Holland, 57:10)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 02:22 — Reading from 1888 Evening News: Atmosphere in a lodging house.
• 05:00 — Why the case fascinates to this day.
• 08:57 — Complicating jurisdiction: City vs. Metropolitan Police.
• 13:00 — Discussion of why Stride’s murder lacked mutilations.
• 15:21 — The eyewitness accounts and the "Lipski!" incident.
• 24:39 — Eddowes murder, discussion of killer’s anatomical skill.
• 26:20 — The Goulston Street apron and graffiti.
• 34:21 — Public panic, myth-making, and ballads.
• 41:33 — CID chief on holiday, media outrage.
• 44:36 — Failed investigation methods: bloodhounds and undercover blunders.
• 48:39 — The "Saucy Jack" postcard is read.
• 50:37 — The “From Hell” letter and the half-kidney.
• 53:47 — Literary afterlife of the Ripper character.
• 56:53 — Discovery of Mary Jane Kelly’s body (cliffhanger for next episode).

Conclusion

This episode masterfully walks listeners through the escalation of the Ripper murders, interweaving forensic detail, Victorian social context, and the birth of a modern urban myth. It ends with both a chilling cliffhanger—the scene witnessed through Mary Jane Kelly’s window—and reflections on the Ripper’s enduring grip on cultural imagination.