By Sharon McQuillan
Sourced feature. The author's own bibliography is printed in full at the foot of the page.
Who really was the Jack the Ripper? Who is responsible for the Whitechapel Murders of Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes and Mary Jane Kelly. The victims, also known as the "Canonical Five"? Was it Prince Albert Victor? Was he driven mad by syphilis? Had he killed to hide his illegitimate child or did Queen Victoria order the death of the pregnant woman and everyone else who knew to cover her grandson's indiscretions? Could he have been Joseph Barnett, who was in love with a prostitute named Mary Kelly (also a victim, so the theory does not fit)? The theory is that he murdered prostitutes to try and scare his love into giving up the street life? Hmmm, or was it Doctor Thomas Neill Cream? He was an abortion Doctor and would have seen many prostitutes disposing of unwanted pregnancies; also, he was known to be sadistic and had supposedly said, "I am Jack the Ripper." Maybe it was James Kelly; he had already murdered his wife, disliked prostitutes, and was reported as Insane. Or maybe it was Aaron Kosminski; he was insane and spent time in Colney Hatch Lunatic Asylum. According to an online article in 2019, DNA evidence claimed that Kosminski was the Killer. Still, the tested scarf, which contained seminal fluid, was never linked to any of the victims.
The infamous name Jack the Ripper was formerly known as "Leather Apron" because, according to women in the same profession as the first victim, Mary Nichols, they suspected a man nicknamed Leather Apron who had attacked unfortunate and defenseless women; this man was eventually caught on Monday, September 10 1888. his name was Jack Pizer. Eventually, Jack Pizer was cleared and released on Tuesday, September 11, 1888. Would the Whitechapel Murderer, now known as Jack the Ripper, ever be caught? Maybe it is H.H. Holmes.
H.H. Holmes and Jack the Ripper were both notable Victorian serial killers. Over the years, various parallels have been drawn between the two. Some people have even suggested that the two could have been the same… an intriguing, if horrifying, prospect.
Jack slaughtered prostitutes in Whitechapel, London, from 1888 to 1889. However, his brutal butchering suddenly ceased, and a new Chicago-based serial killer, H.H. Holmes, was discovered after the height of Chicago's World's Fair in 1893.
Who is H.H. Holmes, and why could he be Jack the Ripper? Herman Webster Mudgett was born on May 16, 1861, in Gilmanton, New Hampshire. Later, changing his name to Dr. Henry Howard Holmes, he became one of America's first noted serial murderers. Holmes killed at least 27 women during the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition (e.g., World's Fair) in Chicago. In addition to murder, Holmes enjoyed performing extreme forms of torture and mutilation on those he lured into traps. He is perhaps best known for what would later be dubbed the Murder Castle, a two-story maze designed by Holmes with numerous trap doors, hidden passages, and torture chambers.
One of the most striking similarities between the two killers was that their victims were predominantly women. In addition, both serial killers had gruesome murder histories, a terrifying combination. Another continuing theory that regularly appears in the Ripper case is that the perpetrator may have had some medical knowledge or expertise. It is said that the mutilations appearing on the victim's bodies looked like the work of a trained doctor, which points towards another frightening comparison between Holmes and the Ripper. H.H. Holmes was a qualified doctor, and the Ripper clearly possessed some medical or anatomical knowledge, leading many to connect the two killers…
After the murder of Annie Chapman, the Divisional Police Surgeon believed that the Ripper killed her to remove her womb. This would have taken skill, so police suggested that the Killer was someone with medical training. Holmes definitely had the medical knowledge. He would apparently experiment on animals at eleven years of age, torturing them to the brink of death and then bringing them back to life several times. Holmes also spent his youth as the assistant to the local doctor, learning everything about the human body in life and death. This doctor wrote the recommendation letter for Holmes when he applied to the University of Michigan, where he became a medical student.
Jack the Ripper's hunting ground was the Whitechapel neighbourhood of London. H.H. Holmes also had a connection to Whitechapel. Edmund Buckley, his friend from the University of Michigan, came from a wealthy Whitechapel family. Buckley and Holmes were partners in crime; they frequently ran insurance scams together.
According to census records, after Holmes tried to sell a corpse to a local hospital, a formal complaint was filed against him. These records place him in the Whitechapel area during the Ripper murders. Was he doing more than just his usual corpse-peddling?
It is known that H.H. Holmes bought the land to build his Chicago Murder Castle in July 1888. It may seem unlikely that Holmes would travel to London immediately afterwards. Still, construction on his "castle" didn't begin until the spring of 1889. In fact, there is no record of him being in Chicago at all that winter. Perhaps Holmes took a winter holiday in London to get an early start on his killing spree?
Travel documentation and witness accounts also lend themselves to the theory that Jack the Ripper and Holmes are the same. The biggest issue with Holmes and the Ripper being the same psychopathic man is that one was in Chicago and the other in London when international travel was not as easy as it is now. In 1888, the way to travel between the United Kingdom and the United States was by ship, which could take about a month. However, the timeline is entirely possible, with the Ripper killings ending in early 1889 and the first Holmes killing at the end of 1889. It is also recorded that a passenger named H. Holmes travelled from the U.K. to the U.S. in that period. Holmes is a common last name, and H.H. Holmes' legal name was Herman Webster Mudgett, but it is possible. In addition, based on accounts and descriptions of Jack the Ripper, multiple sketch artists came up with a drawing of Jack the Ripper that looked eerily similar to H.H. Holmes.
But the most significant proof comes from Jeff Mudgett, a qualified lawyer and a descendent of the infamous H.H. Holmes, who learned of his terrifying heritage when his grandmother was to investigate their lineage. The discoveries left Jeff questioning everything he knew about himself and his family. The new information forever changed him, propelling him down a new path, searching for the truth.
He began looking into the heinous crimes of his ancestor, and his inquiries took a horrific turn when he began to notice similarities in Mudgett's modus operandi and that of Jack the Ripper. Jeff claims that H.H. Holmes and Jack the Ripper are the same, a theory that has been discussed by experts, historians, and Ripperologists many times.
According to Mudgett, Scotland Yard detectives visited the U.S. in search of the Ripper as they became suspicious and thought he may be hiding in the New World. He also believes that Holmes was the mysterious man behind the Whitechapel Murders, masquerading as Jack the Ripper as an alias to carry out his despicable crimes. Jeff also believes that Jack the Ripper carried out the Canonical Five murders, killing five prostitutes in the East End of London, before escaping to the U.S. to dodge the British police looking for him. He said the investigation was aborted halfway, which helped Holmes return to business again in Chicago.
Jeff had submitted some handwriting samples to back up his claim. It seems three letters had seemed legitimate. One was the "From Hell" letter that London police declared to be from Jack the Ripper. The London police sifted through more than 700 letters from writers claiming to be "Jack the Ripper." It had all the handwriting characteristics found in the script of a lust murderer. That letter was delivered to a local businessman in a cardboard box (along with half a human kidney). Still, it was not signed "Jack the Ripper." Instead, "Catch me when you can" was signed with the most unusual return address: "From Hell." Another was also deemed legitimate, the "Saucy Jacky" Postcard. Still, it was another letter, The "Dear Boss" letter, which would be sent for handwriting analysis. It was received by the Central News Agency of London on September 27, 1888, and forwarded to Scotland Yard on September 29. The Killer described his plan to cut the ears off his next victim in the letter.
"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 me shan't 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 ladys ears off and send to the police officers 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 trulyJack the Ripper
Dont mind me giving the trade name
PS 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"
On September 30, the body of Catherine Eddowes was found with one earlobe severed. While it was never proven that the Ripper wrote the "Dear Boss" letter, the mention of cutting a victim's ear was a chilling reference. The letter was not published in the papers until after Eddowes's body was found, meaning this could have been a real connection to the Killer. The "Dear Boss" letter and a sample from H.H. Holmes were sent to Handwriting experts to analyse to help prove his claims. While some results were not definitive, they did confirm both samples could have come from the same hand. A computer program used by the Postal Service and Department of Justice said it was a 97.95 per cent match.
Another handwriting analysis expert recommended by the British Library compared the "Dear Boss" letter to a known handwriting sample from H.H. Holmes. This expert concluded that it was written by the same hand.
Another interesting theory that appeared about Holmes being the Ripper Jeff believes that H.H. Holmes orchestrated the Jack the Ripper murders to hide his real plan: to kill rich women and use their organs to make himself a youth serum. Jeff says Holmes's diary entries, which have not been published, detail how Holmes trained an assistant to carry out the Ripper murders. By causing a sensation to distract the public with Jack the Ripper, Holmes could target upper-class women, whom he presumed had healthier organs to use in his serum.
But what did happen to H.H. Holmes? In November 1894, Holmes was arrested by the Pinkerton Detective Agency in Boston, Massachusetts. He was charged with Conspiracy to Cheat and Defraud the Fidelity Mutual Life Insurance Company. He was sent to Moyamensing Prison in Philadelphia. Upon his capture and discovering his house of horrors, newspapers gave Holmes the nicknames of Arch Fiend, The Devil Incarnate, Monster of 63rd Street, and The Torture Doctor. In addition, Holmes earned the label of Bluebeard for his habit of luring in and taking advantage of multiple women (e.g., mistresses, girlfriends, and random strangers), most of whom he eventually killed. In 1895, Holmes was tried and convicted for the murder of three children, who were Carrie and Benjamin Pitezel's children. Holmes was meant to be looking after the children because after helping the Pitezels commit insurance fraud, Carrie had become quite ill after her husband's death /disappearance. During his trial, Holmes officially confessed to 27 murders but later told his lawyer that he had actually killed 133 people. These claims gained credibility after the Chicago Police discovered the gruesome remains of over 100 dead bodies scattered throughout the Murder Castle. Holmes was hanged at Moyamensing Prison on May 7, 1896. He was reportedly calm before hanging, seemingly unconcerned about his imminent demise. Ironically, Holmes took safety measures to prevent the dismemberment of his own body. According to his will, he was to be laid into his coffin, which was one-third full of wet cement and then filled to the brim before being sealed and buried.
In 2017, the History Channel got permission to dig up HH Holmes, investigate the claims of Holmes being the American Ripper, and investigate a claim that Holmes had someone else fill in for him at the Gallows. Holmes may have evaded his own execution. After obtaining permission from the state of Pennsylvania to exhume the remains, the History Channel team found a coffin filled with concrete with no remains.
Standing in the grave pit, they drilled through the floor of the coffin. They discovered another coffin underneath, also filled with concrete. Encased inside the slab was a body. The body of H.H. Holmes was encased in concrete and buried below the water table at Holmes' request. His body rotted, but due to the anaerobic environment inside a chamber of water-filled concrete, it had not adequately decomposed after 120 years. When the hidden coffin was opened, the clothes were almost perfectly preserved, and his skull retained its moustache.
Was Jack the Ripper hanging that day in Philadelphia Moyamensing prison? The personality, the medical background, the fact he was in London at the time of the murders, his handwriting almost identical to letters sent to police. Is this definitive proof? Was Holmes the mastermind behind Jack the Ripper? If the diaries Jeff quotes in his book are real and can be confirmed, we may finally have our answer. Until then, we can only guess that we have found Jack the Ripper's real identity after a century of investigations, conjecture, and incredible theories?
Is this unsolvable case finally solved? Whether you believe Holmes to be Jack the Ripper, you can visit his grave in an unmarked plot at Yeadon Holy Cross cemetery. He lays in section 15, range 10, lot 41 in graves 3 and 4. Does it hold the remains of a monster who committed murders across two continents?
Frost, Rebecca. Words of a Monster. 1985. https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/Words_of_a_Monster/PgmcDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=hh+holmes+serial+killer&pg=PP1&printsec=frontcover.
Hauss, Michael. "5 Most Notorious Murder Houses in the United States "2023. https://serialkillercalendar.com/5-MOST-NOTORIOUS-MURDER-HOUSES-IN-THE-UNITED-STATES.php?
J, D, Crighton. Holmes Own Story Confessed 27 Murders -Lied Then Died. Aerobear Classics, 2016. https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/Holmes_Own_Story/zJFEDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=hh+holmes+serial+killer&pg=PA244&printsec=frontcover.
Johnno, Stephen P Ryder and. "Ripper Letters." (1996-2023). https://www.casebook.org/ripper_letters/.
Jones, Richard. "Jack the Ripper 1888." (October 3, 2023). https://www.jack-the-ripper.org/leather-apron.htm.
Lerner, Jamie. "Two of the World's Most Infamous Serial Killers Could Actually Be the Same Person."2023. (March 24, 2021). https://www.distractify.com/p/is-hh-holmes-jack-the-ripper.
Macklem, Lisa. "The Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction: Rick Geary's Gothic Murder Tales." Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics 8, no. 6 (2017): 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1080/21504857.2017.1383283.
Maniscalco, Kerri. "Was H.H. Holmes the Real Jack the Ripper?". (September 10, 2019). https://crimereads.com/was-h-h-holmes-the-real-jack-the-ripper/#:~:text=(Bloodstains%2C%202011)%20One%20theory,in%20Stalking%20Jack%20the%20Ripper.
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Nelson, Sara C. "Jack the Ripper: Did Chicago Serial Killer H.H Holmes Commit the Whitechapel Murders?" HuffPost (online), 26 July 2017. https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/jack-the-ripper-did-chicago-serial-killer-hh-holmes-commit-the-whitechapel-murders_uk_59788643e4b0c95f37603dbe.
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This feature is reproduced as Sharon McQuillan wrote it for the magazine, and her argument and her wording have been left alone. Four points of fact are worth setting beside it for readers coming to the Holmes case for the first time.
The figures of 27 and 133 are Holmes’s own claims, made in his 1895 confessions and sold to the newspapers; they are not established counts. He was tried and convicted for one murder, that of Benjamin Pitezel, and the number of deaths that can actually be evidenced is in single figures. The related claim that Chicago police recovered the remains of more than a hundred people from the Murder Castle comes from 1895 press coverage and is rejected by every modern researcher of the case, including Adam Selzer, whose book appears in the bibliography below.
The man arrested and cleared in September 1888 was John Pizer, the Whitechapel bootmaker known as Leather Apron. He is given here as Jack Pizer.
The handwriting comparisons, and the 97.95 per cent figure, come from Jeff Mudgett’s own book and the television series built around it. They have not been reproduced or confirmed by an independent forensic document examiner, and the diaries on which much of the theory rests remain unpublished and unexamined by anyone outside that project. The Holmes as Ripper theory is, on the present evidence, a theory.
The archive holds other treatments of both subjects: THE STORY OF JACK THE RIPPER, VICTIMS AND KILLERS AND THE UNKNOWN LEGACY and 5 MOST NOTORIOUS MURDER HOUSES IN THE UNITED STATES, all three of which McQuillan cites.