The Legendary Unsolved Case of Jack the Ripper
Some flaws in the investigation have been pointed out, including why only one of the several Ripper victims was photographed at the crime scene. Another controversial point is a chalked message on a doorway that was discovered along with a bloody piece of a victim's apron. The message reading "The Juwes are the men that will not be blamed for nothing" may have been written by the Ripper. Regardless, the message was erased by an investigator before it could be photographed based on the fact the it might cause riots against the Jews living in the area, where anti-Semitism was already raging. Nevertheless, a potentially important clue that could have led to the discovery of the Ripper was destroyed.
With the tension escalating, and another victim discovered, investigators on the Ripper hunt spent long hours on duty, some not sleeping for days. Plain clothes detectives (many dressed in women's clothing) were sent out to walk the streets at night. Extensive searches of public and private lodging houses began, but the practice of entering the houses without warrants led to increased animosity from the public and the press. Since the Ripper obviously had some knowledge of anatomy and was skilled with a knife, hundreds of butchers and slaughterers were interviewed, but the only thing this led to was a loss of appetite! Letters sent in by the supposed Ripper (one attached to a box containing half of a human kidney) were investigated, but were generally concluded to be tasteless hoaxes. When the city finally offered a reward for information leading to the capture of the killer, the police were inundated day and night with more statements than they could handle.
In the end, when the Ripper mysteriously stopped his attacks, the police, regardless of all their investigating, knew little more about him than the public. The file on the murders was never officially closed, and several years after the last attack, the force kept an eye open for suspects. Regardless of the investigators' theories as to the identity of the Ripper, a suspect could never be charged due to the lack of sufficient evidence. Because the case was never solved, the mystery surrounding the murders has made it a legend - a captivating puzzle that people still want to solve over a century later.
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