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The Five Victims of Jack the Ripper - Part 1

© Brenda Gambrell

Jack the Ripper is believed to be the most famous serial killer of all time. Most know that he selected prostitutes as his victims and that he used a sharp knife or surgical instrument to mutilate their bodies. Yet his victims – five women living in the destitute East End of London called the Whitechapel district – do not necessarily share the same renown as the man who took their lives. All of these women had lives and families before they were eternally marked as the prostitute victims of Jack the Ripper.

In the early morning of Friday, August 31 1888, the body of Polly Nichols was discovered lying on the ground before a gated stable entrance on Whitechapel’s Buck’s Row – a narrow, dimly lit passage. She suffered a deep slash to her throat and severe cuts to her abdomen and womb. Polly was believed to be the first victim of Jack the Ripper. The daughter of a locksmith, she was born in London on August 1845 and married William Nichols, a printer’s machinist, in 1864. They had five children before their marriage broke up in 1880, some pointing the blame to William, who was said to have had an affair with their nurse during Polly’s last pregnancy, and others to Polly for her heavy drinking and deserting her family on many occasions. Polly spent her remaining years in workhouses and boarding houses, living off her meager earnings as a prostitute. She was a poor, destitute woman that most liked yet pitied.

Annie Chapman, known as "Dark Annie," was a 47-year old destitute prostitute who roamed the streets and moved from one common lodging house to the next when she could afford to pay for a room. On the morning of September 8, 1888 she was thrown out of her lodging house to earn money for her bed. Her body was found several hours later in the backyard of 29 Hanbury Street in the same condition as Polly Nichol’s. At one time Annie’s future must have seemed much more secure when she married John Chapman, a coachman, in 1869. The couple had three children but sadly, her firstborn died of meningitis and her youngest son was born crippled. Likely due to the stress caused by the misfortunes of their children, the couple took to heavy drinking and separated. They lived apart for four years during which time Annie received an allowance from her husband until his death in 1886. Life became much worse after his loss. Suffering from depression and alcoholism, Annie never seemed to recover from the loss of her husband and child and died a homeless prostitute.

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