Jack the Ripper: Case Study

Lesson 3: A Host of Ripper Suspects and Theories

Joseph Barnett

Fish porter Joseph Barnett may be the only suspect to have a strong connection to one of the victims. He lived with Mary Kelly and hated her lifestyle, wished to control her, and may have murdered her friends to frighten her and keep her off from the streets.

Most killers do turn out to be someone the victim knows, and if Kelly was the only murder victim, Barnett would be the prime suspect. Though Kelly had kicked him out after one of their fights, he had been at the house earlier that day.

It would be believed Kelly's death was a case of domestic violence if not for the grisly way she was murdered. Despite their many domestic squabbles, it is questionable whether Barnett would have been capable of that kind of violence.

The case for Barnett being the Ripper includes the fact that he lived in the area and probably knew the other victims as well, at least by sight. He had lost his job and that may have set him off. He was educated enough to have written the Ripper letters to the police.

Abberline identified him as a suspect after Kelly's murder. The most incriminating evidence against him was the fact that whoever murdered Mary Kelly locked the door when he left, and Barnett was likely to have still had a key. However, the window was broken and he and Kelly were also in the habit of reaching in through the window to lock and unlock the door. Either the killer figured that out, or Kelly was the one who reached back and locked the door.

For two interesting essays on Joseph Barnett read pages 187-203 and pages 228-258 of The Mammoth Book of Jack the Ripper.

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