Saturday, December 16, 2006

A Modern-Day Jack The Ripper In Ipswich ?

At least five prostitutes have been murdered over the past six weeks in and around Ipswich, north-east of London. Each victim is found naked, dumped in woodlands or in water around the outskirts of the city. The media has dubbed the killer the "Ipswich Ripper" and attempts are being made to draw parallels between this case and that of Jack the Ripper in 1888.
Apart from the obvious similarities in victimology, the major comparison in my opinion is the time-frame in which the murders are occurring. It appears to be quite compressed (five in six weeks), which as serial killers go, is somewhat uncommon. For many modern serial killers, often weeks, months or even years will go by between killings. This "compressed" time scale is somewhat similar to the Ripper killings, which took place over approximately thirteen weeks from August through November 1888. Both timeframes are relatively atypical for serial murders.
It has been suggested that the Ipswich murderer is "increasing in frenzy" as he goes from victim to victim. If this is truly the case, it may be similar to how the original Ripper murders progressed, with ever more violence and depraved mutilation performed on each new victim.
In the end, however, we know so little about the details surrounding these Ipswich murders, and in fact we know so little about who the original Ripper actually was, that any comparisons at this point are purely speculative and academic.
Can't get enough of "Jack The Riper"? Check out the website www.Casebook.org. This article is reprinted from that case study, and many other facts not generally known are revealed and examined. Who knows, you may become a "Ripper-ologist"!!
As to the "Ipswich Ripper", New Scotland Yard has come a long way since the original Ripper stalked Whitechapel in the late 1800's. Forensic science today will no doubt figure in largely when the Ipswich homicides are cleared.