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CASE #CDY7EI · 2 entities · 1 connections
Jack the Ripper
The most famous unsolved serial murder case in history got its iconic name from a letter that was very likely written by a journalist trying to sell more newspapers.
Jack the Ripper murdered at least five women in London's Whitechapel district in 1888, in a case that remains formally unsolved. The killer's now-famous name originated from a letter sent to a news agency, widely believed to be a hoax written by a journalist rather than the actual murderer.
⇄disputed
Quick facts
- →At least five murders, known as the "canonical five," are most confidently attributed to the same killer between August and November 1888.
- →The name "Jack the Ripper" comes from the "Dear Boss" letter sent to a London news agency, widely believed to be a hoax rather than genuine.
- →In 1931, a journalist named Fred Best reportedly confessed that he and a colleague wrote the letter to boost their newspaper's sales.
- →Over 100 suspects have been proposed by researchers and writers over the decades; none has ever been definitively confirmed.
Entities on file
"Dear Boss" letter (document)
Letter that gave the Jack the Ripper case its name; widely believed to have been fabricated by a journalist rather than the actual killer.
→ named the unidentified killer active in → Whitechapel✓documented
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Whitechapel (location)
London district where the Jack the Ripper murders took place in 1888.
No outgoing connections on file.