Jack the Ripper: A History - Part 1 - The Beginning transcript

Whitechapel East London home to one of England's most renowned brutal and most evasive murderers of all time Jack the Ripper we explore these brutal murders from the gruesome beginnings to the mysterious end this is dark histories where the facts are worse than fiction in 1888 England was ruled by Queen Victoria the British Empire was in full swing and London was the largest capital city in the world East London however did not reflect this period supposed prosperity it was densely populated area where the residents lived in poverty amongst the highest crime rates of as little future prospects whole families were often residing in one room Whitechapel a district of East London had the highest crime and death rates of the city it was also home to much of the immigrant communities leading to high racial tensions exacerbated by high unemployment and overcrowding there were many law-abiding and hardworking citizens however there were also many slums and ghettos full of drunken violence and crime for the poorest housing came in the form of lodging or bunk houses these were large buildings where people could rent a bed for a night or if they couldn't afford that could sleep standing up propped up by a rope the bunk houses were crumbling and upkeep was overlooked by the landlord's the roads and alleyways around the bunk houses were often dark winding and full of squalor the East End could certainly be a pretty grim place full of anxiety and fear poverty and crime many women who had found themselves in hard times took to prostitution to fund their beds in the bunk houses these were women of an East End underclass who were poor desperate and struggling it was these working women that would become the focus for murderer who arose in Whitechapel during four months in 1888 causing fear among tingler's populace with a brutal series of murders Jack the Ripper now there are five canonical or accepted victims of Jack the Ripper there are theories that his murders may have escalated in brutality and some early attacks could also be attributed to him these attacks have been debated for years some debunked and others still open to interpretation considering the violence at the time there are many possible victims of Jack's early attacks we will focus on just two murders prior to the canonical fire as whether or not they were Ripper killings the first marks a landmark in the history of the Ripper case and the second is classed by many to be the likeliest non-canon victim and still holds the subject of many heated debates Emma Smith suffered a brutal attack on the night of the 3rd of April 1888 she survived the initial attack and finally through coercion from two women from her lodging house made it to the London hospital on Whitechapel Road she spoke to the doctors there and explained that she had been beaten and robbed by a gang of men Emma Smith died later that morning on a 4th of April her story of being attacked by a gang of men is largely accepted and therefore her murderer was unlikely to be Jack the Ripper however her death marks a landmark in the history of replicate being that it saw the opening of the Whitechapel murders file by the police this file would later encompass the Ripper killing Martha Tabram as a prostitute in her late 30s during the late hours of August the 6th she was working with her friend Mary Ann Connolly they had picked up two soldiers and had split off presumably to get to business her body was later found in the early hours of the morning on August the 7th by John Saunders Reeves who was on his way to work she was found sprawled out on the landing of two Georges Yard buildings arms and hands by her side and legs open she being brutally stabbed 39 times the soldier in this story would be the natural first suspect however despite a lineup neither soldier was ever identified two other witnesses had passed by the scene at earlier times of the night and had not seen Martha's body though this may be attributed to the darkness at the buildings themselves being that there was no lighting it could be argued that they simply could not see the body this however leaves the debate open as to whether or not she was killed by the soldier or perhaps by a client later on in the night further arguments state that her body was found close to the Ripper heartland and her wounds were concentrated in much the same areas of the body at the Ripper victims though her throat was never cut several other detectives and important police figures who worked on the Ripper case themselves considered Martha Tabram to be the first Ripper victim leaving it open to many still today as the most likely non-canon attack to have been by the Ripper himself the brutality of the murder shocked his London though this was just the beginning of what was to be a bloody and gruesome four months for Whitechapel come back for the following episodes where we'll follow the story of Jack please like subscribe and sleep tight