A CLoser Look at the Victims' Wounds
Courtesy of Casebook Productions and Jill de Schrijver.
To help visualize the extent of the mutilations, modern
sketches are provided, showing the nature and locations of the injuries,
along with contemporary written descriptions.
Written descriptions are taken from discovery of body in situ and/or post-mortem accounts.
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MARTHA TABRAM
aka Emma
Body in situ
She was plump and lay on her back; hands at her sides - tightly clenched; there was an absence of blood from her mouth; her legs were spread open; her clothes were disarranged - torn open at the front, and turned up, leaving the lower part of body exposed; there was no blood on the stairs leading to the landing.
Post-mortem
An effusion of blood between the scalp and bone; the brain was pale but healthy; at least 22 stab wounds to the trunk; 17 in the breast, including 5 stabs wounds to the left lung, 2 stabs to the right lung - albeit healthy, and the heart was stabbed once, which was rather fatty; except for stab wound nothing about the heart to cause death; some blood in the pericardium; the liver was healthy and stabbed 5 times; the spleen was healthy and stabbed twice; both kidneys were healthy; the stomach was healthy and stabbed 6 times; the intestines were healthy; the other organs were healthy; the lower portion of the body had one stab wound - 3" long and 1" deep, but was not mutilated; there was a lot of blood between her legs; nine stab wounds to the throat, yet it was not cut, and there was no evidence that the carotid arteries had been severed; the breasts, stomach, abdomen, and vagina seemed to have been the main areas; death was due to hemorrhage and loss of blood; sexual intercourse had not recently taken place; no evidence of a struggle; except for the wound on the chest bone, all injuries seem to have been inflicted by a right-handed person, using a penknife; the stab wound to the heart might have been made by a dagger or bayonet by a left-handed person.
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MARY ANN NICHOLS
aka Polly
Body in situ
Polly was lying lengthwise with her head turned towards
the East; her left hand touched the gate; her bonnet was lying
near her right hand; her skirts were rumpled
just above her knees; her throat was severely cut; her eyes
were wide open and glassy; blood had oozed from her throat
wounds; her arms felt warm from the elbows up; her hands were
open. The gateway was 9'-10' in height and led to some
stables - they were closed.
Post-mortem
Throat cut from left to right with 2 distinct cuts being
on the left side and with the windpipe, gullet, and spinal
cord being cut through; a bruise, possibly from a thumb, on
the lower right jaw with another on the left cheek; the
abdomen had been cut open from center of the bottom ribs
along the right side; under the pelvis, left of the stomach,
was another wound - jagged; the omentum (stomach coating)
was cut in several places; 2 small stabs on the privy parts;
the knife used seemed to have been strong-bladed; possibly a
left-handed killer; death almost instantaneous. 5 teeth missing;
slight laceration on tongue; bruise on
lower part of right jaw (possibly from a punch or thumb
pressure); circular bruise on left side of face (possibly
also from finger pressure); left side of neck, 1" below
jaw, 4" incision starting immediately below the left
ear; a 2nd throat incision starting 1" below and 1"
in front of the 1st, running 8" in a circular direction
around the throat and stopping 3" below the right ear,
completely severing all tissues down to the spine, including
the large vessels of the neck on both sides; no blood found
on breast of clothes or of body; on the lower part of
abdomen, 2"-3" from the left side ran a very deep, jagged
wound, cutting the tissues through; several incisions ran
across the abdomen; 3 or 4 similar cuts ran down the right
side of the abdomen.
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ANNIE CHAPMAN
aka Dark Annie
Body in situ
Annie was lying on her back, Her legs
were bent at the knees; Her feet were flat on the ground; Her dress
was pushed above her
knees; Her left arm lay across her left breast; Her right arm
at her side; The small intestines, still attached by a cord,
and part of the abdomen lay above her right shoulder; 2 flaps
of skin from the lower abdomen lay in a large quantity of
blood above the left shoulder; Her throat was deeply cut in a
jagged manner; A neckerchief was around her neck. Her face was
swollen and turned to her
right side; The tounge was very swollen, protruding between
the front teeth but not the lips; The limbs were not very
stiff but rigor mortis was commencing; The throat was deeply
severed by a jagged incisions which reached right around the
neck; The body was cold, but heat remained in the body under
the intestines.
Post-mortem
Bruise over the right temple - old; 2 man's thumb-sized
bruises on top forepart of chest - old; 3 scratches below
the lower left jaw, 1 1/2"-2" below left ear
lobe, going in opposite direction of throat wounds - recent;
Bruise on right cheek - recent; Bruise corresponding with
the scratches - recent; Abrasion on head of proximal phalanx
of ring finger; Marks of rings on same finger; Upper eyelid
bruised; Limbs very stiff, but left side more stiff than
right side; Bruise on middle part of bone of right hand; Scar
on left of frontal bone - old; Fingers of left hand partly
closed; Little food in stomach; No sign of fluid; No sign of
alcohol consumption; Lungs diseased; Brain membranes
diseased; Signs of deprivation; Front teeth perfect on top
and bottom as far as the first molar; The shortest throat
incision ran from the front of the throat and terminated on
the right side between the lower jaw and the breast bone; The
longest throat incision completely encircled the throat,
running along the line of the jaw; The incisions ran from
victim's left to right; 2 clean and distinct cuts on the left
side of the spine which were parallel to each other and were
1/2" apart; Missing were the womb, upper part of vagina,
greater part of bladder, and part of the belly wall that
included the navel.
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ELIZABETH STRIDE
aka Long Liz
Body in situ
The body was all warm except the hands, which were quite cold; the legs
were quite warm; the neck and chest were quite warm, and the face was
slightly warm.
Blood had stopped flowing from the throat wound; further up the yard, a
stream of blood had clotted, having run down the gutter into the
drain in the opposite direction of the feet; here was very little
blood left by the neck; there was about 1 lb. of clotted blood close
by the body.
She was lying on her left side obliquely across the passage; her face
looking towards the right wall, (head towards the yard), and appeared
quite placid; her head was resting beyond the carriage-wheel rut;
the neck lying over the rut; the mouth was slightly open; her legs
were drawn up, her feet close against the wall of the right side of
the passage - her feet were three yards from the gateway toward the
street; left arm extended from elbow; the left hand, lying on the ground,
was partially closed, and contained a small packet of cachous; the right
arm was lying over the body; the right hand was open and on the chest,
and was smeared with blood on the back of the hand and on the wrist.
An abrasion of the skin about an inch and a quarter diameter,
apparently slightly stained with blood, was under the right clavicle.
The throat was deeply gashed: in the neck was a long incision which
exactly corresponded with the lower border of her scarf; the incision
commenced on the left side, 2 1/2" below the angle of the jaw, and
almost in a direct line with it, nearly severing the vessels on
that side, cutting the windpipe completely in two, and terminating on
the opposite side 1 1/2" below the angle of the right jaw, but
without severing the vessels on that side.
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CATHERINE EDDOWES
aka Kate
Body in situ
She lay on her back; head turned toward her left shoulder; arms at her
side, as if fallen there; both palms up with fingers slightly bent;
clothes were pushed above her abdomen; thighs were naked; left leg
straight out; right leg bent at knee and thigh; abdomen exposed;
face disfigured; throat was cut; intestines were drawn out and
placed over right shoulder and were smeared over with some feculent
matter; another section of intestines were placed between left arm
and body; near left side of neck, shoulder, and upper part of arm
there was clotted blood on pavement which sloped, accounting for the
blood flow under the right shoulder - fluid blood under neck and right
shoulder; the body was quite warm; rigor mortis had not started;
no blood on the skin of the abdomen; no secretion on the thighs;
no spurting of blood; no marks of blood below the body's middle.
Post-mortem
Rigor mortis well marked; green discoloration over abdomen; body not
quite cold; no traces of recent connection; recent bruise, size of
a sixpence, on left hand between thumb and first finger; left eyelid
cut; deep cut on bridge of nose; cut on right cheek; tip of nose
detached; 2 abrasions on left cheek under left ear; throat cut
nearly ear-to-ear, dividing all tissues down to the bone; frontal
abdominal walls cut open from the pubic area to the breast bone; liver
was stabbed; left of the groin, a stab wound; cuts made between the
thighs and labium on both sides; stomach contained very little food
or fluid; intestines had been detached; right kidney bloodless and
pale; gall bladder had bile; pancreas was cut; left kidney removed;
uterus lining was cut; womb was cut through leaving 3/4" of a stump;
womb was removed; bladder was healthy.
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MARY JANE KELLY
aka Marie Jeanette
Body in situ
The thighs were stripped; the abdomen was removed,
abdominal cavity was empty; the breasts were cut off; arms
were mutilated; Facial features were removed; the neck was
severed down to the spine; left femur split from the hips
donward, exposing the marrow cavity.
The uterus, kidneys, and one breast were placed under the
head; The other breast was by the right foot; The liver was
placed between the feet; Intestines lay by the right side of
the body; Flesh removed from the abdomen and thighs were
placed on the table; The heart was absent from the room.
Bed clothing and the right corner of the bed were
saturated with blood; About two square feet of blood was
below the bed; The wall by the right bedstead had several
splashings of blood.
The face was cut in all directions; Numerous cuts across
all features; The neck was cut down to the vertebrae; The
cuts showed distinct ecchymosis; The breasts were removed by
quasi-circular incisions; Associated muscles attached to the
breasts; Thorax visible through the cuts; Abdomen and costal
arch to pubes removed; Front right thigh skinned down to the
bone; Left thigh stripped of skin and muscle as far as the
knee; The left calf had a long incision running from the knee
to 5" above the ankle; Both arms and forearms had
extensive jagged wounds; The right thumb had a 1"
superficial cut, extravasation of the blood in the skin and
several abrasions on the back of the hand; Lower part of the
right lung was broken and torn away; Left lung intact;
Pericardium was open and the heart absent; Partly digested
food found in the abdominal cavity and in the stomach
remains.
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