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Diana
Chief Inspector
Username: Diana
Post Number: 646
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Monday, June 13, 2005 - 8:23 am: | 
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I am positing here a question really, moreso than an answer.
For years we have thought of JTR as a serial killer. One man -- several kills. Thats hypothesis one.
A new paradigm has been slowly emerging in the last few weeks; media creation. I even contributed to it. Several killers hyped as one by an overeager press. There was nothing going on in Whitechapel that hadn't been going on in Whitechapel for years. This was just the first time it came to public attention. A bunch of prostitute killings falsely linked together in order to sell papers. That is hypothesistwo.
Today we know that serial murder is a real phenomenon. You can have one individual who kills again and again and that person has a specific signature and an evolving MO. So that paradigm is possible.
It is also possible that the killings were not done by one person. Similarities may just mean a copycat. The press linked everything together and the police knew better but did not publicly argue because they would not be believed.
I guess it boils down to what well established distinguishing characteristics does an SK have that could be compared to the phenomenon of JTR? (test). |
Andrew Spallek
Chief Inspector
Username: Aspallek
Post Number: 839
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Monday, June 13, 2005 - 11:53 am: |
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Yes, it is certainly possible that the murders were the independent work of more than one killer.
However, there is no doubt that the police (both forces) believed them to be the work of a single killer. We should always remember that our best evidence lies with what the police believed at the time. Serial killers may have been a somewhat new phenomenon (tho I think even that could be disputed) but serial criminals were all too common. Police were used to looking for commonalities in various crimes and linking them to a single perpetrator.
Andy S.
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Helge Samuelsen
Detective Sergeant
Username: Helge
Post Number: 144
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Monday, June 13, 2005 - 6:10 pm: |
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Diana,
I know this is not quite what you meant by "what well established distinguishing characteristics does an SK have that could be compared to the phenomenon of JTR?", but I find this profile by John Douglas very interesting nevertheless.
This profile I submit is a shortened version from The Cases That Haunts Us, (Douglas, Olshaker, 2000) Douglas relies heavily on Martin Fido on this particular case.
***
First of all, Douglas classifies the murders as lust murders. This is due to the genital oriented attacks. He then goes on to state that most serial killers are men. Serial killings also tend to be intraracial, thus Jack is white (or should we say caucasian?) The age of onset of these types of crimes are usually between mid twenties to early thirties. Douglas thinks Jack must have been between twenty eight to thirty six based on the degree of psychopathology exhibited and ability to avoid detection.
Jack would look ordinary. His mother would have been domineering, his father weak, passive and\or absent. His mother probably drank heavily and enjoyed the company of many men. Thus Jack became detached socially with diminished emotional response towards others. He became asosial. He started fires an tormented small animals as a child.
As he grew older, his fantasy of dominance and power developed a strong component that included domination and mutilation of women, along with a basic curiosity. He would seek employment where he could work alone and experience his destructive fantasies. He might have been a butcher, mortician's helper, hospital or morgue attendant.
He would have been paranoid, and routinely carried one or more knifes in case of attack. His self image would have been poor. He might have had a physical abnormality, scarring or speech problem.
His relationships would have been primarily with prostitutes, and he might have been infected by a veneral disease. He would not be married or have a normal relationship.
He lived or worked in the Whitechapel area. He may have drunk in local pubs. His first homicide would have been close to his home or his workplace (Douglas mentions London Hospital as being only one block away from the Nichols murder)
He may have been interviewed by the police during the investigation, but would not likely have been singled out.
Preoffensive behaviour: Subject drank in a local pub, lowering his inhibitions. Would walk all over Whitechapel during early evening hours. He would not seek a certain look in a woman. Many women would have been in contact with him but not be assaulted because the location was not secure enough.
Postoffensive behaviour: Returning to an area to wash and remove clothing. He would not inject himself into police investigation or provide bogus information.
On nights when he found no victim, he would have revisited locations of previous kills. He would have visited gravesites if available. He would not have committed suicide after the last homicide, but it would be surprising for him to suddenly stop on his own without some outside cause.
***
Ok, this is a short version of a profile of Jack from a professional profiler. It might be the basis for further inquieries.
It is apparent that Douglas considers Jack to be a serial killer with multiple victims, and that in his opinion, the perpetrator therefore fits into the characteristics of a SK.
Sincerely Helge
"Please, Spock, do me a favor ... don't say it's `fascinating'..." Dr. McCoy
"No... but it is...interesting..." Spock (The Ultimate Computer)
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