Crowd Of People Quickly Congregated

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

"What do we have here gentlemen?" asked Dr Bagster. He was a much respected Police Surgeon for the Metropolitan Police’s ‘H’ Division, which was in charge of covering London’s Whitechapel district. Dr. Bagster was greatly admired by both the police and the public, he was very skilled.

"Jesus Christ," Thomas whispered softly. It was a distasteful sight; her face had been slashed and disfigured to a point which made her unrecognisable. She had deep gashes and interconnected stab wounds on her throat which had impaled her throat and detached down to her spinal cord. She lay in a sexual position but it appeared as though she was laid in this position after she was murdered. Deep incisions were made to her abdomen and her intestines were spilled onto her night stand next to her. Most of her organs were practically emptied out of her abdomen. Mary’s pillow, blanket, and bed sheets were saturated in her blood and her breasts had been sliced off. One of the pathologists nearly heaved because of her body odour. But, the most shocking discovery was the fact that her heart was missing as well as her uterus and cervix. This was an unfortunate and horrendous discovery to the Scotland Yard. The crime scene seemed like the work of a psychotic mastermind and pathological murderer.

Whoever the killer was, he had enough knowledge of anatomical or pathological examinations that allowed him to remove pelvic organs with ease. The way the slits were created proved that the killer may have had some experience in the surgical field. One of the pathologists, Henry C. Collins, and Dr. Bagster examined her body. They both determined that she was killed between the hours of 1:30 a.m to 4:30 a.m the previous night. The police asked citizens who lived within that area, if they had heard any yelling or loud screaming. With no leads, this was unquestionably a case that would become first priority to the Scotland Yard. There were no witnesses to Mary Kelly’s murder and no visual descriptions of the perpetrator. Charles Warren, also known as General Sir Charles Warren, was the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, the highest ranking officer. He was in charge of the current "Jack the Ripper" investigation.

"Gentlemen, Gentlemen. May I have your attention please?" said General Sir Charles to the police officers who were muttering amongst themselves. "Gentlemen, we have a monster on our hands. The identity of the murderer is not known, meaning he has not been apprehended yet. Whoever committed this gruesome carnage must be caught immediately or he will kill again," explained General Charles.

"Excuse me sir," said one officer. "How do you expect us to find this murderer?" asked the officer.

General Charles felt vulnerable and gave a shocking reply, "I do not know." The police room filled with silent fright, as Commissioner Charles left the room. The officers and sergeants looked around at each other with shock.

The next morning, news of this dreadful murder was published in a local newspaper, "The London Inquiry". The front page read, "MURDER IN WHITECHAPEL!" and the caption read "25 year old prostitute Mary Jane Kelly found brutally murdered in her one bedroom residence. Who is responsible for this violent killing? Unfortunately, not even the Scotland could answer that question!"

A few weeks following Mary Jane Kelly’s vicious murder, a woman identified as Annie Chapman, born as Eliza Ann Smith, also believed to be a prostitute, was violently murdered in Buck’s Row, Whitechapel. She was found dead by the current resident of number 29, John Davis, at 6:00 a.m on the morning of Saturday September 8th, 1888. Chapman was in the garden of #29 on Hanbury Street. Once again Fredrick, Thomas, and Dr. Bagster were informed and called in to examine the second victim. Dr. George Bagster Phillips began a post-mortem examination, inspecting her body for similar laceration wounds that were found on Mary Kelly’s carcass weeks earlier. Chapman’s body was horrendously mutilated in the backyard of a residence’s home.

"She may have been asphyxiated by the murderer before having her throat cut; her tongue is unquestionably swollen and was projecting between the two front teeth, visible marks of strangulation, deep gashes going around her neckline also severed the throat from her spine severely. She was then disembowelled of all her internal organs, her genitals also severely mutilated. I assume that she was murdered either at or before 5:30 a.m considering she was found around 6:00 a.m." concluded Bagster.

"Is that all?" asked Fredrick hinting a sarcastic question. "THIS IS NOT FUNNY!" replied Dr. Bagster furiously.

"It is mandatory that her body be brought back to my medical laboratory for further analysis," said George Bagster. The reports of Annie Chapman’s murder hit the newspaper stands sending people into an instant panic. Again, the newspaper stands read, "TERROR IN LONDON’S EAST END. "47 year old Annie Louise Chapman found brutally murdered in stranger’s backyard, may be the work of the notorious JACK THE RIPPER, Police still clueless", read Commissioner Charles Warren to his police staff.

"I’m still trying to figure out how the hell we still have no leads. The papers already have a name for him!" screamed General Charles. Many of the officers starred down at the floor in shame. Commissioner Charles glanced around the room for a moment and soon left. What nobody was aware of is that the worst was yet to come.

On the night of Saturday September 29th, 1888, Elizabeth Stride was seen working her magic as a high class prostitute in the Whitechapel district near Berner Street at about 11:00 p.m. She was seen with a client who appeared to be short with a dark moustache. Then she was witnessed conversing with a man who was perhaps Jewish. The Whitechapel region of London had many Jewish inhabitants living in small residential buildings. She was later seen with another client at 11:45 pm who was wearing a peaked cap. Stride was last seen with a man wearing a hard felt hat at 40 Berner Street. Stride’s corpse was discovered near to 1 a.m during the early hours of Monday morning September 30th, 1888. Local Doctor Fredrick William Blackwell attended the crime scene, shortly before the instant arrival of Dr. George Bagster Phillips who quickly commenced a post-mortem examination.

"She has not been as severely mutilated as the previous victims. However, the multiple cuts made to her throat indicating that the killer may have been interrupted before he had the chance to mutilate her. I will need to bring her back to my medical lab to study her body a tad more. Notify Commissioner Charles immediately." Dr. Bagster left almost instantly as though he was in some sort of a hurry.

While the police were being drawn towards the scene, minutes away another victim, 46 year old Catherine Eddowes. Her body was recently found at 1:45 a.m in the south-west corner of Mitre Square by the square's beat policeman PC Edward Watkins. He claimed he entered the square to patrol it having been there at 1:30 a.m. Eddowes was killed and mutilated in the square between 1:35 and 1:45 a.m. Another Police Surgeon Dr. Fredrick Gordon Brown arrived at about 2:00 a.m. He began conducting a post-mortem analysis noting that her throat was deeply slashed and her intestines were severed from her abdomen. Her face was violently mutilated and required post-mortem stitching to continue the investigation.

"I can’t believe this shit!" said General Charles reading the caption of "The London Inquiry". "Scotland Yard faces bitter disappointment with Jack the Ripper mystery. 46 year old Catherine Eddowes found murdered in Mitre Square! This is a disgrace to humanity!" The newspaper article implied that the Scotland Yard failed their hunt for the murderer.

"I still cannot believe we haven’t caught this bastard! The newspapers called it the Double Event. How difficult is it catching a man who is practically twenty meters away from you??" Commissioner Charles left the room once again in utter rage and disappointment. October had gone completely without a single murder, with many people thinking the killing spree had ended, how wrong they were. On November 9th, 1888, Mary Ann Nichols was walking in the Whitechapel region. She was taken into police custody for her benefit because she was wandering around while intoxicated. When Mary was sober enough, she was released later that night. While walking home, she had decided take the longer path home instead of her usual shortcut. Mary lived on 26 Buck’s Row. To reach Buck’s Row she needed to pass through Pierre Alley which led towards Buck’s Row. Mary finally arrived at Pierre Alley. She entered the alley around 3:30 a.m and passed patrolling officer, Mark Wiggins. He kept walking when he reached Saunter Boulevard. The officer turned around to head back down the walkway, at which time he heard a loud a scream coming from the other end of the alley. This sound was the most terrifying sound he had ever heard in his life. Officer Wiggins immediately began dashing down the small stone path. When Wiggins arrived at near the end of the walkway, he reached for his .22 caliber magnum as a precaution. He reached a corner wall, and around it he believed he was looking at the infamous "JACK THE RIPPER."

Officer Wiggins jumped out from behind the corner stone wall and called out, "FREEZE! You’re under arrest."

The hooded man was about to stab Mary, he threatened to kill her unless Officer Wiggins backed away. With his gun still aiming at the dark hooded belligerent, Wiggins promised he would back away if the man let Mary go. The alley was so dimly lit that the suspect did not even bother to wear a mask. Mary pleaded the man to let her go but he was very confrontational.

"Please! Don’t- Don’t-Don’t kill me!" begged Mary for her life.

"I can’t believe I’m saying this but, if you let Mary go, I will let you go."

The man asked "How do I know you will back off?"

"You’ll just have to trust me" replied Officer Wiggins.

"Unfortunately, your trust is not enough," said the man.

Out of desperation, the hooded man slit Mary’s throat right in front of Officer Wiggins, killing her instantly. The man began to run as did Officer Wiggins. Wiggins directly drew his gun, aimed at the man and fired. Officer Wiggins discharged three shots at the man. The suspect limped for a moment before he collapsed on the sidewalk. Officer Wiggins vigilantly walked over to the man, claimed to be "Jack the Ripper", got down on his knees and glanced at his face under the somewhat dim street lamp. He noticed the man immediately; it was Dr. George Bagster Phillips. Commissioner Charles Warren was notified five minutes after "Jack the Ripper" had been caught and identified. Mary’s body was interred into a morgue the next morning. Police Detective George Frances Milner explained Dr. Bagster’s motives to Commissioner Warren.

"You see, he committed these gruesome murders so he could gain popularity and prestige amongst his co-workers for being the only doctor to investigate the famous "JACK THE RIPPER" murders, which were done by him."

"I understand. Do you believe this will make the front page of the London Inquiry?" asked General Warren.

"Certainly," responded Detective Milner.

The afternoon following the murders, the front pages of all the newspapers read "NOTORIOUS JACK THE RIPPER KILLED BY OFFICER! TO BE KNIGHTED BY THE QUEEN." In addition, the caption read "Terror in Whitechappel finally over, Scotland Yard successful in apprehending madman."

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Copyright © Ben Naroditsky 2011

Naroditsky, Ben

Whitechapel