Unit 4. A Famous criminal.

Exercise 40. Read and translate the texts.

Jack the Ripper

“Jack the Ripper” is an alias given to an unidentified serial killer who killed a number of prostitutes in the East End of London in 1888. The name originates from a letter written by someone who claimed to be the killer published at the time of the murders. The killings took place within a mile area and involved the districts of Whitechapel, Spitalfields, Aldgate, and the City of London proper. He was also called the Whitechapel Murderer and “Leather Apron”. The lack of a confirmed identity for the killer has allowed Ripperologists – the term used within the field for the authors, historians and amateur detectives who study the case – to accuse a wide variety of individuals of being the Ripper.

It is unclear just how many women the Ripper killed. It is generally accepted that he killed five, though some have written that he murdered only four while others say seven or more. Attacks ascribed to the Ripper typically involved female prostitutes from the slums whose throats were cut prior to abdominal mutilations. The autopsies constantly revealed clear indications that the victims had been strangled. Usually he took a piece of the victim’s viscera. The removal of internal organs from at least three of the victims led to proposals that their killer possessed anatomical or surgical knowledge. Rumours that the murders were connected intensified in September and October 1888, and letters from a writer or writers purporting to be the murderer were received by media outlets and Scotland Yard. The “From Hell” letter included half of a preserved human kidney, supposedly from one of the victims. Mainly because of the extraordinarily brutal character of the murders, and because of media treatment of the events, the public came increasingly to believe in a single serial killer known as “Jack the Ripper”.

Butchers, slaughterers, surgeons and physicians were suspected because of the manner of the mutilations. The Ripper was never caught and the mysteries surrounding this killer create an intellectual puzzle that people still want to solve.

At the time of the murders and for the next few years, a lot was written about the murders. The FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit did a criminal profile of the Ripper and aspects of the murders were discussed in various professional journals. After more than a hundred years the case is still fascinating, and results are still being gotten through research. The future may or may not reveal the Ripper’s name.

Andrei Chikatilo, 1936 – 1994 (The Rostov Ripper)

Andrei Chikatilo, one of the world’s worst serial killers, murdered up to 53 young girls and boys in Russia starting in 1982 and ending in 1990, when he was captured. Starting from June 1982 the bodies of his victims were found in the Ukraine. They contained a numerous amount of stab wounds, and their eyes were ripped off. The fact that the information about the series of crimes was not published for fear of panic and embarrassment made it difficult to catch the killer. But the detectives managed to link the cases and realized that the killer lured his victims at the train sta­tion in town. The stations were then monitored by plain-clothes detectives, looking for any suspi­cious behaviour. Chikatilo was discovered in the train station trying to pick up children. The po­lice apprehended him and searched his bag. They found a rope, dirty towels and a kitchen knife. But the blood tests seemed to indicate that he was not involved in the series of crimes. Chikatilo was then released.

A profile of the killer was compiled by a leading Russian psychologist. He called the killer “Citizen X” and concluded that X possibly had a wife and children (which was later confirmed). He called the killer a sadist, and mutilating his victims was some form of dominance.

Years later Chikatilo was detained again. He admitted to at least 53 murders and also led police to some undiscovered victims. Chikatilo’s reasons for gouging at his victims eyes was that he believed that the victims eyes kept an image of the killer in them after. Chikatilo spent his 6-months trial in a steel cage. He was found legally sane and sentenced to death. He was executed by a gunshot to the head in 1994.