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Jack the Ripper's 'From Hell' letter and the mystery of the 'half-eaten' kidney
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT Jack the Ripper's gruesome murders involved female prostitutes who'd been mutilated in east London, but there are still so many unanswered questions 130 years on
It was this month in 1888 when a letter, claimed to have been written by Jack the Ripper was sent - along with half a preserved human kidney.
Addressed: "From Hell," the grim mail had been posted to George Lusk, the chairman of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee. The author claimed to be the notorious serial killer who murdered and mutilated a string of women in east London. They also said they'd fried and eaten the other half of the kidney, describing the taste as "nise."
The letter was postmarked October 15, 1888 and was received by Lusk the following day. Tests revealed its owner had suffered with a form of kidney disease.
One of murder victim Catherine Eddowes's kidneys had been removed by her killer. But opinion at the time was that the organ could have been acquired by medical students and sent with the letter as part of a hoax.
During the killing-spree police were inundated with over 1,000 letters claiming to be from the Whitechapel murderer.
However, while opinion remains divided over its authenticiy, the From Hell letter is one of the few items of correspondence deemed to be among the most genuine.
It read: "From hell
"Mr Lusk, Sor, I send you half the Kidne I took from one women prasarved it for you tother piece I fried and ate it was very nise. I may send you the bloody knif that took it out if you only wate a whil longer, signed Catch me when you can Mishter Lusk."
The murders committed by Jack the Ripper have attracted much attention in popular culture for decades, with several factual and fictional works directly making reference to the "From Hell" letter.
It came as victims around Whitechapel and the East End of the capital were found brutally murdered, with at least three women discovered with their internal organs removed.
The identity of the killer had been speculated to be a surgeon or a doctor, given the style of the murders.
When the diary of James Maybrick, a cotton salesman from Liverpool, was discovered it seemed to contain vital clues.
The 9,000 word record of his life included harrowing details of six twisted murders that Maybrick claimed to have carried out at the end of the 19th century.
He admitted to killing a woman in Manchester but, crucially, also to butchering five women in London's East End.
Maybrick signed the diary "I give my name that all know of me, so history do tell, what love can do to a gentleman born. Yours Truly, Jack The Ripper."
The purported diary of James Maybrick contains references to the "From Hell" letter, particularly the alleged cannibalism. However, even if the diary is assumed to be genuine, the handwriting does not match that of the letter at all.
Many have also doubted its authenticity and argued it had been written in the years after the murders took place.
While the murders were never solved, or even comprehensively linked, they have lived on in folklore for more than 130 years.
Earlier this month, the Daily Star reported how Ripper researcher Russell Edwards utilised cutting-edge facial reconstruction technology to create a black and white CGI image of the killer's likely appearance at the time.
Edwards' breakthrough came after he used DNA evidence from a victim's shawl to "prove" that Jack the Ripper was actually Aaron Kosminski who was a key suspect during the Whitechapel murders.
Five women, Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes and Mary Jane Kelly, were all killed between August 31 and November 9.
They became known as the "canonical five" and, of all the killings, these are the murders which are most likely linked.
At the time of the murders, there were more than 1,000 prostitutes working in Whitechapel, east London.
Violence against sex workers was common in the late 19th century and even though there are rumours Jack the Ripper killed 11 women, five were deemed definitely the work of one man.
Each of the canonical five had their throats slit before they were stabbed dozens of times in their stomach and genitals.
Several of their internal organs were then removed before their faces were mutilated beyond recognition.
Each of the five women died gruesome, terrible deaths - and then suddenly the Ripper stopped.
Mary Kelly is believed to have been his last victim
Her horribly mutilated body was found on the bed of the single room she rented in Spitalfields.
She had been disembowelled and her face had been "hacked beyond all recognition".
Chillingly, Mary's heart had been removed from the crime scene.
Daily Star Sunday
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT Jack the Ripper's gruesome murders involved female prostitutes who'd been mutilated in east London, but there are still so many unanswered questions 130 years on
It was this month in 1888 when a letter, claimed to have been written by Jack the Ripper was sent - along with half a preserved human kidney.
Addressed: "From Hell," the grim mail had been posted to George Lusk, the chairman of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee. The author claimed to be the notorious serial killer who murdered and mutilated a string of women in east London. They also said they'd fried and eaten the other half of the kidney, describing the taste as "nise."
The letter was postmarked October 15, 1888 and was received by Lusk the following day. Tests revealed its owner had suffered with a form of kidney disease.
One of murder victim Catherine Eddowes's kidneys had been removed by her killer. But opinion at the time was that the organ could have been acquired by medical students and sent with the letter as part of a hoax.
During the killing-spree police were inundated with over 1,000 letters claiming to be from the Whitechapel murderer.
However, while opinion remains divided over its authenticiy, the From Hell letter is one of the few items of correspondence deemed to be among the most genuine.
It read: "From hell
"Mr Lusk, Sor, I send you half the Kidne I took from one women prasarved it for you tother piece I fried and ate it was very nise. I may send you the bloody knif that took it out if you only wate a whil longer, signed Catch me when you can Mishter Lusk."
The murders committed by Jack the Ripper have attracted much attention in popular culture for decades, with several factual and fictional works directly making reference to the "From Hell" letter.
It came as victims around Whitechapel and the East End of the capital were found brutally murdered, with at least three women discovered with their internal organs removed.
The identity of the killer had been speculated to be a surgeon or a doctor, given the style of the murders.
When the diary of James Maybrick, a cotton salesman from Liverpool, was discovered it seemed to contain vital clues.
The 9,000 word record of his life included harrowing details of six twisted murders that Maybrick claimed to have carried out at the end of the 19th century.
He admitted to killing a woman in Manchester but, crucially, also to butchering five women in London's East End.
Maybrick signed the diary "I give my name that all know of me, so history do tell, what love can do to a gentleman born. Yours Truly, Jack The Ripper."
The purported diary of James Maybrick contains references to the "From Hell" letter, particularly the alleged cannibalism. However, even if the diary is assumed to be genuine, the handwriting does not match that of the letter at all.
Many have also doubted its authenticity and argued it had been written in the years after the murders took place.
While the murders were never solved, or even comprehensively linked, they have lived on in folklore for more than 130 years.
Earlier this month, the Daily Star reported how Ripper researcher Russell Edwards utilised cutting-edge facial reconstruction technology to create a black and white CGI image of the killer's likely appearance at the time.
Edwards' breakthrough came after he used DNA evidence from a victim's shawl to "prove" that Jack the Ripper was actually Aaron Kosminski who was a key suspect during the Whitechapel murders.
Five women, Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes and Mary Jane Kelly, were all killed between August 31 and November 9.
They became known as the "canonical five" and, of all the killings, these are the murders which are most likely linked.
At the time of the murders, there were more than 1,000 prostitutes working in Whitechapel, east London.
Violence against sex workers was common in the late 19th century and even though there are rumours Jack the Ripper killed 11 women, five were deemed definitely the work of one man.
Each of the canonical five had their throats slit before they were stabbed dozens of times in their stomach and genitals.
Several of their internal organs were then removed before their faces were mutilated beyond recognition.
Each of the five women died gruesome, terrible deaths - and then suddenly the Ripper stopped.
Mary Kelly is believed to have been his last victim
Her horribly mutilated body was found on the bed of the single room she rented in Spitalfields.
She had been disembowelled and her face had been "hacked beyond all recognition".
Chillingly, Mary's heart had been removed from the crime scene.
Daily Star Sunday