COMMENTARY | Far from London in distance and time, some media outlets are comparing the Long Island killer of eight young women, who were prostitutes, to the wicked crimes of Jack the Ripper. A New York Post article opens with "'Jack the Ripper's' body count is now at least eight." Is it pure sensationalism? If in the end the pieces of the puzzle fit, this horrific story would prove compelling. So far, only four of the eight bodies have a name. The analogies are not persuasive.
Society's Detachment to a Prostitute's Death
I cannot identify with people who view the death of a prostitute with absolute detachment. I have read several books and numerous accounts that analyze the Ripper crimes.
I get the feeling that investigators at that time were less concerned in finding the person who murdered five women.
It appears more about protecting those in Whitechapel not considered dregs of society from becoming a possible victim. Jack the Ripper's victims were prostitutes. They were also human beings who died under unfathomable circumstances.
It is true the eight Long Island killer victims at one time listed themselves in the escort section of Craigslist. It does not mean their deaths are less significant. The Ripper, however, was not interested in sex with the prostitutes he killed.
Ripper Crime Not Sexually Related
Although lacking science knowledge and the support of forensic technology in 1888, most "Ripperologists" now, and authorities then, are confident Jack the Ripper's crimes, from a sexual perspective, were unrelated.
It stands to reason that if the the victims who washed up on the beach in Long Island had their contact information in an escort ad, they were setting themselves up for sexually based encounters.
The Ripper apparently lacked interest in having sex with the prostitutes he mutilated. Until more facts about the Long Island killer crimes surface, a connection with the Ripper case, as far as sex is involved, remains ineffectual.
It is not clear at this point how the eight women died at the hands of the person known as the Long Island killer.
The Ripper's Method of Murder
Emotionally, I find it excruciating to know how the Ripper murdered Mary Ann (Polly) Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly.
Methodically, the women suffered strangulation first, then had their throats slit. The Ripper disemboweled some of the women. He left the dead in the filthy streets of the East End. The Long Island killer wrapped the female victims in burlap.
Could the Number "8" be Significant?
Some "Ripperologists" believe Jack the Ripper killed not five, but eight women prostitutes. To date, authorities handling the Long Island killer case have discovered the remains of eight women -- all prostitutes.
If no more than eight bodies turn up, it is a theme I might consider equating these crimes. That is slim, though, based on the reasoning that no one is officially sure how many women Jack the Ripper actually murdered.
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