New Jack the Ripper Frenzy?

At least five prostitutes have been murdered over the past six weeks in and around Ipswich, north-east of London. Each victim is found naked, dumped in woodlands or in water around the outskirts of the city. The media has dubbed the killer the "Ipswich Ripper" and attempts are being made to draw parallels between this case and that of Jack the Ripper in 1888.

Apart from the obvious similarities in victimology, the major comparison in my opinion is the time-frame in which the murders are occurring. It appears to be quite compressed (five in six weeks), which as serial killers go, is somewhat uncommon. For many modern serial killers, often weeks, months or even years will go by between killings. This "compressed" time scale is somewhat similar to the Ripper killings, which took place over approximately thirteen weeks from August through November 1888. Both timeframes are relatively atypical for serial murders.

It has been suggested that the Ipswich murderer is "increasing in frenzy" as he goes from victim to victim. If this is truly the case, it may be similar to how the original Ripper murders progressed, with ever more violence and depraved mutilation performed on each new victim.
In the end, however, we know so little about the details surrounding these Ipswich murders, and in fact we know so little about who the original Ripper actually was, that any comparisons at this point are purely speculative and academic.

From Casebook: Jack the Ripper


AP) IPSWICH, England English police said Wednesday they continue to "fear the worst" about two missing prostitutes from a town where three other sex workers have been killed, one of them strangled, by an apparent serial killer.

The naked corpses of two women found at the side of a busy road on Tuesday were thought to be those of Paula Clennell and Annette Nicholls, two prostitutes who were recently reported missing, according to Detective Chief Superintendent Stewart Gull.

The bodies remained at the scene until late Wednesday afternoon. Ambulances were seen leaving the scene just after the sun went down, but it was not confirmed whether the women's bodies had been removed.

read more