Is this the face of Jack the Ripper?

Jack the Ripper is the world's most famous cold case - the identity of the man who brutally murdered five women in London's East End in autumn 1888 remains a mystery.

More than 200 suspects have been named. But to Ripper expert Trevor Marriott, a former murder squad detective, German merchant Carl Feigenbaum is the top suspect.

Convicted of murdering his landlady in Manhattan, Feigenbaum died in the electric chair in New York's Sing Sing prison in 1894. His lawyer suspected him of the Ripper murders too.

No photos of Feigenbaum exist. So Marriott has produced this new e-fit for BBC One's National Treasures Live, created from the description on the admittance form when he was in prison on remand in New York.

Why does Marriott think Feigenbaum is Jack the Ripper? Evidence, in the form of police documents and hundreds of letters to the authorities and newspapers, give us some clues.

Every so often, somebody has a new theory of who the ripper was. There is a book out there by a criminal profiler that said a famous author did it because he probably wrote a few of the Ripper letters, had some traumatic events in his past, had a rather bleak outlook on life and did some graphic artwork. Problem is, that could be 1000 other people at the time in the UK. Nothing meaty to tie him to the murders and the letters he probably wrote were probably just a prank. Just a creepy guy with morbid tastes.

As of late, there was a TV documentary of a New York detective who thought it was an American who escaped from a mental hospital where he returned many years later and supposedly confessed. Very convincing arguments in that one. He thinks he can place him in the UK at the time of the killings and other places where there were similar murders.

Then there is Francis Tumbltey. Snake oil salesman and all around freak. He had a collection of uterus (JTR removed his victims uterus), hated women with a passion, for sure in the area at the time of the murders, and probably wrote the “From Hell” letter-the only letter with any significance. There is a tremendously weak defense that he couldn't be the killer because he was a notorious homosexual and wouldn't have targeted women. Problem is, his misogyny was well recorded and with all the gay guys that have ever lived I think it is safe to say you can have a few that hated women to the point of murder.

I love that you put up this column! I am currently reading all the books the ‘ripperologists’ recommend, and I did read the Marriot book, before I saw the recommendations (his is not among them) and I did see the show about the Ripper, from Marriots point of view. I thought it fascinating and was convinced it was Feigenbaum, until I read some interesting facts that made me wonder if it was.

From the Jack the Ripper Casebook:

http://www.casebook.org/suspects/carl-feigenbaum.html

“To begin with, Marriott could find no confirmation from Nicaragua of reports from the New York Sun of six prostitutes murdered and mutilated in the capitol city of Managua in January, 1889. At the time of this writing no one, including this author, has been able to find any evidence that this series actually took place. Moreover, newspaper reports out of London in February, 1889, stated that the supposed Managua murders as well as a supposed series in Jamaica were hoaxes. Stephen Ryder has since discovered that the Jamaican Ripper murders never happened. The “series” was actually a single murder that was quickly solved and the murderer tried and executed. This fact must add credence to the hoax report.”

“Was Carl Feigenbaum Jack the Ripper? It seems unlikely. William Lawton’s word, on which the whole case rests, cannot be trusted.

A supposed confession was not shared. The confessor refused to confess. Connection to Whitechapel, London, in 1888 has not been proved. A series of mutilation murders in Wisconsin did not exist. Co-counsel, who knew the suspect, dismissed the claims. The story quickly disappeared.

Marriott suggests that Lawton is a credible witness merely based on the opinion that if he was lying why didn’t he go all out and claim that Feigenbaum had actually confessed to him that he was the Ripper?

For that matter, why would Lawton make up the story at all? What did he stand to gain by it? These are questions that cannot be answered now. The answer depends upon the thinking and character and personal circumstances of a man now long dead. All we can do is examine Lawton’s words for evidence of truth. The evidence is lacking.

Trevor Marriott initially made a case for a German merchant seaman being Saucy Jack. He then discovered Carl Feigenbaum, almost a perfect fit for his theory. However, Marriott failed originally to show that the Ripper was a German merchant seaman.

The theory was plausible but not proven. Could the Ripper have been a German sailor? Or an American sailor? Or a Portuguese sailor? Or a Malay sailor? Of course. Could he have been a butcher, baker, tinker, tailor, beggar man or thief? Of course.

Could he have been Carl Feigenbaum? Not with the almost complete lack of evidence that has been presented to support his candidacy. Wishful thinking cannot solve this puzzle.”

Beleive it or not, a new book just came out, suggesting Inspector Abberline was the Ripper. This, of course, is totally ridiculous and I hope the man who wrote the book is sued. There are families who are still alive that are related to Abberline and are livid. They also have stated they are in touch with Scotland Yard frequently and have written material written by Abberline they will not release to the public, (but I think that Scotland Yard has seen it).

Nothing more fascinating than Jack right now for me, that whole time was so interesting.

I’m currently reading Complete history on Jack the Ripper by Philip Sugden, (suggested reading by Ripperologists).

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Thanks decimon. Nice find! The case is, of course, unsolvable, but it's nice to see that it hasn't lost it mystique. :') Just adding to the catalog, not sending a general distribution. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.