THE FORENSIC SCIENCE - From The SOUTHWESTERNINSTITUTE OF FORENSIC SCIENCES Dallas Texas - WAS FRANCIS THOMPSON JACK THERIPPER?

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Theodore

Forensic-science style discussion of the Jack the Ripper case, framed by an editor’s introduction and a medical examiner’s argument. The text reviews claims about classic suspects, including a 1970 theory tying Prince Albert Victor (Duke of Clarence) to the murders, then pivots to a competing hypothesis. It summarizes the 1888 East End killings, outlines how failures in evidence and misdirection prevented conviction, and proposes Francis Thompson as a better candidate, emphasizing life events that could align with the killer’s alleged profile.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages5

Reading Time13 min

AccessFree to download

From The SOUTHWESTERNINSTITUTE OF FORENSIC SCIENCES Dallas Texas

From the Editor's desk

Next to the last word

WAS FRANCIS THOMPSON JACK THERIPPER?

Introduction to Thompson as a candidate

THE FORENSIC SCIENCE # From The SOUTHWESTERNINSTITUTE OF FORENSIC SCIENCES Dallas Texas From the Editor's desk: lies much of the fascination of this series of crimes. In 1970 Dr.Thomas Stowell caused a sensation when hepublished in the Criminologist his solution to the Rippermystery.He proposed that Prince Albert Victor,Duke ofClarence,the eldest son of the future King Edward VII,wasin fact Jack the Ripper.While an interesting theory,it did notreally stand up too well under close scrutiny.But it was allgreat fun and provided many of us interested in the Rippercrimes with some entertainment and bedtime reading.As thecentennial approaches,perhaps now is the time to take a lookat the Ripper case in the hope that renewed interest will begenerated in solving this series of murders. I have been interested in the Ripper for at least 35 yearsand have religiously purchased books connected with thecase whether new or used,so that my library on the subjectnow numbers perhaps eight or ten volumes devoted ex-clusively to the Ripper murders and another 15or20 volumeswhich contain a chapter or a number of references to thecrimes.In addition to my interest in crime and forensicmedicine I also have an interest in poetry,having minored inEnglishand majored in chemistry duringmy years in college. In 1968 John Walsh published a biography of the poetFrancis Thompson called Strange Harp,StrangeSymphony.I had always been fascinated by this poet because of his verycelebrated poem,"The Hound of Heaven,"which was partofour required reading in a college survey of English literaturecourse.At that time I knew very little about Thompsonexcept that he was an opium addict and was rescued from thestreets of London by a benefactor.Early in Walsh's book,indiscussing Francis Thompson's rescue from the streets ofLondon by his benefactor,the author said,"It was EverardMeynell who first glimpsed the connection between “TheHound of Heaven”and Thompson's search for his friend(aprostitute)during August-September,1888..…”This wasfollowed by a footnote.Usually I do not read footnotes,buton this occasion for some reason I turned to the back of thebook and read the following:“At this time(August-September,1888)ocurred the most bizarre coincidence in Thompson'slife.During the very weeks he was searching for his prostitutefriend,London was in an uproar over the ghastly deaths offive such women at the hands of Jack the Ripper.In thesecircumstances his concem for his friends's welfare wouldnaturally have been heightened.The police threw a wide netover the city,investigating thousands of drifters,and knownconsorters with the city's lower elements,and it is not beyondpossibility that Thompson himself may have been questioned.He was,after all,a drug addict,acquainted with prostitutes,and,most alarming,a former medical student!A young manwith a similar background and living only a block fromMcMaster's shop,was one who early came under suspicion;see Cullen,T.,When London Walked in Terror.” Needless to say this footnote made a great impression uponme and as I read the biography I could not help but read it inlight of the possibility that Thompson himself might havebeen the Ripper.Upon finishing the biography it was clear Next to the last word. In the almost one hundred years since the grizzly murdersof Jack the Ripper,several candidates have been proposed asthe perpetrators,each considered as the final answer by hisproponent.In 1970 the last candidate offered for considerationas Jack the Ripper was the Duke of Clarence. The murders ocurred in East London around WhitechapelRoad,five of them between August and November 1888.Prostitutes were the victims.They had their throats slitforcefully almost to the spine,severing major blood vesselsand muscles.Most had extensive cuts of the chest andabdomen,with the intestines torm and pulled out over theshoulders.Some had additional cuts of the face and breasts,and in some the uterus and a kidney were removed. Many misleadi

FAQs

What theory about Jack the Ripper does the editor mention from 1970?

Dr. Thomas Stowell proposed that Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence, was Jack the Ripper, though the editor notes it did not hold up under scrutiny.

Why were no one convicted for the 1888 Whitechapel murders?

The text cites misleading factors, false accusations, confessions by deranged individuals, jurisdictional disputes, and destruction of evidence; no one was ever tried and convicted.

What is Joseph C. Rupp’s main claim in the article?

Rupp argues that Francis Thompson is a far better candidate for Jack the Ripper than the Duke of Clarence or other suspects proposed over the previous century.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Theodore