VARIOUS MEDIA: Jack the Ripper letter mystery solved by Manchester researcher

Press/Media: Research

Description

A forensic linguist from The University of Manchester who analysed letters supposedly signed by Jack the Ripper has concluded that two of the most famous examples were written by the same person.

Period1 Feb 2018 → 26 Jan 2024

Media coverage

3

Media coverage

  • TitleHow Language Nerds Solve Crimes
    Degree of recognitionInternational
    Media name/outletYoutube
    Media typeWeb
    Country/TerritoryUnited States
    Date26/01/24
    URLhttps://youtu.be/-EVXdhstw14?si=VA4jwtIli1KKvCWV
    PersonsAndrea Nini
  • TitleJack The Ripper Letters ‘Were Victorian Fake News’
    Media name/outletHuffington Post
    Media typeWeb
    Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
    Date1/02/18
    DescriptionLetters supposedly signed by Jack the Ripper have been analysed by a forensic linguist who has come to some surprisingly topical conclusions.

    It is said that the shadowy figure who stalked the foggy alleyways of Whitechapel in 1888 murdering five women during his reign of terror was also a prolific letter writer too – or was he?

    Manchester University’s Dr Andrea Nini decided to focus on two of the earliest letters supposedly sent by the serial killer (more than 200 are attributed to him) - namely the ‘Dear Boss’ letter, in which the name Jack the Ripper was first written, and the ‘Saucy Jacky’ postcard.
    URLwww.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/jack-the-ripper-letters-were-victorian-fake-news_uk_5a733abce4b0146e5945191d?9nm&utm_hp_ref=uk-homepage
    PersonsAndrea Nini
  • TitleJack the Ripper letters ‘faked to sell newspapers’
    Media name/outletThe Times
    Media typeWeb
    Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
    Date1/02/18
    DescriptionThey’re the blood-curdling letters that have given nightmares and a morbid thrill to generations of crime readers — a window into the soul of Jack the Ripper who laughs as his victims “squeal”.

    However, a computer analysis has added to suspicions that two of the most notorious Ripper letters were incredibly successful Victorian fake news, designed to sell papers.

    Andrea Nini, of Manchester University, analysed 209 letters sent to police or newspapers around the time of at least five linked Whitechapel murders of 1888, using methods employed in forensics to search for similarities.
    URLhttps://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/jack-the-ripper-letters-faked-to-sell-newspapers-smghhdxgc
    PersonsAndrea Nini

Media contributions

1

Media contributions

Keywords

  • Jack the Ripper
  • serial killers
  • history
  • linguistics