I've sent 6 Forums members a set of questions to our friends on the Continent for their perusal.
Central, Eastern, Southern Europe, and Scandinavia are represented.
1. When did you develop an interest in the Whitechapel Murders and from what source ?
I began to intrude on Jack the Ripper in middle school when I was studying the British Empire. A copy of Donald McCormick's The Identity of Jack the Ripper had occurred to me. Only with Alan Moore's From Hell my interest has become more active thanks to a visit to London in the same period.
2. Are you more interested in anything specific in the murders or rather, you prefer the general, overall scope of the crimes ?
My interest in the case is aimed primarily at the victims, witnesses and journalistic sources are useful for having a chronology of facts. At this point, trying to understand the social context, politics and economy of the British Empire, I try to better understand the victims to hypothesize a possible culprit. If you want to understand a serial killer I think these are necessary steps.
3. What is your impression of the police performance during the murders ?
In my opinion, the police did everything possible for the time. There were no forensic sciences as we know them today. The police had procedures and it is possible that clues were lost because they were not considered as such.
4. Had these murders been committed in your homeland, do you think the press would have catapulted the murders to the extent the London press initially did ?
I really think so. The most heinous Italian serial killer is probably the Monster of Florence and has had a media coverage both before and after the capture. I think that such facts are considered a boon for journalists and the media in general. These are arguments that raise sales.
5. Recently, more emphasis has been placed on the Torso Murders and a possible connection to the land-based Whitechapel Murders. What are your views on whether they might be connected ?
If we consider Thames Torso Murders of 1887-1889 and similar incidents earlier (1873-1874) it is almost spontaneous to make connections and to hypothesize the same hand. But there are too obvious changes with the Whitechapel case ... the victims were found mutilated in the street. I would make connections more likely with the case of John Gill in Bradford than with Jack the Ripper. But I am still interested in the subject and I will go into it as soon as possible.
Central, Eastern, Southern Europe, and Scandinavia are represented.
1. When did you develop an interest in the Whitechapel Murders and from what source ?
I began to intrude on Jack the Ripper in middle school when I was studying the British Empire. A copy of Donald McCormick's The Identity of Jack the Ripper had occurred to me. Only with Alan Moore's From Hell my interest has become more active thanks to a visit to London in the same period.
2. Are you more interested in anything specific in the murders or rather, you prefer the general, overall scope of the crimes ?
My interest in the case is aimed primarily at the victims, witnesses and journalistic sources are useful for having a chronology of facts. At this point, trying to understand the social context, politics and economy of the British Empire, I try to better understand the victims to hypothesize a possible culprit. If you want to understand a serial killer I think these are necessary steps.
3. What is your impression of the police performance during the murders ?
In my opinion, the police did everything possible for the time. There were no forensic sciences as we know them today. The police had procedures and it is possible that clues were lost because they were not considered as such.
4. Had these murders been committed in your homeland, do you think the press would have catapulted the murders to the extent the London press initially did ?
I really think so. The most heinous Italian serial killer is probably the Monster of Florence and has had a media coverage both before and after the capture. I think that such facts are considered a boon for journalists and the media in general. These are arguments that raise sales.
5. Recently, more emphasis has been placed on the Torso Murders and a possible connection to the land-based Whitechapel Murders. What are your views on whether they might be connected ?
If we consider Thames Torso Murders of 1887-1889 and similar incidents earlier (1873-1874) it is almost spontaneous to make connections and to hypothesize the same hand. But there are too obvious changes with the Whitechapel case ... the victims were found mutilated in the street. I would make connections more likely with the case of John Gill in Bradford than with Jack the Ripper. But I am still interested in the subject and I will go into it as soon as possible.
Comment