Jack the Ripper committed five canonical murders between August and November 1888. He mutilated his victims with surgical precision, evaded the police, and vanished without a trace.
More than a century later, we still don’t know who he was.
But that hasn’t stopped the speculation.
Over 100 suspects have been named—some serious, some absurd. From doctors to royalty, lunatics to artists, the list reads like a roll call of Victorian nightmares.
In this article, we examine the most compelling suspects ever linked to the Whitechapel murders—and explore why each might be the face behind the legend.
Montague John Druitt: The Drowning Barrister
A schoolteacher and barrister from a respected family, Druitt had no criminal record and little to connect him to the East End. But just weeks after the final Ripper murder, he drowned himself in the Thames.
What makes Druitt stand out is the timing. His suicide coincides perfectly with the end of the Ripper’s killings. Some theorists believe he was mentally ill and that his family may have covered up his crimes.
In a confidential report, a senior police official called Druitt “a doctor and a lunatic who was sexually insane.”
However, there is no direct evidence placing him at any crime scene. His link to the case is based almost entirely on coincidence.
Aaron Kosminski: The Mad Barber of Whitechapel
A Polish-Jewish immigrant living in the East End, Kosminski was known to suffer from paranoid delusions. He was briefly institutionalized and allegedly harbored a hatred of women.
In recent years, Kosminski gained renewed attention due to DNA evidence recovered from a shawl said to belong to victim Catherine Eddowes. The analysis suggested a genetic match with one of Kosminski’s known descendants.
Critics argue the shawl’s provenance is murky and contamination is likely, but the evidence gave the theory new weight.
Kosminski fits the Ripper profile: male, local, mentally unstable, and known to police. Still, there’s no contemporary document directly naming him as the killer.
Walter Sickert: The Artist with a Taste for Horror
English painter Walter Sickert is a favorite among modern theorists, largely due to his morbid themes and fascination with the Ripper crimes.
Author Patricia Cornwell spent millions attempting to prove his guilt, citing paintings that resembled crime scenes and letters she believed were penned by him.
While Sickert was obsessed with the Ripper legend, there’s little to place him in London during the murders. Critics say he was more of a voyeur than a perpetrator—an artist exploiting horror, not causing it.
His guilt remains speculative and highly contested.
Prince Albert Victor: The Royal Scandal
One of the most persistent conspiracy theories is that Prince Albert Victor, the Duke of Clarence and grandson of Queen Victoria, was involved in the murders—either directly or through knowledge of a cover-up.
Some say he contracted syphilis, lost his sanity, and began murdering prostitutes in a haze of madness. Others believe he fathered a child with a commoner, and the Ripper killings were carried out to silence anyone who knew.
These theories are dramatic but lack evidence. Court records place Albert outside of London during at least one murder, and most historians dismiss the idea of a royal Ripper.
Still, the idea of monarchy intertwined with murder refuses to die.
Dr. Thomas Neill Cream: The Killer Who Claimed It
Cream was a convicted murderer and known poisoner, executed in 1892 for killing women with strychnine. As the noose tightened around his neck, he allegedly said, “I am Jack the—”
Some believe he faked his own imprisonment during the Ripper murders or paid off corrupt officials. But records show he was likely in prison during 1888.
His claim may have been delusional, or a last gasp at infamy.
Either way, he remains a fascinating footnote.
James Maybrick: The Diary Confession
In 1992, a Victorian diary surfaced in Liverpool, allegedly written by cotton merchant James Maybrick. It contained disturbing entries confessing to the Ripper murders, signed with the phrase “I give my name that all know of me—Jack the Ripper.”
Forensic testing was inconclusive. The diary could be a modern forgery, and Maybrick was never on the original suspect list.
Yet some still believe the diary may hold the truth.
Maybrick had motive, means, and disturbing tendencies. But without authentication, his confession remains in the realm of mystery.
Was There More Than One?
Some theorists argue the mutilations varied enough to suggest multiple killers. Others point to the possibility that the last murder—Mary Jane Kelly—was an outlier, committed by someone else altogether.
The truth may lie in the margins: an unknown drifter, a forgotten name, or a man who hid in plain sight. Perhaps the Ripper was never caught because he was never suspected.
A Shadow Without a Face
Every suspect reflects the fears of the era: the insane immigrant, the corrupted aristocrat, the misogynist in the crowd, the voyeur with a pen. The Ripper is a canvas onto which we project our darkest theories.
None of these men were proven guilty. All remain suspects. Each could be the monster—or none of them.
The greatest mystery in true crime may not be what Jack the Ripper did.
It may be how he became everyone and no one all at once.
For more cases like this, explore our archive. SinisterArchive.com—where the legends are real.
