British analysts have released a computerized facial composite of "Jack the Ripper", a 19th century London serial killer. England's most infamous murderer was thought to be responsible for the 1888 slayings of five prostitutes. Common lore was that the killer would always slip away unseen in the London fog. Police investigators have recently reviewed the 118 year-old statements of 13 witnesses and found enough commonalities to put a face to one of history's most notorious serial killers. The image depicted on the left is that of a 25-35 year old male, approximately 5 feet 7 inches tall. At the time of the murders, investigators suspected over 200 people. Some of the most notable suspects included author Lewis Carroll of 'Alice in Wonderland' fame and John Williams, the royal family's obstetrician. To this date London Metropolitan police investigators have been unable to identify or arrest a suspect in these horrible crimes. The image was released this week on British television.
As a police investigator and sketch artist I find it hard to lend credence to the image. I believe it was done mostly to generate interest in the case while boosting television ratings. The challenge is in the 13 witnesses no longer being alive to view the completed image or their ability to give qualifying statements to further refine the image to the best their memory will allow. And while I have no personal knowledge about the depth of the British program that features the image; I am only interested to see how the image matches up against the likeness of the original suspects. That would be the REAL story! What do you think?
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