h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

If Mary Jane Kelly was spotted alive after she was supposedly dead, and her body was so mutilated it was unreognisable- how do we know it was her corpse at all?

If I recall correctly, Kelly's body was identified by her lover, Joseph Barnett. Given that he at least would have some awkward questions to answer in a modern police investigation into these crimes, you may well ask how he was able to make that identification.

So tell me.... was Mary kelly a maid? or was she also a prostitute like the others?

Quite possible she was both, though i'm pretty sure she was a prostitute.

She and Joseph Barnett were known to have argued about her choice of profession in the months leading up to her death. He was keen she should leave the streets and set up a home with him.

According to the transcripts of the police interrogation of Joseph Barnett, he said that he identified Mary Kelly's mutilated corpse by 'her ear'. However, it is now univerally recognised that he meant 'her hair'. Not only was he a Cockney and therefore doubtless dropped his aitches; he also has a speech impediment (echolalia) and would therefore not have been easy for a short-hand writer to accurately follow. Mary Kelly was known as 'Ginger', indicating that she was a red-head, and a glance at the photograph of her remains suggests that her hair would still be recognisable by anyone who knew her. There is absolutely no doubt that she was a prostitute, although Ripper legend suggests that she had once been employed as a domestic servant, that is, a 'maid'. However, unlike all the other Ripper victims, she lived in her own room, and this would suggest that she considered herself something of a cut above the average East End street-walker and maintained at least a veneer of respectability. But - and it is a big 'but' - in my opinion the fact that more than one person stated that Kelly had been seen after she was supposed to have been killed does suggest at least a possibility that the corpse in No 13 Miller's Court was not that of the woman locally known as Mary Jean Kelly (or Marie Jeanette Kelly). It has been stated more than once that if the secret of Mary Kelly can be penetrated, then the identity of Jack the Ripper can be revealed. One other mysterious aspect of her death is the known fact that nobody claiming to be related to her attended her funeral. So who was she? Was she really involved with royalty, as some claim? And did she have a child, as others maintain? There is a legend that she had a daughter who lived in Cardiff or Bristol but who (for perhaps obvious reasons) chose to distance herself from her mother and her terrible fate. I am half convinced that descendants of the murdered woman known as Mary Kelly survive to this day, but choose to remain anonymous. I am almost totally convinced that a determined search of whatever remains of the archives relating to marriages, births and deaths in the Wales of the 1870's and 1880's would reveal a lot more information. And above all, there is the modern theory (cf: Martin Fido) that the corpse found at No 13 Miller's Court was not a victim of the so-called 'Whitechapel Murderer'. Mary Kelly, or whoever that woman was, is the REAL mystery in the whole Ripper mythology. I await, with huge interest, further developments.

it mite prove fruitful to consider all of the facts at once. mary kelly was the last killed, it was mentioned previously that she had her own room and possibly considered herself better than the others murdered, she was seen after her apparant death, her body was disfigured beyond meaningful recognition except by her lover, who it was said wanted her to give up the game. is it possible that she was at the very least "in on the job" and that the body reported to be hers was in fact someone else. She was known to be pregnant at the time and this could have swung her decision to give up prostitution. the butchery was so meticulous that it seems without a doubt it was done to make the victim hard to identify. it is my theory that she knew the ripper well enough to either do a deal or know she was next and leave beforehand. is it also not a stunning coincidence that "mary" was found on the day her rent was due? i've hardly solved the case but it's a plausible line of enquiry

hmmmm. Sounds suspicious. I know we all poo poo the idea of a female Ripper but we haven't considered all the options. We think there may be a chance that Jack The Ripper could be more than one person. I have two possible theories. It is said that Dr Roslyn D'Onston Stephenson was into the Black Arts. It wouldn't be the first time in history that prostitutes were used for a sacrifical killing. Its just that with the media of the times, the smog and other wierd and mysterious atmospheric and media caused issues coming up at the same time it was more noticable. Or then again. It could have been Mary Kelly and her partner. Mary Kelly couldn't get enough money. She was pregnant. He partner wanted her to stop being a prostitute. She said no. He wanted her to be happy. He didn't like her being on the streets though. To dangerous. She persuaded him that it was because of the competition she had. He believed her. She persuaded him to kill off all competition. Both typical muderious characters. A weedling, sly and hot woman persudes her intensly pasionate husband to kill all competition. he does it as best as he sees fit. Those are my two theories. Both unlikely. But aren't most Ripper Theories?