Jack the Ripper and his 12 weeks of terror 6/09

Everyone knows about the infamous London prostitute killer during the Victorian era - Jack the Ripper. His true identity still remains a mystery. In the late 19th century the East End of London was a loathsome place and of all its grim districts Whitechapel was the worst. In the autumn of 1888 someone murdered and mutilated some prostitutes in the Whitechapel area of London; the press went mad, politicians tried to blame each other, and a number of people started saying that they were the brutal killer. The Ripper strangled his victims, put them down on the ground and then slit the arteries in their throats. Finally, he cut into the bodies and removed certain organs, which he kept for himself. People thought that Jack was a doctor or a surgeon because he carried out this process at great speed and often in the dark, which means he must have had a knowledge of anatomy. And yet again, there is no concrete evidence to support this. There were fi ve generally accepted victims of Jack the Ripper. All were prostitutes murdered within four months in 1888 within an area of East London spanning just one square mile. It is possible the Ripper had many more victims. A number of letters circulated among the police and newspapers, all signed by the Whitechapel murderer. These included the ‚From Hell‘ letter and there was also a letter which included a part of a human kidney. Maybe all of the correspondence is fake, but still, they had a big effect on people at the time. One of the letters was signed by ‚Jack the Ripper‘ and soon this name became the only one that was used. There was gossip and fear in the streets, suspicions about people of high rank, offers of rewards. The press is mainly responsible for making the Ripper case so big. The majority of Londoners knew how to read by that time. The press did their best to portray the evil fi gure of Jack in the darkest of colours. The list of suspects was long and ludicrous - surgeons, midwives, Russian agents, even a member of the royal family were suspected of being the murderer. Police found it diffi cult to deal with the situation because the techniques they used were quite primitive and Jack the Ripper was always one step ahead.

Pavla Mrůzková, Katedra jazyků Source: www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial

Vocabulary:
infamous        neslavný
surgeon         chirurg
remain          zůstávat
carry out        provést
loathsome     odporný
evidence       důkaz
grim             sevřený
panning        sahající
mutilate        zohavit
sign             podepsat
blame          obvinit
human kidney lidská ledvina
strangle        uškrtit
fake             falešný
victim           oběť
gossip          drby
slit the arteries proříznout tepny
suspicion      podezření
throat           hrdlo
high rank      vyšší třída
remove         vyjmout
reward          odměna
case             případ
suspect         podezřívat
portray          zobrazit
ludicrous       absurdní
evil              zlověstný
midwife        porodní bába