Was Jack the Ripper a Sexual Sadist?

Between the months of August and November, 1888, 5 women were brutally murdered in the Whitechapel area of East London. All of the women were known to be poor, heavy drinkers and prostituted themselves for alcohol and rent money (Lane and Gregg, 1992). All of them, except for one, were strangled first, followed by having their throats slashed and their bodies savagely mutilated. Body parts and skin were dissected and disfigured with multiple wounds to from the forehead to the feet (Baeza and Turvey, 1999)(Lane and Gregg, 1992). Although several men have been suspected of committing these heinous acts, the murderer was never caught, leaving his true identity unknown and unfortunately to this day the crimes remain unsolved.

Many have speculated that the perpetrator was a sexual sadist; however, there is no evidence to support this theory. The FBI defines sexual sadism as "a persistent pattern of becoming sexually excited in response to another's suffering" and further states that "each offender's account confirms that it is the suffering of the victim, not the infliction of physical or psychological pain that is sexually arousing" (1992). In the case of Jack the Ripper, all five of the victim's were killed before they were mutilated. They were subjected to post-mortem humiliation by having their bodies displayed. Because they were immediately killed, we can safely assume that the intent of the crimes was not to make them suffer. Also, as I've already mentioned, there was no evidence of rape or sexual assault.

The Ripper may have targeted prostitutes simply because he considered them easy prey. They were more inclined to talk to or walk away with a stranger and it has been suggested that each victim was intoxicated at the time of her death. He may have also targeted them in retaliation against a female in his life or he may have felt that he was doing the world a favor by "getting rid" of them.