Lizzie Borden Society Forum

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/sci ... 485887.ece

check this out!

"An Australian scientist has used swabs from letters supposedly sent to police by the Ripper to build a partial DNA profile of the killer. The results suggest that the person who murdered and mutilated at least five women from 1888 onwards may have been a woman."

That is an incredibly interesting turn of events. Thank you for the info. I find it fascinating that they can do this after all these years. May stand Patricia Cornwell on her ear.

Maybe it's corwell's DNA they are picking up---considering she also did this sort of study for her book. Now wouldn't that be funny if they compared it and found she had compromised the original or they were picking up DNA that was left after by investigators. I don't think this is a crime that will ever be solved.

No century old crime can ever be "solved" in a court of law. The reason is that eveyone was dead. Even finding a "Confession" wouldn't be enough to re-open a case.
Reading "The Wrong Man" about the Marilyn Sheppard murder, it seems the evidence points to the Right Man. But he was in prison for another murder, and the local officials would not want to have made a mistake.
"Chip" Sheppard filed a wrongful conviction suit, and it was defeated.

I like to read about famous crimes rather than the dreary run-of-the mill ones.[/code]

That book she wrote on the case was impossible to finish.

I used to like her work but not her recent Scarpetta novels!

Audrey @ Thu May 18, 2006 2:47 pm wrote:That book she wrote on the case was impossible to finish.

I used to like her work but not her recent Scarpetta novels!

I never even started on her Ripper book. I don't have the time.
When she was interviewed on ABC?, I noticed they threw some questions to her that she did not seem to answer satisfactorily. Many of those books pick a suspect and then add or subtract the facts needed to prove their case. Spiering's Lizzie, for example.
I remember how much she resembled Leslie Stahl (60 Minutes), and how the two big diamond earring sparkled like reflector lights!

RayS @ Thu May 18, 2006 5:50 pm wrote:

Audrey @ Thu May 18, 2006 2:47 pm wrote:That book she wrote on the case was impossible to finish.

I used to like her work but not her recent Scarpetta novels!

I never even started on her Ripper book. I don't have the time.
When she was interviewed on ABC?, I noticed they threw some questions to her that she did not seem to answer satisfactorily. Many of those books pick a suspect and then add or subtract the facts needed to prove their case. Spiering's Lizzie, for example.
I remember how much she resembled Leslie Stahl (60 Minutes), and how the two big diamond earring sparkled like reflector lights!

Yes she was on television. She also did an 'investigation' of the crash that took the life of Princess Diana. Very smug.

Her recent jacket covers all have photos of her with her nouveau jewelry.

Thanks, Stefani, very cool find. Hmmm, I had a thought that came to my mind about the finding of female DNA on the letter. What if the killer was male and had his wife, or girlfriend, or daughter or maid mail out the letter? My thought was of Lizzie allegedly being asked to address paper wrappers for Abby to get the newspaper in, she may have even put the stamps on them herself. Could Jack have asked a woman in his life to do the same for him?

Thanks for the link.
"The only female suspect was Mary Pearcey, who was convicted of murdering her lover's wife, Phoebe Hogg, in 1890 and hanged. She apparently employed a similar modus operandi to the Ripper."

I haven't heard of this *suspect* before. Has anyone?
As for the letters, I thought there were maybe 2 or 3 that were thought genuine, but I admit I have not read any recent updates on the case.
I can picture a woman sending the hoax letter, for some reason, but not being Jill The Ripper.

A rundown (and transcriptions) of the various letters attributed to the Whitechapel Slasher....err, Jack the Ripper that is, may be found at http://www.casebook.org/ripper_letters/

I note a single female among the suspects also - the same as mentioned above.

That's a great site. I am a member there also. I haven't posted much though. I spend too much time here. Here is the link to the list of suspects. There is some information about Mary Pearcey under Jill the Ripper. She wasn't the only female suspect I guess. It was speculated that maybe a midwife (unknown?) was the killer. She was singled out by William Stewart as the most likely suspect in the midwife theory.

http://www.casebook.org/suspects/

Perhaps "Jill the Ripper" murdered those prostitutes because her husband got involved with one. Maybe murder was a jillted wife's "pay back."

-1bigsteve (o:

It's still hard to think highly of Walter Sickert after reading the Cornwall book...and his painting of Jack the Ripper's bedroom leaves me cold.