The Locations of Jack the Ripper’s Murders

Where Did Jack the Ripper Kill? 

The Jack the Ripper murder scenes are scattered in and around Whitechapel, which sits in the heart of East London. The difference between Victorian Whitechapel and modern Whitechapel is night and day, yet the street names remain unchanged, and the sometimes-eerie alleyways of East London will transport you back in time.  

Osborne Street 

The first of the Jack the Ripper murder locations that we’ll explore is Osborne Street. This is where the murder of Emma Smith took place, and she was the first victim of the Whitechapel murder file.  

On the evening of Easter Monday, 2 April 1888, Emma was brutally attacked. She later died on 4 April in London Hospital from peritonitis, the rupturing and inflammation of the tissue inside the abdomen. Most of Emma’s life remains a mystery; however, we do know she lived on George Street, Spitalfields, and was generally known to be a prostitute.  

Gunthorpe Street 

Next up on our list of Jack the Ripper victim locations is Gunthorpe Street. Martha Tabram was killed here, and many experts claim this to be the first Jack the Ripper murder. Even today, Gunthorpe Street is a cobbled stone laneway, meaning it resembles the bygone era in which Jack the Ripper lurked the streets.  

Martha is, in fact, not one of the Canonical Five. Despite this, her identity and the nature of her murder link her to Jack the Ripper. She was found on 7 August 1888 on a landing in George Yard with 39 separate stab wounds, inflicted with two different weapons. Not only did this treatment match that of the Ripper’s other victims, but she was a prostitute in Whitechapel, a group of women whom the Ripper targeted.

Buck’s Row  

The next of the Jack the Ripper streets is Buck’s Row, which has since been renamed Durward Street. This is where Mary Ann Nichols’ mutilated body was discovered on the night of 31 August 1888.  

Mary was 42 when she was killed and was found with her throat slit near a stable yard next to the Board School. The investigation then found that her throat had been cut multiple times to the spine, one having penetrated the spine, along with brutally savage abdominal injuries. She didn’t have an easy life; the resident of Thrawl Street had a broken marriage and five children and had resorted to working the streets to provide for her family. Her death brought about a lot of media speculation, and she later became known as the first of the Canonical Five. 

Jack the Ripper – Hanbury Street 

In the early hours of 8 September 1888, Annie Chapman’s body was found on Hanbury Street. Her throat had been cut, and her body was horribly mutilated just a stone’s throw from the back door of her three-storey Hanbury Street home that housed 17 people.  

Annie was 47 at the time of her death and began flower crocheting to try and make ends meet; when times were especially difficult, she resorted to prostitution. Her body was discovered by another resident of her home, and this led to mass hysteria in the local area and the media.  

Dutfield’s Yard 

The early hours of 30 September 1888 saw the discovery of Elizabeth’s Stride’s (Long Liz’s) body. This was the first murder on the night that would forever become known as the double event.  

Liz was a Swedish native with a history of Prostitution before she moved to London using the inheritance money from her mother’s death. Before her marriage fell apart, Liz was living a relatively good life in London; however, when things got difficult, she turned to prostitution again. Since her body was found next to a Jewish anarchist club with no mutilations aside from a slit throat, it’s thought that the Ripper was interrupted during the murder.  

Mitre Square 

The second of the “double event” took place in Mitre Square. Following the murder of Elizabeth Stride, the Ripper then murdered Catherine Eddowes on the same night.  

Catherine was 46 at the time of her murder, and she also had a difficult marriage in which she suffered from a drinking problem, and her ex-husband had violent tendencies. Many locals observed that she was talking to a man only 10 minutes before she was found dead, and her body was viciously mutilated. This led to the rumours that the Ripper had surgical experience, as he was able to remove organs from her body successfully.  

13 Millers Court  

Last up is 13 Millers Court, where the presumed final victim, Mary Jane Kelly, was found dead on 9 November 1888. Mary was the most savagely mutilated victim, so much so that her body wasn’t even recognisable. She was just 25 at the time of her death, making her the youngest of the Ripper’s victims. While her past was mysterious, her death is certainly the most famous and investigated among the Ripper’s victims. 

Visit the Locations of Jack the Ripper’s Murders on a Jack the Ripper Tour 

On a Jack the Ripper Tour, you can visit the very locations where these horrifying murders took place. Book now to secure your spot.