Uncovering Jack the Ripper w/ Josh Gates | Expedition Files | Discovery

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Polly Nichol is a 43-year-old mother of five who, like many women in White Chapel, relies on her body and her wits to make ends meet. But no amount of street smarts can help Polly because tonight, on August 31st, 1888, she becomes Jack the Ripper’s very first victim.

It isn’t until 3:40 that morning that Polly’s slashed corpse is discovered by a cart driver.

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Extra! Extra! The news quickly makes the morning papers, and police attribute the murder to a peculiarly revolting and barbarous character.

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Eight days later, on September 8th, 47-year-old Annie Chapman is seen spending her hard-earned street walking money at an East End pub. Witnesses last see her leaving at 5:30 in the morning.

Only a half hour later, Annie is found dead. Her injuries are ghastly, as several internal organs have been removed. This leads the coroner to state that these crimes are being committed by someone with knife skills of a surgical nature.

Is this a mad doctor on the loose? A surgeon or a butcher?

Rumors swirl that London has a psychotic murderer on its hands, and it’s confirmed on September 27th when the slasher sends a letter to the Central News Agency. The killer taunts the police with a haunting threat:

“My knife’s so nice and sharp, I want to get to work right away if I get a chance,” and signs off with the name Jack the Ripper.

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Overnight, the world becomes obsessed with the Ripper. London is whipped into a frenzy of fear. Women refuse to leave their homes. People are terrified.

The police devote a huge amount of manpower to catch Jack the Ripper, making White Chapel’s police station the hub of the investigation.

Local cops, or British bobbies, haul in suspect after suspect to narrow down the search for the killer. Among those investigating the case is our young White Chapel Sergeant Harry Garrett, part of the desperate boots-on-the-ground effort to find the madman.

Sergeant Garrett and his fellow police officers flood the streets in London’s East End, and their methods aren’t exactly friendly.

“I swear I don’t know nothing,” but they fail to pinpoint any true suspect, and the terror continues to loom over London, with citizens wondering what act of savagery might come next.