Is Jack The Ripper’s ‘Dear Boss’ letter genuine?
Serial killer Jack The Ripper taunted his pursuers by writing the ‘Dear Boss’ letter… or did he? Was this message just a fake intended to fuel newspaper sales?
Image: Jack The Ripper: Written In Blood
You might think you know the Jack The Ripper story. A serial killer with a pathological hatred of women pouncing on sex workers in the run-down district of Whitechapel in late Victorian London. Women’s bodies being found mutilated by police officers constantly struggling to stop the bloodthirsty culprit in his tracks.
To this day, Jack The Ripper’s true identity remains a mystery. For this reason, it is also unclear exactly how many women he killed. However, five women perished in eerily similar fashion, leading them to be classed as the Ripper’s canonical victims.
As Sky HISTORY series Jack The Ripper: Written In Blood explores, the Victorian press played a large part in shaping contemporary perceptions of the Ripper. They might even have been responsible for the ‘Dear Boss’ letter, a taunting message purportedly written by the killer himself.
What is the Dear Boss letter?
Mary Ann Nichols and Annie Chapman — the Ripper’s first two canonical victims — were found dead within about a week of each other. In both instances, the killer had made two deep cuts to the throat and torn open the abdomen.
This brutality gave local journalists plenty to write about. However, after Nichols’ death on 31st August and Chapman’s on 8th September, the killer apparently decided to lie low. That’s until 27th September, when the London-based Central News Agency (CNA) received the Dear Boss letter.
What did the Dear Boss letter say? It boasted: 'I keep on hearing the police have caught me but they wont fix me just yet.” The writer also declared: “I am down on whores and I shant quit ripping them till I do get buckled. [sic]'
The legend of ‘Jack The Ripper’ is born
At first, the CNA paid little attention to the letter, deeming it a hoax. This attitude changed significantly after two more women — Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes — were killed in a manner showing many of the Ripper’s hallmarks.
The Dear Boss letter’s writer had pledged to strike again, and 'clip the [next] ladys [sic] ears off'. Unsettlingly, part of Eddowes’ right ear had been severed, as if the killer had attempted to remove it.
The two murders — occurring within an hour of each other on 30th September — have often been dubbed the ‘double event’. This term originated from the ‘Saucy Jacky’ postcard sent to the CNA the following day. The writer of the handwritten text on the postcard claimed responsibility for the double murders.
Both the Dear Boss letter and Saucy Jacky postcard were signed ‘Jack The Ripper’. The killer became widely known by this name after the London Metropolitan Police publicly shared facsimiles of both letters. This was in the hope that a member of the public would recognise the author’s handwriting on either.
Who actually wrote the Dear Boss letter?
How many letters were sent claiming to be from the Whitechapel murderer? According to the Illustrated Police News on 20th October 1888, police investigated more than 700.
In the late 2010s, forensic linguist Dr Andrea Nini analysed 209 Jack The Ripper messages. Nini noticed that the Dear Boss letter and Saucy Jacky postcard had some distinctive linguistic constructs in common. These included the use of the phrase 'to keep back' rather than the synonymous 'withhold' used more often by contemporaries.
This led Nini to conclude that the two notes were written by the same person — but who exactly? Nini provided a vital clue, suggesting that the author worked for the media. It certainly wasn’t the first time this idea had been mooted.
Is the Dear Boss letter genuine?
In 1913, ex-Detective Chief Inspector John Littlechild told journalist George Sims that he believed CNA journalist John Bullen had written the Dear Boss letter.
Conversely, a journalist called Frederick Best reportedly indicated in 1931 that he and a colleague had been responsible for the letters signed ‘Jack The Ripper’. The aim, Best added, was to fuel the public’s interest in the case and consequently 'keep the business alive'.
The 'business', in this instance, was The Star newspaper, which Best worked for in 1888. Tellingly, Sky HISTORY’s own research team have potentially uncovered a smoking gun. This is a July 1890 letter where an investor in The Star alleges that Best was fired for forging Ripper messages.
Learn more about the Jack The Ripper Dear Boss letter
Sky HISTORY’s Jack The Ripper: Written In Blood features dramatic reenactments of Frederick Best’s life at The Star, with Best portrayed by Mark Strepan. You can also subscribe to the Sky HISTORY newsletter for details of future shows.
