Jack the Ripper: What Caused Him to Kill?

After reviewing the case of Jack the Ripper, I believe that his motivation to kill was psychosexual in nature. I believe this because all of his victims were prostitutes. He also mutilated these women and removed their genitals which suggest that there was some sort of sexual sadistic motive, according to the different serial killer typologies. It appeared that he was well aware of the female anatomy, thus allowing him to meticulously remove the genitals and other body parts almost flawless. He could have possibly been a doctor.

I believe the Ripper was targeting prostitutes because they were an easy target. Jack the Ripper never had sex with these women but the murders showed signs of a sexual motive along with the motivation of terrorizing a city. Perhaps the Ripper not only was bent on terrorizing a city, but also wanting to make the world a better place by ridding it of the prostitutes, similar to Gary Ridgeway. If this is a possibility, then the Ripper would fit a mixed typology that is mixed with a mission and sadistic type of serial killer. Another thought that should be considered would be that the Ripper had some form of hatred towards women and thus was punishing all women through these types of killings.

The Ripper had clear cut signature behaviors that made it easy for the London police to tie each of the murders together. For one, he would attack his victims in dark alleyways. Another signature behavior would be that he would first choke and strangle his victims and lie them face down on the ground. Another signature behavior would be the fact that he slit his victims' throats in a manner that would limit the amount of blood he would get on himself. Another signature behavior would be the removal of the genitals and the taking of a trophy in the form of a piece of his victims' viscera. Also, the way the incisions of the mutilations were very meticulous and precise that these types of wounds were a signature behavior.

The reason why the Ripper stopped killing is left to speculation. A theory lies that he may have continued to kill under a different method. Another theory is that he may have died either by natural causes or by committing suicide. Another theory states that perhaps he was caught but it was not made public. Since there are so many different theories as to why he stopped killing, I am unable to give a direct answer to that question. What we do know is that he killed and terrorized the White Chapel district in London and this will remain a mystery as to who really was Jack the Ripper.