Was Jack The Ripper Actually Caught?

History Hit
History Hit
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Published 2024-04-29
In 1888 and 1889, a vicious serial killer haunted the streets of London. Five women were brutally murdered in Whitechapel, and all except one of the five victims - Elizabeth Stride - were horribly mutilated. And those are only the murders officially linked to the killer; it’s likely he took the lives of many more. To this day the identity of the murderer is unknown, but he has a name – Jack The Ripper. One theory is that he was the convicted killer William Bury.

Unlike most of the suspects, Bury was hanged for murder after brutally killing and disfiguring his wife. The similarities between the brutalities inflicted on Mrs Bury and those suffered by the Ripper victims are remarkable. And when Bury handed himself in to police in Dundee, claiming that his wife had committed suicide, he said he was worried that people might think he was Jack the Ripper.

Today we restage the trial with new witnesses and new evidence. In the very same courtroom that Bury was tried in, we sit as the jury on the case with modern technology and forensic experts. HistoryHit.TV have teamed up with the forensic science unit at the University of Dundee, and legal teams from the University of Dundee and the University of Aberdeen to see if we can, at long last, find the truth. Did William Bury, hanged for the murder, kill his wife? And was he Jack the Ripper?

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All Comments (21)
  • @juliamartinshistory
    Incredible to see how modern forensic analysis can still shed new light on cases over a century old. It's like watching history and science collide right before our eyes!
  • @foldvarimarton
    I'm surprised the graffiti on the wall and the door was not compared to William Bury's handwriting and to Jack the Ripper's letters.
  • @Vee_of_the_Weald
    Getting Aberdeen vs Dundee Unis students to retrial Bury is such a great idea - and great experience for the students. Very impressive!
  • @AJ-zx8by
    There is another suspicious character who killed his wife who was also from Bow at one time. His name was William Burrett and you can find his crime on the old Bailey. He disembowelled his partner and he was living with her while her job was as a prostitute. He hanged for his crime against his partner. The women were asked to leave the courtroom because the details of the case were so grim. The fatal wound was that in her abdomen and she had been stabbed 7 times.
  • @Theturtleowl
    I studied law and a mock case like this one are a great way to learn. Would be fun to see History Hit do something like this again. Perhaps even with medical students.
  • @RobGoodrich1972
    Background music too loud and distracting from the narrative. Otherwise, great!
  • @kariannecrysler640
    The attempt to hide the body is a signature not associated with the ripper murders. So I could see two reasons for this: attempts to disguise a suicide for the victim to receive proper burial or an opportunist trying to mimic ripper murders that has more remorse than the actual ripper murder.
  • @janetwebb2701
    Excellent episode. The forensic rehash was fantastic.
  • @Hungry86
    Production specific comment, not video specific. You guys desperately need someone to help you improve the quality and consistency of your videos' audio (I'm not looking for a job lol). The content is outstanding, but the audio is sometimes a huge pain. Just because the in-camera and narrative voices sound good on one system in one environment, doesn't mean that quality translates to others. It's frustratingly inconsistent between and within different videos you post. The start of this video sounds great on headphones, but terrible on laptop speakers. The background music stomps all over Dan's narration. The audio problems you're facing are not new problems, they've been solved many (many) times before.
  • @TJDawgs72
    This absolutely fascinating...I would like to see more of this re-trial in it's whole. Thank you for this video.
  • @Hillbilly001
    It's fascinating how people comment on an hour long vid negatively only 6-8 minutes with it only being posted 10 minutes ago. Interesting.
  • @MrAdrianOldfield
    I think I could stand only around 5 mins with the author/tour guide lol
  • @carolwebber9247
    I went on a Jack the Ripper tour in the early 1980's and my interest in the subject was fuelled from then on.
  • @amberm8610
    "To be on the safe side I'm going to convict you of murder anyway." 😆
  • @ProfessorM-he9rl
    Excellent post, thank you. Jack got away with it. I really did like the mock court case as this shows how learning and experience can change things.
  • @jeffreyhutchins6527
    interesting how Bury, did not commit any "Ripper" style murders on the streets of Dundee. Considering serial killers don't just stop. And the only killing in all the days there was of his wife.
  • @jak3589
    That was great & very believable by everyone playing their parts. Good work.