All language subtitles for American Ripper S01E03

Previously on American Ripper.

There's no document
in the Chicago record

for Holmes between July
of 1888 and early 1889.

That's the exact period

that Jack the Ripper
was committing

his murders in London.

My objective while
I'm here is to channel

that original Jack the
Ripper investigative team.

These are sections

of Catherine Eddowes's shawl.

We will take a reference sample

from you to compare with any
material we find on the shawl.

I never thought I would
actually be

evidence in the case.

We'll see you in about a week.

These are some of the known
aliases that Holmes used.

That is going to make him
all the harder to track.

Did you find any proof of
Holmes traveling to London?

Yep, there are names in
the ledgers which may be him.

Wow.

In 1888, Britain's first
serial killer, Jack the Ripper,

went on a killing
spree in London.

He was never caught.

But I know who the Ripper is.

His real name is H.H. Holmes.

He was America's
first serial killer.

And he is my
greatgreatgrandfather.

Here we have H. Holmes.

Former CIA
operative, Amaryliss Fox,

may be on the verge of
a major breakthrough

in the investigation to prove

the identity of Jack the Ripper

as the con man and serial
killer, H. H. Holmes.

He is coming back from
Liverpool to New York.

An examination of ships manifest

charting transatlantic crossings

has revealed a familiar name.

Traveling from England
to the United States

after the fifth and final
Jack the Ripper killing.

H Holmes, 36, American.

Was that the only one?

No, there are a number of
people in here who could be him.

Herman Holmes, 31.

This is extraordinary.

This is him leaving Liverpool

and coming into Philadelphia.

We also have some of the names

that he uses as an alias.

In this era, there is no ID
document required to travel.

So, an alias could be used.

Here, we have another one.

Alex Gordon, 24 years old.

That's one of his
most common aliases.

And this is
departing from where?

Liverpool back to the US.

What month and year is this?

This one is in December 1888.

December 1888.

That's just a couple weeks
after the final Ripper murder.

This could be the proof we
need to place him in London.

I never expected to find
so many of Holmes's names

and aliases on these manifests.

And the timing is eerie.

Mary Kelly is the last known
victim of Jack the Ripper

in November of 1888.

If Holmes was on a ship
heading back to the States

in December of 1888,

that could be the reason
the Ripper killings stopped.

So, how long would this
passage have taken?

The passenger
ships range between

the really fast express
liners taking five, six days

and slightly slower ships,
seven, eight, nine days.

There's enough traffic
to justify not a line,

but many lines of steamers.

From cities like.

Liverpool, Southampton,
and London,

the largest port in the world,

Britain dominates nineteenth
century global trade.

The advent of the
marine steam engine

transforms transatlantic travel.

By 1870, sail ships are
being replaced by steamships,

which offer amenities.

Including barber shops, social
halls, and private bathrooms.

Wealthy tourists enjoy

luxury accommodations
on the upper decks

while millions of
transient immigrants

are packed into steerage
on their way to America.

If you wanted to
travel for pleasure,

you would travel in the summer.

Traveling in the north Atlantic

in winter is a rotten journey.

If you're traveling in December,

you clearly have to travel.

You have a reason to travel.

If that's getting out of town,

that's a good enough reason.

If he is Jack the Ripper,

given the timing, December 1888,

he's the most wanted
man in Britain.

If not in the world.

Jeff, I've got some great
news for our investigation.

Boy.

On these travel manifests,

you can see here Herman Holmes.

31 years old.

Wow.

This is amazing.

To have evidence
of Holmes's travel.

Yeah.

And then, here, line 40,
his alias Alex Gordon.

Again, American.

And the timeline there puts him

returning to the United
States in December of 1888.

Which, if that's Holmes,
could explain why

Mary Kelley is the last
murder victim in London.

Incredible.

You would expect to see
the Ripper kill again.

Only we have Holmes's
alias returning

in December to
the United States.

And then the murders stopped.

My greatgreatgrandfather
used aliases

to get away with his cons.

And, at the time of
the Ripper murders,

he was 27 years old.

About the same age
as the passengers

listed on this travel manifest.

These records can't
prove he was in London.

But they open up a
strong possibility.

Okay, let's review what
we've learned so far.

As we progress, the
evidence is increasing

that the killer had
anatomical knowledge

and some surgical experience.

In addition to having this
specialized instrument,

the surgeon's knife.

So far, our London
investigation has turned up

at least three key
pieces of evidence

that link H. H. Holmes
and Jack the Ripper.

One, both killers
had surgical skill.

In particular, an
expertise in dissection.

Two, both killers render
their victims unconscious

before killing them.

And, three, contrary to
the Ripper mythology,

the killer was premeditated.

He planned his killings in
advance to avoid the police.

Just like Holmes did in Chicago.

We know Jack was
an educated man.

He had scoped the area out.

He knew the policeman's beats.

15 minutes was the
time it took the police

to get through their beat
and return to the square.

So that means he
was skilled enough

to conduct what were
essentially dissections

in under 15 minutes.

And we know that Holmes
had that anatomical skill.

And we see this textbook
escalation of violence here.

Mary Nichols on August
31 whose throat is slit

and her abdomen's opened.

But no organs are taken.

You have Annie Chapman
on September 8th.

Her abdomen's opened and
her uterus is removed.

Catherine Eddowes
on September 30.

Her abdomen's opened
and not just her uterus,

but also her kidneys removed
and her liver is nicked.

She also has facial
disfigurations

for the first time.

And then you have Mary
Kelly on November 9th.

And, as you can
see from the image,

there's almost nothing in the
body that's left undisturbed.

The face has been so disfigured

that she was really only
identifiable by her eyeballs.

The final Ripper killing
was committed indoors,

which may have inspired
Holmes to consider,

"How do I replicate these
killings back home?"

So, I don't think it
was a coincidence that,

just a year after
the Ripper killings,

construction of
the Murder Castle

was in full swing
back in Chicago.

A hotel engineered
for him to murder

and dismember his
victims in secret.

The travel manifests suggest
that Holmes was here in London.

But we need more evidence.

Maybe we can use a paper trail

to pin Holmes down in London.

Amaryllis, we should
take a look at

those famous Ripper letters.

Yeah, let's get to work.

I feel like these go on forever.

Yeah, I mean there are
many miles of shelving.

We've got a thousand
years of history here.

The National Archives features

a collection of
documents and records

from more than 1,000
years of British history.

Jeff and Amaryllis
are here to examine

two of the most infamous.

The only surviving writings
of Jack the Ripper.

Everybody knows
about these letters.

They've been all over the world.

But, obviously,
to have them here

in the original in the National
Archives is fascinating.

As the Ripper
killings gripped London

between August and
November of 1888,

the press turns the public's
fascination into an obsession.

Printing every lurid
detail of the case

below increasingly
sensational headlines.

The London police force, known
as the Metropolitan Police,

receives more than 700
letters in this period.

All claiming to have been
penned by the Ripper.

But, out of hundreds of letters,

only two are
considered authentic.

Each containing
facts of the case

never shared with the public.

And known only to
the killer himself.

So, this is the
famous Dear Boss letter.

Dear Boss, I keep on hearing
the police have caught me.

They won't fix me.

Not just yet.

I am down on whores

and I shan't quit ripping them.

I gave the body
no time to squeal.

The Boss.

Central News Office.

London City.

Clearly, that's an
intention on the part

of the person
writing this letter

to bring it to the
attention of the media.

Jack communicating
directly to the public.

Yes.

When during
the murders was this done?

This was sent after
the Annie Chapman murder.

Postmark was September 27.

Three days before the
Catherine Eddowes murder.

The Dear Boss
letter is written and mailed

during the 19 day period
between the Ripper's

second and third kills.

It points to a critical detail

about the Eddowes murder

before it happens.

I saved
some of the proper red stuff

in a ginger beer
bottle to write you.

But it went thick like glue.

And I can't use it.

Ha ha.

Next job I do, I shall
cut the lady's ear off.

It mentions the removal
of the ear of a victim.

In Dear Boss, someone
claiming to be the Ripper

writes he's going to
remove a victim's ear.

The paper doesn't publish it.

And, on the night
of the double event,

someone takes Catherine
Eddowes's ear.

So, that's what makes
the police believe

this letter is authentic.

Yours truly, Jack the Ripper.

It is the first letter to
be signed Jack the Ripper.

So, this is where
the name was coined.

This is where
the name was coined, yes.

And when did
he write this second letter?

The day after the
Eddowes and Stride murders,

they received another letter.

It seems to be from
the same person.

This is the Saucy Jack
Postcard, as it's known.

Boy.

In this postcard,
again, addressed to.

The Boss at the
Central News Office,

he refers to himself
as Saucy Jack.

He's, again, signed at the
bottom here Jack the Ripper.

What are those smudges on it?

You can see there are smears
of blood on it, as well.

No way.

There are also prints here.

Is there a chance that could
contain DNA from the killer?

You can see there are smears
of blood on it, as well.

Is there a chance that

could contain DNA
from the killer?

The infamous Jack the Ripper

brutally murders five
people in the fall of 1888.

Leaving behind few
clues to his identity.

Now, on the hunt to
prove the theory that

American con man H. H.
Holmes is the Ripper,

Jeff Mudget and Amaryllis
Fox are face to face

with the only
evidence thought to be

a direct link to the killer.

A letter and a postcard stained
with a bloody fingerprint.

Has that ever been analyzed?

That could be a huge piece of

physical evidence for our case.

Well, unfortunately,
this is a facsimile.

This is a copy?

Yes, it's been stolen.

It's been lost for decades.

Crime is sensational.

Many people have
pilfered the evidence.

Unbelievably frustrating that

the one piece of
evidence is gone.

So, with this
letter he writes...

I wasn't codding, dear old Boss,

when I gave you the tip.

You'll hear about Saucy
Jack's work tomorrow.

Number one squealed a bit.

I had not time to get
ears for the police.

Thanks for keeping
the last letter back

till I got to work again.

Jack the Ripper.

Same sort of syntax.

It looks like some of
the handwriting, as well.

What's interesting
about this letter

is that he mentions
the ear again.

But he says, "I didn't
have enough time"

to take the first victim's ear."

The Saucy Jack
letter is significant,

because the author
references Dear Boss,

which, at the time, hadn't
been published in the press.

And, when the killer says
he didn't have enough time,

it's a hint at what's
called the Double Event.

Murders three and four, which
take place on the same night.

In both cases, the author
reveals information

known only to the police
and the killer himself.

I'm down on whores and I
shan't quit ripping them.

Reading both of these,
the phrasing sounds

really odd to my ear.

Does it read oddly
to you, as well?

It's a strange letter
with a strange tone.

But maybe some analysis to do.

Although I'm not the
person to help you.

You need a forensic linguist.

So, perhaps, you could
seek advice from one.

Let's add the letters
to the timeline.

They're pretty interesting.

Especially the Dear Boss.

It was the first time
Jack the Ripper was used.

And he gives it to himself.

I mean, if we believe
he wrote this,

he's named himself
Jack the Ripper.

And this letter, it
seems like Jack

is really the first serial
killer to bypass

the police and Scotland Yard

and use the press,
which was, in 1888,

the equivalent of social media,

to talk directly to his public.

Almost brand himself and
kind of create this legend.

The way that Jack
the Ripper boasts

about his crimes to the
police and the press

reminds me of the way
Holmes boasted about

his crimes while writing
his confessions in prison.

It seems both killers have
a need to feed their egos.

They both demand respect
and acknowledgement

beyond all else.

Next we have Saucy Jack.

If you look at what he's
saying in these letters,

this is someone who's
playing with the police.

Who's lording over
them the fact that

he hasn't been caught yet.

For me, all of that
adds up really strongly

to suggest that we
need to go deeper

on establishing whether or not
this could have been Holmes.

So, I'm gonna look into the

handwriting and
linguistics analysis.

But, in the meantime,
we still have

the DNA testing on the shawl.

This might be the key to
the entire investigation.

Last week,
Jeff secured access to

one of the few surviving pieces

of physical evidence
in the case.

Two small patches
of shawl believed to

have belonged to the
Ripper's fourth victim,

Catherine Eddowes, and
allegedly recovered

at the crime scene.

Scientists at King's
College London

are analyzing the
material on the chance

that the killer's DNA may have

transferred to the
shawl and survived.

Waiting for these results
has been really nerveracking.

Because, if the
killer's DNA remained

on the victim's shawl from
the night of her murder,

this is the evidence that
could prove, once and for all,

that my ancestor, H. H.
Holmes, was Jack the Ripper.

We've obtained a
Y profile from you.

That's a profile
from your male DNA.

Your male DNA will be the same

as your male ancestor's DNA.

So, that Y male profile
will not have changed

in over 100 years?

If it has changed,
it'll be a sm-a small change

that we will be
able to recognize.

So, we need to compare
that DNA profile

with anything we have
found on the shawl.

Now, we have found some
male material on that shawl.

We have found some male
material on that shawl.

Jeff Mudgett
is at King's College London

to find out whether DNA traces

recovered from a piece of
evidence in the Ripper case

are a match to his own DNA.

A link would be conclusive
proof of the theory

that his greatgreatgrandfather,

is Jack the Ripper.

Whose DNA was it?

What we found, there is a
prominent male on that shawl.

There are a few additional,
very low level, components.

Most of the DNA, 95% of
it, has come from one male.

Okay.

That male profile does
not match with yours.

It's not mine.

No.

So, what about the remaining 5%?

What conclusions
have you reached?

That also does not match you.

Now, the fact that that male
profile doesn't match you

does not discount any
of the theories at all.

Because we don't know
whether the person

who perpetrated this
crime has had any contact

with that particular
bit of scarf.

I was really hoping
the shawl would be

the key to unlocking this
entire investigation.

And the fact that
there isn't a DNA match

is very disappointing.

But it just means we're going
to have to keep on looking

for that elusive piece
of physical evidence

to prove my theory.

Walking in, I was
scared to death that

you were going to say,
"Yea, the Y is yours, Jeff."

It would have
been very exciting.

'Cause it would have closed down

a question that has been around
for over a hundred years,

which we would all like
to know the answer to.

Amaryllis.

Hey.

Well, there was
DNA on the shawl.

No.

My heart was beating
a mile a minute.

She basically told me no.

It didn't match.

It wasn't related to
your blood profile at all?

Not at all.

Zero.

But we always knew the
likelihood was pretty small.

What we found from
those DNA testings

is that there wasn't DNA
left behind by H. H. Holmes.

Or that he did and it didn't
make it through 125 years.

I'm glad we tracked it down.

I'm glad we know that we have

a couple unidentified
DNA profiles.

In case there's some
other direct evidence

to compare them
to down the road.

And I think our next step is
to decode the Ripper letters

for clues that could
tie them to Holmes.

Jeff and Amaryllis consult

two of the UK's top
forensic linguists

to dig deeper into
the mysterious origins

of the Ripper letters.

They've spent the
last week decoding

the writing and its author.

So, when you work
in forensic cases,

how are you able to
reach your conclusions?

Well, it's a matter of
looking at the language

and comparing different
kinds of dialect

or two different samples.

And we have quite an
extensive background

in working in
forensic linguistics

and speech analysis.

Forensic
linguists study patterns

in the written and spoken word

across cultures and
through history.

Analysis of phrase usage,
frequency, and style

can identify the time
period of the writing

and the geographic
origin of the author.

Is it a problem
these letters were written

back in the 19th century?

You have sample data for that?

The best written
samples are letters.

It could be newspapers,
magazines, novels.

That's certainly true
with 19th century English,

which we have a very
large database for.

We're really curious
about these letters.

The language in them seems
so strange to the modern ear.

I'm curious as to whether it's

because we're looking back
from so far in the future

or whether these would
have seemed strange

to an 1888 era, as well.

So, when you look at these
letters, what do you find?

So, here's the
interesting thing.

The language doesn't
identify as a British writer.

In terms of
literature of the time,

the phrases in the
letters were American.

The language doesn't
identify as a British writer.

Hunting for answers

in one of history's
greatest mysteries,

Jeff Mudgett and Amaryllis Fox

are working with top
forensic linguists

to decode the origins
of the only surviving

written evidence
in the Ripper case.

They're looking for clues
to the killer's identity

hidden in the language
of the infamous Dear Boss

and Saucy Jack letters.

Attempting to prove that the
man known as Jack the Ripper

is America's first serial
killer, H. H. Holmes.

What makes you so sure

the writer of these
letters was American?

So, we went back into the
British Parliamentary record

using existing databases
of written language.

In 1880, there's
a big difference

between American English
and British English.

Interesting.

My greatgreatgrandfather,
H. H. Holmes,

was born in the States.

And, if he did
commit these murders,

failing to disguise his
Americanism in these letters

could have been
his first mistake.

Well, I think the
Dear Boss letter

struck a lot of people
as having features

that people thought
were American.

What jumps out at you
when you look at that?

Dear Boss.

Fix me.

Shan't quit.

Let's start with fix me.

It's pretty old
fashioned sounding.

It's used in a quite particular
way in the letter, right?

It's something like catch me.

That certainly occurs in
American English from that time.

But also occurred
in British English.

So, if we look at the use of
fix followed by a pronoun,

these are the patterns we find.

Explain the
significance of the top number.

These are
percentages for each date.

What percentage of the
words in the database

matched the pattern plus a verb.

So, the numbers are very small.

And you can see,
in the present day,

there is a bit of a
difference between

American and British
English, but, interestingly,

if we go back to
1880s, I would say,

on that particular
feature, the fix me,

the evidence is pretty neutral.

This one didn't help as much.

So, it was really important

to look at some of the
other alleged Americanisms.

What did you find looking
at the rest of the letter?

So, the main one I want to
look at right now is quit.

I shan't quit was picked out

as one of the phrases that
was supposedly American.

And it's interesting,
with quit plus verb,

there's a big
difference now between

American English
and British English.

Wow.

The American
utilization of that word

is over twice as
much as in England.

Yeah, this
is the crucial gap here.

People on this side of the pond

tend to say stop doing this.

Stop doing that.

Not quit doing that.

Really?

How about boss?

Well, as you can see,

very small usage in Britain.

But rapidly increasing
use in American books

starting around about 1875.

And becoming much, much
higher right through

the period that
we're interested in.

Whoa, so that's a significant
gap between those two.

And then, of course,

we haven't even mentioned
right away.

A British person would
have been more likely

to say straightaway at the time.

And an American more relatively
likely to say right away.

Straightaway, to
me, it does sound

much more English than American.

If I were an investigator

while the murders
were being conducted,

would you suggest looking
for an American suspect?

Well, there has to
be some explanation

for the American
features in the letter.

When I decided to ask if you'd

help me with this investigation,

I did so knowing you
would have an open mind.

And I know, when you first
started, you were skeptical.

Has that begun to change any?

You know, it's my
job to be skeptical.

And I'm very fact based.

With a case this cold,

there aren't a whole
lot of remaining facts.

So, for me, the
jury was still out

until there was
sufficient evidence.

And I think it still
is, to be honest.

But, when you hear one
story, you hear two stories,

you hear three stories,
you can dismiss them.

But there is this moment where

the scales tip and the
confluence of evidence

begins to point
in one direction.

I want to subject these
letters to handwriting analysis

when we get back to the States.

But, based on the
linguistic analysis alone,

I'm convinced that the
writer of these letters

was raised in America.

Whether of not that
person was Holmes, though,

is still unclear.

I'd like to learn more
about the list of suspects

that Scotland Yard was
looking at at the time

and see if there's
a link to Holmes.

One of my old law
enforcement contacts

set me up with a former
London police officer

who specializes in
this part of the case.

We've got everything
ever written

on the Ripper in this room.

I was a police
officer for 30 years

and I've been reading
about the case since 1961.

Stuart Evans is
an expert on the Ripper case

and has compiled an
extensive collection

of official police reports.

His research examines
known Riper suspects

and the techniques used
to follow up on leads.

Having written
police reports myself,

you get a whole
different view of things.

How reliable do you feel like

the investigations were at
the end of the 19th century?

The police, it was
primitive in terms of

modern technology and the
way we look at things today.

You didn't have regular
serial killers in those days.

But, once you've
got this brutality,

they began to realize, perhaps,

there was something
out of the ordinary.

The Jack the Ripper murders

are the first in
history to be classified

as the work of a serial killer.

The 1888 case is
so groundbreaking

that it sets the model for
future police investigations.

Though it introduces techniques

such as crime scene
photography, still in use today,

at the turn of the century,

there was no such
thing as forensics.

There's no fingerprinting,
no DNA technology,

and no blood typing.

Instead, detectives
hunting the Ripper

relied most heavily
on eyewitness accounts

of the attacks and
their aftermath.

Across the five murders, a
total of 13 eyewitness reports

still survive
through police notes

published in the press.

The police did door
to door inquiries

to look for witnesses.

And questioned people who
were working at night.

They took witness statements.

All they would get
is a description.

And so, they operated
on descriptions.

Scotland Yard looked
at over 80 suspects.

Then the press recorded
their statements in shorthand

and they appeared
in the newspapers.

Would you mind sharing

with us copies of those reports?

No problem.

In my experience in
criminal profiling,

it's very rare to have 13

eyewitness accounts of
a suspect.

Especially when it's operating
in secret and in darkness.

So, this could be a
huge break for us.

Put simply, there weren't
that many suspects at the time.

When I say that, I
mean real suspects.

Most of these
Scotland Yard suspects

were quickly eliminated.

The one that really first
caught attention as a suspect

was Pizer, John Pizer.

That was the arrest of Pizer
being illustrated there.

Nicknamed Leather Apron.

He worked in leather and wore
a leather protective apron.

He was threatening street
prostitutes and bothering them.

They were obviously
frightened of him

and that was good enough.

Hey, we got a suspect.

He was fairly
quickly exonerated.

With an alibi or...

Yeah, yeah, he was
speaking to a policeman

on the night of the murder.

Pretty strong alibi.

That's a pretty good alibi.

It's pretty good, yeah.

But the name Leather
Apron, which hit the press,

then it stuck until a
better name came along.

Who was the next major suspect?

We know from a report done
by Chief Inspector Swanson

that an American was taken in.

Really?

They were questioned
by the police.

How did they find this guy?

Well, this lady ran a
lodging house, 22 Batty Street,

on the night of
the double murder.

Somebody came into the
house about two AM.

Which would tie in with just
after the Eddowes murder,

which a was committed
about 20 to two.

So, the time fits perfectly.

And this person was
a lodger she'd known.

Next day, her husband,

going to the lodger's
room after he'd left,

saw a black bag.

The lodger was a medical man.

And, on opening it,
discovered a long sharp knife

and two bloodstained cuffs.

Wow.

And do we know who
the American was?

The lodger was a
medical man, an American.

The story
was that an American lodger

at 22 Batty Street left
a bag with a weapon

and bloody cuffs in
it and never returned?

While investigating details

of the Jack the Ripper case,

Jeff and Amaryllis
uncover a critical clue,

an eyewitness account
suggesting the killer,

like Holmes, is
American and a doctor.

Detectives call him the
Batty Street Lodger.

A mystery man who becomes
one of the leading suspects.

So what happened to this doctor?

Well, nothing more was
heard of the American doctor

with the suspicious black bag.

The story went that the police

kept watching and waiting
for him to come back,

but he never came back.

So, everything is a big unknown.

But the amazing thing
is, 25 years later,

we find mention of the same
landlady and the same lodger.

I have seen him again this week.

She says she thinks
it's the same lodger

she had 25 years later.

Then she says, "He
is now in practice"

in the northwest of London."

If the suspect known as
The Batty Street Lodger

was seen again 25 years later,

then it rules out Holmes.

Because he was convicted
and executed in 1896.

So, either the
eyewitness was mistaken

or Holmes is not
Jack the Ripper.

The story of this
American doctor stuck

and the American became a
popular suspect at the time.

Did they
arrest anyone they thought

was the Batty Street
Lodger at the time?

Well, the one named
American suspect

is a Doctor Francis Tumblety

who hailed from
Rochester, New York.

He was an American quack doctor.

They used to call them
snake oil doctors.

He arrived from America in
Liverpool in late July 1888.

He was arrested in Whitechapel

on suspicion of being
the Whitechapel Murderer.

So, this is an American doctor

with a known
history of swindling

and selling snake oil medicines.

He was a good suspect.

And the description, as it
went, a Yank in a slouch hat.

He was tracked down.

And, when they had him detained,

they couldn't charge
him with the murders,

because, although suspected,

they've got no hard evidence
against him at all.

He was released on bail.

And, as soon as he got bail,

he got on the next steamer
back to the states.

He arrived in New York
on the third of December.

So, he got away.

Scotland Yard had
the American police

watch Tumblety get of the ship.

So, they were definitely
watching out for him

at the request of Scotland Yard.

I mean, there's a lot
pointing at Tumblety.

But no hard evidence.

So, they only
arrested him because

he was an American doctor
who fit the description.

That's pretty dramatic.

There's a lot pointing
to the fact that

Scotland Yard believed that

an American doctor fit the bill.

Whether it was Tumblety
or anyone else.

Yea I mean, the evidence
is there.

It's in the press.

It's in the police records.

If you were presented
with another American doctor

who had similar education,

similar preoccupation
with anatomical scams,

would that seem like a
viable suspect to you?

Well, I don't think
anyone could be ruled out.

It sounds like the
suspect they called.

The Batty Street Lodger
was their best suspect.

And he got away.

The closest they
came to figuring out

who that lodger was
was Francis Tumblety.

Tumblety is the really
interesting suspect.

To my mind, the most
interesting thing

that came out of the Stuart
meeting was Tumblety.

An American doctor
who was a scam artist

who had been in London
selling snake oil remedies.

To me, it's really
pretty eerie how similar

that description
sounds to Holmes.

I agree.

It also fits that the killer was

an educated man
of high intellect.

To me, the Tumblety description

is incredibly
reminiscent of Holmes.

And yet, too old to
be Jack the Ripper.

So, I think it opens
up a lot of questions.

The police reports
that Stuart shared

indicates Tumblety
was in his 50s.

But every eyewitness
account, without exception,

says that the Ripper was in
his late 20s or early 30s.

It's highly unlikely that
13 different eyewitnesses

were all wrong.

So we can safely conclude
that the evidence

doesn't point to Tumblety.

So it doesn't seem
unreasonable to think that

maybe it was a different
American doctor.

One that was in his
late 20s, early 30s.

I mean, my question is
whether they were right

in suspecting an
American doctor.

But just had the wrong doctor.

Deep into the investigation

to prove that Jack
the Ripper is an alias

of dark mastermind H. H. Holmes,

a series of revelations are
beginning to connect the dots

between the two killers.

These latest discoveries
are significant for our case.

We have the Ripper letters

suggesting the
writer was American.

And now we know the detectives
who were hunting the Ripper

were actively looking
for an American doctor

as one of their most
likely suspects.

Each of these clues
supports the possibility

that H. H. Holmes and Jack the
Ripper are one and the same.

But what we don't
have is any evidence

that places Holmes at
the scene of the crime.

You know, Jeff, we have
13 eyewitness accounts

from the time.

And, back in the day,

they obviously just
had sketch artists.

So, we're left with line
drawings from the age.

But, today, there's amazing
cutting edge technology

that can create a composite
photograph from them.

So, once again,
we're trying to use

modern forensic science to
clear up confusion from 1888.

So, I managed to track
down a forensic artist

who can use all of
the details from

the eyewitness accounts so
that we can see a photograph

of what Jack the Ripper
might have looked like.

Police sketches have been

a standard law enforcement
tool for decades.

Particularly in
criminal investigations.

But modern technology
now helps to create

more accurate images
than ever before.

Forensic artists create mugshots

by pulling from a
digital database

containing thousands of the
most common human features.

A technique used by agencies
like the FBI and CIA

to help identify suspects
from eyewitness reports.

I'm very excited
to be here today

to see what a photograph
would have given us

had we had that
science at the time.

Absolutely, yea.

Could you
tell me a little bit about

what your methodology is?

Usually, I start
with descriptions about

facial features,
overall appearances.

Then I'll take some
pieces of pictures

and then paste them together.

Then create a face from that.

We do have 13
eyewitness accounts

from the police
records at the time.

For a cold case, it's actually

not a bad number
of descriptions.

Well, let's get started,
if you don't mind.

Israel Schwartz, he witnessed
the Elizabeth Stride killing.

Mary Ann Cox witnessed
Kelly's killing.

James Brown who was
one of the witnesses

for Elizabeth Stride's killing.

George Hutchinson
described a full face.

Broad shouldered with fair skin.

Complexion pale.

Description of a blotchy face.

Joseph Lowend also
says a fair complexion.

Mary Ann Cox says
a fresh complexion.

And was described as

"respectable looking."

Very surly looking.

In terms of age, Israel
Schwartz saying about 30.

William Smith, 28.

Young man from 25 to 30.

George Hutchinson
describes him as 34.

In terms of height,
five foot five inches.

About five
foot seven inches tall.

Five foot five inches.

Five foot six inches.

Anything about eye color?

George Hutchinson did describe
Jack as having dark eyes.

Dark eyes.

Dark eyes usually

suggests dark hair as well.

We have dark hair being noted

in Israel Schwartz's
description.

Joseph Lowend also says
that he had brown hair.

Hair, light brown.

Gonna get
roughly an average sized nose.

Okay, what about
any facial hair?

That's one of the features
there's a little dispute over.

The first eyewitness account is

he had a small brown mustache.

The second account
was a black mustache,

but was otherwise clean shaven.

Mary Ann Cox, the
witness for Kelly,

she said he had a
thick carroty mustache.

Do we want to put a hat on him?

It's one of the most
consistent points

in these eyewitness accounts.

There's not one that
doesn't mention a hat.

We have small peaked cap.

Holmes's face has been
branded into my mind's eye.

From portraits in history books.

I've scoured his
face looking for

pieces of myself in his image.

And now, watching
Jack the Ripper

come to life before my eyes,

I wonder if it will
be a face I recognize.

You know, I brought
with me some images that

we have of H. H. Holmes.

If I give you this, is it
possible to bring them up

so we can look at
them side by side?

Of course.

Yeah, let's take a look.

All right.

Holy...

That's really creepy.

If you took this
composite to a judge,

he'd issue a warrant.

Next time on American Ripper.

It's straight out of the
mind of Edgar Allen Poe.

It's definitely not out
of Architectural Digest.

If properly excavated,
there's the potential

for history changing evidence.

We're looking at a
treasure trove of body parts.

Wow, look at that.

You're still left
with very recognizable

human bones as the remains.

They started finding bones that

appeared to be a
six year old child.

If you're a serial killer

and you're trying to
get rid of bodies,

it would be much easier
by encasing them in cement

and dropping them in
the Chicago River.

Whoa.

There's so many of them.

This is an indication that
things have been dumped here.