It is estimated that there could be as many as 150 Jack the Ripper suspects. From Prince to pauper, it seems evidence has been found to prove (and eliminate) all manner of theories.
Prince Albert Victor
Perhaps the most well known suspect in the search for Jack the Ripper is the grandson of Queen Victoria, appearing in three theories either as the killer (assisted by the unknown "Duke of Bedford" or as a result of insanity caused by syphilis) or as the cause of the murders (in a bid to protect the throne from an illegitimate, catholic heir fathered through an illegal marriage to a woman named Annie Crook, every person who knew ofth marriage andchild were murdered).
Despite their popularity, these theories have been widely discredited, due to the fact that the Prince had alibis for the nights of the murders and no marriage can be proved to have taken place between him and Annie Crook.
Jill the Ripper
The idea that Jack may have been a woman was first put forward during the initial investigation of the Whitechapel Murders. William Stewart theorised that the murderer may have been a midwife. This was based upon the facts that a midwife would have been able to induce unconsciouness quickly, would have a motive for being covered in blood and would have an alibi if found with a body.
Despite being illegal, abortion was still common, especially among the poor and the destitute of Victorian London. If a woman were responsibly for the murders, a death while carrying out a dangerous abortion would be the perfect cover up.
While interesting, 'The Mad Midwife' theory is not very viable. While in the 21st Century, the usual acclimations that a woman could not be responsibles because "women don't do that sort of thing" because of mental or phsyical weaknesses can probably be discounted, no viable female suspect has ever been identified.
The idea that most of the victims were pregnant and in need of an abortion can be discounted due to their age and alcoholism. The only victim who could possibly have been with child was Mary Kelly, the last and youngest of the accepted victims. Rumours of a pregnancy are rife within the research of Jack the Ripper, but cannot be definately confirmed or discounted.
James Maybrick
The discovery of a diary in the early 1990's brought an other, previously unknown suspect into the realms of Rippeology*. Seeming to confess to a series of murders and document the mental decline of the author in graphic detail, the diary is a very convincing portrayal of a possible serial killer.
The suspect, James Maybrick, was a cotton merchant from Liverpool who may have had links to the Whitechapel area of London through his first wifewho lived on the outskirts. His addiction to arsenic and marital problems could be seen to reinforce Maybrick as a suspect at least circumstanially.
In 1995, Michael Barrett, the discoverer of the diary, claimed the document was a hoax and signed at least two affidavits to that effects. However, the claims have since been retracted and reiterated numerous times.
Various tests and analysis have claimed to both prove and disprove Barrett's hoax claim, including handwriting analysis, tests upon the ink used in the diary to determine when it was written and extensive research to support little known facts stated in the diary (for example, an illness suffered by Maybrick's daugther was varified by the discovery of documentation pertaining to treatment), but the matter has not been resolved either way.
*Ripperology is the term used to describe the study of Jack the Ripper.
Sources:
Jack the Ripper: A New Theory by William Stewart
The Ripper Diary by James Maybrick (presented by Shirley Harrison)
www.casebook.org- the best online resource for Ripper research.
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