Thames Torso Murders

The Thames Torso Murders were a series of unsolved murders that occurred in London, England from 1887 to 1889. There were four different incidents that were done, and they were all filed under this series. Of course, none of the murders were solved and only one of the four victims were identified. There were also some more murders that taken place between 1873 and 1902 that were also associated with this series of murders.

These murders did occur around the time of Jack the Ripper but there was a big difference in them. Jack the Ripper victims suffered abdominal- and genital-area mutilation. But these murders, the victims were dismembered. So, to be honest these murders where like what Dexter Morgan of the Dexter TV Series did to his victims. He would kill his victims and then dismember them and throw them in the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

The first series of these murders was a murder known as the Rainham Mystery. It occurred between May and June of 1887. A woman's body was found in the River Thames near Rainham. They first found a bundle of a woman's torso. Then throughout May and June, varies body parts were found except the head and the upper chest. It was found that the body was not dissected for medical reasons. But they could not find the cause of death, so it was classified as "Found Dead."

The second series of these murders was a murder known as the Whitehall Mystery. It occurred between September 11 and October 17 of 1888. The dismembered remains of a woman were found in three different sites in the center of the city including the future site of the Scotland Yard which was the police headquarters. The torso was matched to a right arm and shoulder that was found on the muddy shores of the Thames River on September 11th. Then on October 17, they had a search dog that had found the left leg that was cut above the knee on the construction site.

The third series was known as Elizabeth Jackson. On June 4th, 1889, the female torso was found in the Thames and then later more body parts were found. It was reported in the London Times that the left leg and thigh was found off Battlesea; the lower part of the abdomen Horsleydown; liver near Nine Elms; upper part of the body in Battlesea Park; neck and shoulders off Battlesea; right foot and part of leg at Wandsworth; left leg and foot at Limehouse; left arm and hand at Bankside; buttocks and pelvis off Battlesea; right thigh at Chelsea Embankment; and right arm and hand at Bankside.

This murder was shown that the person had skills of a butcher or a knacker. The person had some knowledge of the medical but was not enough for them to be a surgeon. The police also stated that the women were dead for 48 hours before they were dismembered but as to the cause of death, it was still unknown. This body was identified as a woman named Elizabeth Jackson who lived in Chelsea and was a homeless prostitute. She was also 8 months pregnant.

The fourth series was known as Pinchin Street Torso Murder. On September 10, 1889, a woman's torso was found under a railway arch at Pinchin Street, Whitechapel. This torso was found with extensive bruising on the back, hip, and arm that showed this woman was beaten severely before her death. The torso was also extensively mutilated like Jack the Ripper had done but her genitals were not wounded. They found the woman to be between the ages of 30 and 40 years old but no other parts of her body were ever found.

There were 4 other murders that were similar to these that were filed as the same series but of course all these were unsolved as well. These murders did take place in a time where we did not have DNA or technology to be able to help solve the cases. So, to only have gotten so far with these was known to have multiple unsolved murders at this time. It was the best time to get away with murder and not get caught.

I personally believe that the first two cases were from the same person. The same person murdered these two women because looking at the details, they were similar. The third one I believe was done to look like a copycat but here's the thing... they gave away too much of her body parts to be able to identify her. And she was pregnant. It seems to me that she ticked off someone for her keeping the baby and they murdered her to make it look like it was the same murder as the first two cases. But they wanted to make sure that she was known of who she was.

The fourth one seems similar to the first two cases but here's the difference it was not done around the Thames River for one. No other body parts were found, and she was beaten. She probably pissed off the wrong person and they murder her but were unsure of which to make it look like who actually murdered her, so they made it similar to both the Thames murders and Jack the Ripper. But of course, the police could not think of it being Jack the Ripper due to her genitals was fine. So, they just classified these four cases together because they were similar but in reality, I believe that 3 murders had gotten away with these cases.

So, in summary, I would say that we should watch what we do in life and who we piss off. The reason why, because someone could get mad enough to harm you and get away with it. I knew someone that always told me that because they lived in the country they could get away with murder and no one could ever find the bodies. Let's not do this. We don't need any more murders walking. They should be punished for their crimes.