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October 12, 2007
Q. Crime history buffs, can you recount a few of the “fractured” forensics behind the still unsolved Jack the Ripper serial killer case of 1888?
A. Start with the utterly botched investigation. The five mutilated victims, found within a half-mile radius, were all “ladies of the night,” and lack of funding and training for support staff led to evidence being treated unscientifically, says E.J. Wagner in “The Science of Sherlock Holmes.” For example, the corpse of Mary Ann Nichols — usually considered the first victim — was only superficially examined by a physician before mortuary workers (actually inmates from a workhouse) stripped the body. They had made no notes, labeled no evidence, and had only vague recollections afterward. Said the coroner, “It appears the mortuary-keeper is subject to fits, and neither his memory nor statements are reliable.”
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