Jack the Ripper terrorized the streets of London in the autumn of 1888, while the Zodiac killer stalked victims in the United States in the late 1960's and early 1970's.
Jack the Ripper claimed responsibility for five murders, all in the poverty-ridden Whitechapel district. There may have been more. All his victims were women, mostly prostitutes.
The Zodiac killer claimed responsibility for seventeen deaths in the San Francisco area and five deaths in Northern California. His victims were both men and women, usually lovers in parked cars In both instances the criminals doubtlessly gained some kind of sexual thrill from the murders, none of the victims were raped.
Both Men were Psychopaths
Psychopaths typically have no respect for rules or regard for people other than themselves. Their only fear is that of getting caught. They enjoy playing cat-and-mouse games with the police, taunting them with a series of clues and letters and challenging them to catch them if they can.
According to psychological profiles, serial killers are usually Caucasian males in their twenties or thirties who hail from dysfunctional families, are intelligent but suffer low self esteem. Many have some physical ailment and are often employed beneath their capacity. The impulse to kill may be triggered by a traumatic event such as the loss of a job or the breakup of a relationship.
Both Stalked their Victims and Commited Heinous Crimes
It is believe that the crimes of both Jack the Ripper and the Zodiac Killer were sexually motivated, though neither one raped their victims. Jack the Ripper used a sharp knife for his crimes and mutilated his victims. The Zodiac killer targeted both male and female victims, and used both knives and guns in his crimes. Most of his victims were shot. One victim was nearly decapitated
Both left Cryptic Messages and Letters to Taunt the Police
Jack the Ripper left a mysterious message scrawled in chalk at one of the crime scenes. He also sent numerous letters to the media, signing one of them "Saucy Jacky". Of the hundreds received, only three have been authenticated as actually having been penned by the killer.
The Zodiac Killer left cryptic messages in the form of astrological or zodiac signs, scribbled around the bodies of his victims. He also taunted the police with 21 letters to press. Many of his letters were written in code and when deciphered by experts made such statements as "hunting humans was the most exciting of all sports."
On October 15, 1888, Jack the Ripper sent a piece of a kidney along with a letter known as the “From Hell” letter. The piece of kidney was believed to be that of victim Catherine Eddowes.
In 1969 the Zodiac Killer mailed a piece of his last victim Paul Stine's bloody shirt to a newspaper along with a taunting letter.
Neither One was ever Caught
Though there were literally hundreds of suspects in the Jack the Ripper case, no one was ever arrested for the crime. The killings stopped as quickly as they had started and Jack the Ripper was never heard from again.
Though the killings stopped in 1969, letters from the Zodiac Killer kept coming to the media until 1974. Over 2500 suspects were investigated. The prime suspect was Arthur Allen, who died in 1992. He was never charged and denied that he was the Zodiac killer to the end. DNA evidence obtained later did not match Allen's DNA. The Zodiac Killer was never apprehended and it is unknown whether or not he is still alive.
Countless books and movies have been made based on both crimes. The movie From Hell about Jack the Ripper, 2001, is available on DVD. The movie Zodiac was just released in 2007.
To find out more about these two interesting cases, there are many books available on Amazon including, THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF JACK THE RIPPER by Philip Sudgen, and Zodiac by Robert Graysmith. Also check out the following websites: Crime Library and Casebook:Jack the Ripper. Also visit the Suite 101 history course Jack the Ripper:Case Study.
