Jack the Ripper killed himself after slaying Mary Kelly.

Jack the Ripper killed himself after the brutal slaying of Mary Kelly. He must have. There were no more murders after November 1888. Well, there were more killings but it wasn’t The Ripper because he was dead. And so begins the circular argument. As the killings didn’t stop, why is it assumed the Ripper died in 1888? We don’t know whether The Ripper killed himself because we don’t know his identity. (I have a suspect. But that’s another blog.)

Serial killers do not stop killing from their own choice. That is comforting but whilst superficially convincing, this maxim is not necessarily true. There have been instances when a series has ended for no apparent reason. It was assumed the murderers committed suicide – an easy explanation. A serial killer’s psyche is likened to drug dependence. Its addictive nature prevents the killer from relinquishing his reliance and is compelled to continue killing. Yet the flaw in this argument is that it is based on the experiences of those offenders who have been caught. Little is known about those who have not.

Yet heroin addicts can and do break the habit. Therefore, it seems reasonable to suppose that some serial killers, can halt the addictive cycle. But these killers aren’t identified, hence the incapacitation, incarceration or death scenario. As such, it is not an implausible supposition that certain offenders are freed from their murderous deeds by dint of some extreme personal trauma – a near-capture experience, for example . . .