Jack or Jacob?

Jacob Levy is by far the leading (and most likely) suspect among them all. In my opinion, the killer's real identity is completely unknown—a remarkably ordinary man who lived in the area and was never even suspected by anyone. However, if we must consider a name among the most probable suspects, it is Jacob Levy. He simply makes the most sense.

Tracy I'Anson's book Jacob the Ripper does an excellent job of outlining the case in his favor: he was a Jew, 32 years old, had lived his entire life in Whitechapel, suffered from neurosyphilis, worked as a butcher, and lived on Middlesex Street, between Mitre Square—where Catherine Eddowes was murdered—and Goulston Street. He was committed to an asylum in 1890, after which the murders had ceased.

In 1886, he was arrested for stealing a piece of meat from his neighbor (serial killers often commit minor offenses before escalating to murder) and was confined to a mental institution for one year. His wife stated that he wandered aimlessly through the streets at night and had difficulty sleeping. Could he have been the man observed by Sagar and Cox? Levy himself said that, if not restrained, he would commit acts of violence, that he felt compelled to carry out “acts his conscience could not tolerate,” and that he experienced periods of exaltation.

Jacob and Joseph Levy, Catherine Eddowes' witness, were cousins. Jacob's appearance matched the descriptions provided by both Elizabeth Long and his cousin Joseph. The Evening News reported that Mr. Levy adopted a stance of silence and resistance when it came to cooperating with investigators, suggesting that he may have known something and feared being called to testify at the inquest later.

It was at Wentworth Buildings that the bloodstained piece of apron and the infamous graffiti were discovered—the very same building where his older brother lived. Could Levy have hidden there after the Double Event?

It is also worth noting that when Levy was 19 years old, his brother Abraham committed suicide by hanging himself in his own room. In the years that followed, Levy claimed that his brother had actually committed suicide by cutting his own throat.

Coincidence?