The unsolved mystery of Jack the Ripper | Jeff Mudgett | TEDxVancouver

Jeff Mudgett presents evidences in an attempt to solve one of the greatest mysteries of our time. Is the infamous serial killer H.H. Holmes actually Jack the Ripper?
Jeff Mudgett seeks the truth about a deep, dark family secret. A former lawyer and barge business entrepreneur, he learned later in life of a direct ancestral line to perhaps one of the most evil men to ever live, Dr. Herman Webster Mudgett, better known as the infamous H.H. Holmes. Unable to continue normal life with such a cloud hanging over his head, Jeff set aside business life and dedicated himself to the reality of his family’s curse. What Jeff will reveal may just prove there is far more to the horror than had ever been previously imagined.
Jeff’s psychological journey dancing with these devils while at the same time identifying his own soul are described in his terrifying new book "Bloodstains." More importantly, he tells how investigating the truth has turned the horror of his ancestry into the blessing of realizing the destiny his life was always meant to be: to identify and memorialize those murdered innocents whose remains lay forgotten and betrayed at 63rd & Wallace in Chicago, now a United States Post Office and once the horrible Murder Castle.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but inde-pendently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

Imagine dinner with your family,
your regular family,

suddenly discovering a secret,

a secret so profound
as to destroy all perspective

gained in 40 years of a "normal life,"

being told that your
great-great-grandfather

was Herman Mudgett,

better known as Dr. H. H. Holmes -

a monster, a mass murderer,

the proprietor of the "Murder Castle,"

the real-life Dr. Frankenstein.

Slammed in the face
by heredity, genetics, DNA,

and traits they once referred to
at the turn of this century

as belonging to the one, the devil.

Serial killer, psychopath, evil genius -

the words and phrases they invented
to describe my ancestor,

because the ones before his horrible acts
weren't working anymore.

(Background piano music)

Having to admit
the troubling idiosyncrasies

I'd spent a lifetime denying,

no longer able to talk myself out of them

with the often repeated
"We all have them."

Worst of all, having to accept the reason
I'm here with you all today

were the conscious decisions

of perhaps the most evil being
that ever lived.

Rather than run away
as so many before me had,

I decided to accept my fate,

recognizing my destiny
was to tell the world the truth

about this monster
and his innocent victims.

So, at the opportunity TED has given me,

and with your help,

I'd like to go a long way today

toward taking a giant step
in fulfilling my destiny.

First, some background.

While researching my grandfather's secret,

I soon realized that little of the legend
had been accurately recorded.

Created by one, repeated by many others,

parts of the story were now
being considered as historic non-fiction.

Incorrectly so.

A different perspective was required.

We needed the complete elimination
of all confirmational bias

if we were ever to have the truth.

And I'd like to prove it to you tonight

how why that Dr. H. H. Holmes,

the most prolific
serial killer in history,

was also, in fact, Jack the Ripper -

the notorious 1888 London murderer

who terrorized a nation
and mystified the world.

Jack the Ripper - the very words
create fear, anxiety, and trepidation,

not to mention sheer horror.

Before I wrote my book "Bloodstains,"

I knew very little about Jack the Ripper

other than the idea was society's metaphor
for everything we find mysterious,

unthinkable, unsolvable,

and reluctantly fascinating.

But most odd, a deep-seated
negativity bordering on anger

whenever any new evidence

regarding the killer's
possible identification was revealed.

We'd find ourselves
senselessly arguing, "Who isn't?"

rather than logically debating,
"Who may be?"

And why?

Why, because we were more interested
in confirming our previous determinations

than we were in ascertaining the truth.

A different perspective was required,

along with the complete elimination
of all confirmational bias,

and I'd like to prove it to you tonight.

As you can see on the screen,

my friends in Hollywood
created these reenactments

first time ever released
of Jack the Ripper,

with a professional actor
that used the evidence that is out

to create the images you're seeing.

They did an excellent job.

Tonight, I'm going
to demonstrate evidence to you

that proves H. H. Holmes
was Jack the Ripper.

And the mechanism
I'm going to use to do that

is I'm going to swear you in
as my grand jury.

So, if you'd raise
your right hand, please.

As prosecuting attorney,
I will now swear you in.

Do you solemnly swear
to take a new perspective,

eliminating all previous bias

regarding the specific
1888 London murders?

(music fades)

To do your duty,

you must free your mind
of any articles, books, or movies,

you may have read or seen,

regarding Jack the Ripper -

anything which would interfere
with the evidence I'm about to present.

When we're finished,

I'm going to ask each of you
to make your own determination

whether probable cause exists
that a crime or crimes was committed,

so that an indictment can issue
and a suspect arrested,

assuming he was still alive.

Exhibit A, please.

The purpose for exhibit A
is not to prove this is the ship

that Holmes rode over
from New York to London on.

It's more to prove
how easy travel was in 1888.

It was a seven-day transit,
tightly maintained schedules,

on shipping companies
that catered to the wealthy,

to the well-off like Dr. Holmes was.

These companies had
each passenger sign a passenger list,

which are maintained today.

And when we receive our warrant,

we'll obtain copies
of these passenger lists,

and within three or four days,

we'll be able to determine
the exact ship he rode over on

and the exact ship he rode back on.

Exhibit B.

Exhibit B is an incredible
piece of evidence.

It's a letter that Holmes
wrote to his lawyer

two or three years after 1888.

It's not to prove he was
in London in 1888 -

I'll do that later.

But what this shows is an intent,
a knowledge, and a desire on his part

to be in London.

If you read the bottom
sentence of the letter,

it mentions his favorite periodical,
The New York Herald,

is difficult to be found in London.

Exhibit C.

Exhibit C is a collage
of the artists' renditions

from the major periodicals
during the time of the Ripper.

These were off the first front pages

of each of the major papers
in London at the time.

The rendition on the left is of Holmes,
done by the Chicago Tribune.

The two photos at the top are Holmes.

But I just wanted you to get a feel
for the general resemblance of Holmes

and how the papers considered
the Ripper to have looked.

Scotland Yard considered
the Ripper to be five foot 5'7",

140-160 lbs,

25-35 years old, and a medical maniac.

At the time, H. H. Holmes was 5'7",

150 lbs, 27 years of age,

and had an MD from the University
of Michigan Medical School.

Exhibit D.

Exhibit D is a summation of the autopsies
done on the victims the Ripper murdered

by the certified pathologists in London.

It's a critical piece of evidence
because over the last 126 years,

we've had over 100 suspects regarding
who Jack the Ripper may have been.

These professional opinions
by the pathologists

show that, not only must
the killer have been a doctor,

but a practicing surgeon.

They discussed great anatomical knowledge

and his ability with the knife or scalpel.

Basically, in layman's terms,

these pathologists were stating
this man was an expert with a knife.

He couldn't have been
a Polish hairdresser,

he couldn't have been an English gardener,

he had to have been a doctor.

When you narrow the field down that far,

we're talking all of a sudden
from 100 suspects to maybe 5.

With the evidence that follows,
we'll nail that down to 2.

Exhibit E.

Exhibit E is an amazing piece of evidence.

In 2006, Scotland Yard and the BBC

took the 13 eyewitnesses,
credible and corroborated,

to the Jack the Ripper murders.

Most people don't realize that -
13 eyewitnesses.

They ran it through
their new EFIT technology:

Electronic Facial Imaging Technology.

The computer came back with this image

of what the Ripper looked like.

Notice the bridge of the nose,
notice the shape of the eyes,

notice the ears, notice the cheekbones.

Keep it in mind.

This is a photo taken of H. H. Holmes
by the Chicago police.

Once again, notice the bridge of the nose,

notice the shape of the eyes,
the ears, the cheekbones.

I took this photo
and that earlier computer summation

to a retired FBI investigator

and to an investigator
from the state of Virginia,

who did this for a living.

They would compare composites
with photographs to track down suspects.

Both said the comparison -
we'll have it on screen in a sec -

both said the comparison was the closest
they'd ever seen in their entire careers.

Just take a second
to look once again at the nose -

Holmes had a broken nose -

the eyes, the ears,
again the cheekbones.

I had my video expert do a morph
of the photo into the summation,

the computer image,

and I think you'll see
it's a remarkable piece of evidence.

Exhibit F.

This is perhaps the most amazing piece
of evidence of them all.

Many of you will recognize
this as the "Dear Boss" letter,

the famous letter which raised the issue
of Jack the Ripper the first time.

And you can see he's signed
the letter "Jack the Ripper."

This letter ... one sec ...

This letter was dated
September 25th, 1888.

It was postmarked
and received September 27th.

It was forwarded
to Scotland Yard the 29th.

It was released to the public
on October 1st.

Catherine Eddowes' body,
one of the five Ripper victims,

was discovered on September 30th.

Keep those dates in mind.

This letter mentions that the next victim
will have her ear removed.

Catherine Eddowes' body
was found with her earlobe sliced off.

While we were doing this investigation,

we quickly realized how similar
the handwriting on that letter was

to the handwriting of Herman Mudgett.

We took both samples
to the British Library in London,

who recommended an expert for us
to consider the similarities.

The expert came back
with a professional opinion

that said this is obviously the same hand.

We'll have her opinion
up on the screen in a second.

But having practiced law in California,

I knew that, in 1988,
the Supreme Court had ruled

that professional opinions
regarding handwriting analysis

was inadmissible in capital cases.

So I tracked down what
the Department of Justice was doing,

because I knew handwriting
was a big part of major cases.

I found out that they had contracted
a company at the University of Buffalo

that had created a computer program
to compare handwriting.

When I contacted them,
they were eager to take part.

So we submitted the "Dear Boss" letter
and the Holmes handwriting

to the corporation
at the University of Buffalo,

once I got ahead of myself a little bit.

This is the professional opinion
of the British Library's expert,

and you can see on the second sentence

below Professional Opinion:
"... from the same hand."

When the computer analyzed

the "Dear Boss" letter
and the Holmes handwriting,

they came back with a number
of 96.75% similarity,

and an opinion that Jack the Ripper

and the Mudgett classes
are similar in style.

You couldn't get 96.75% right now

if you wrote two letters now,
gave them to me,

and I submitted them to the computer.

This is an amazing number.

OK, I've told you what
a professional opinion was

of an expert.

I've given you the numbers
from a computer.

Now, I'd like you all
just to put your eye,

comparing the handwriting:

the "Ys," the "Us," the "Rs."

Give me your own judgment what you think.

Is it the same or not?

As the prosecuting attorney
of our grand jury,

I have a legal obligation

to give you any exonerating evidence
I have found in my investigation

(Background piano music)

which would state that Holmes
was not guilty of these crimes.

In over one year,
I haven't found one piece.

We can ascertain that he was
in Chicago in July of 1888.

We know he returned to Chicago
in January of 1889.

I've asked historians all over the country

to help me find one piece of evidence

which would place Holmes
in the United States

in the gap in between.

Nothing.

Alright, you've seen the evidence
I have to present,

and I'm going to tell you
what your vote means.

I'm not asking you to determine
that Holmes was Jack the Ripper.

I'm asking you to make your own judgment,

that probable cause has been established,

so that history can take
a closer look at H. H. Holmes

as the prime suspect on the Ripper cases.

I think if you do,
and I think if history does,

we're going to find the answer
comes rather easily.

And if we do, I'll tell you
what would happen,

assuming Holmes were still alive.

He would be arrested,

he would be extradited,

he would stand trial
in London for these murders.

And if I was the prosecuting attorney,

I would create the most dramatic event
in courtroom history.

I would have Holmes at dock,
the judge high on the stand.

I would have my deputy bring in
the best eyewitness I had of those 13.

I would make sure her eyes
are focused dead forward,

not looking at Holmes.

And as she took the witness stand,

I would have the deputy turn her around

so that that was the first moment
she had seen Holmes

since when she witnessed his crime.

(music ends)

I can tell you exactly
what would have happened,

what would happen.

She would point at Holmes;

she would say, "That's him!

That's the one I saw slice her throat."

And there would be no more
Jack the Ripper mystery.

Thank you very much.

(Applause)

(Host) So, now, Jeff,
you've made the case.

You all are the jury.

stepintotilt.com is the website.

Hit that website right now.

Is H. H. Holmes Jack the Ripper?

We're going to tabulate this,

we'll try to do it real-time,

so we'll see if you're able
to convince them.

Ah!

(Jeff Mudgett) You're incredible.
Thank you very much!

(Applause)

I'll tell you right now.

This will make an amazing effect
around the world, your vote here today.

All the Ripperologists, all the historians

will now go back
and take a second look at Holmes.

And if they do, we're going
to solve this mystery.

Thank you very much.

(Applause)