10 Theories About The Identity Of Jack The Ripper

Klosowski's life in London was anything but serene. In moving to the British capital, he had left behind his wife, only to marry another woman, Lucy Baderski, in 1889. When his first wife discovered this, she travelled to London to expose his infidelity and force Baderski out. Instead, the three lived together for a time, before Klosowski's first wife returned, defeated, to Poland. Left with Baderski, the pair crossed over to America in 1891, settling in New Jersey. Klosowski's married life deteriorated; he soon threatened to kill Baderski and cover up the murder. She then fled back to England, while Klosowski took up with Annie Chapman, taking on the alias George Chapman as a result.

As George Chapman, Klosowski took in a string of mistresses. Annie Chapman, pregnant with his child, left; three others he murdered: Mary Isabella Spink, Bessie Taylor, and Maud Marsh. All were poisoned with tartar-emetic, which produces a painful death similar to arsenic poisoning. Marsh's death led to suspicions by the police, and the bodies of Klosowski's other two victims were exhumed, leading to the conclusion that all three had been poisoned.

None other than Scotland Yard Inspector Frederick Abberline believed Chapman/Klosowski to be Jack the Ripper, going on record in the early 1900s. For one, he had interviewed Lucie Badewski, who told him Klosowski often used to go out at night, for hours at a stretch. As well, Klosowski was notoriously violent with his partners, and his victims had all been women.

Klosowski was hanged for the death of Marsh on 7 April 1903.

The question remains: could Jack the Ripper have completely changed his modus operandi upon arriving in America, and become Jack the Poisoner?