10 Theories About The Identity Of Jack The Ripper

Why should the British have a monopoly on Jack the Ripper? Why not an American Ripper?

An outsider being behind the Ripper murders isn't exactly an outlandish idea. But one name in particular has been put forward as the true identity of Jack the Ripper — by his own great, great grandson.

H.H. Holmes is one of the more contentious serial killers in American history. Mostly because, in the end, it's hard to tell how many people he actually did kill. In Chicago, he was accused of converting a hotel into a "murder castle" full of elaborate traps, though little evidence of such was ever uncovered. It's also debatable as to whether he was a true serial killer, or someone for whom murder was a means to an end.

Holmes was hanged for the murder of just one man, Benjamin Pitezel, a criminal associate of his who was involved in insurance fraud, among other dealings. In 1894, already suspected of murder and arson in Chicago, Holmes was on the run, and concocted a scheme to have Pitezel pose as an inventor, then fake his death to cash in on an insurance policy. Holmes was to supply a cadaver, but instead, wound up simply killing Pitezel himself, and collecting on the policy. More incredibly, he convinced the man's wife, who knew nothing of the plot, to place three of her children in his custody. He then brought the children into Canada, while separately bringing Pitezel's wife as well.

The grisly deeds of Holmes only got worse from there.