10 Theories About The Identity Of Jack The Ripper

Holmes eventually killed all three children, asphyxiating girls Alice and Nellie by forcing them into the trunk of a car, then running a hose to into the trunk from the exhaust. He purchased drugs to kill young Howard Pitezel, chopping up then burning the body, and hiding the remains in a rental cottage.

Despite that, Holmes was never convicted for those crimes, rather only for the death of their father. As to Holmes being Jack the Ripper, well— the majority of crimes Holmes did commit, in retrospect, seemed to be financially motivated, or to cover up his misdeeds.

Before he was hanged, Holmes confessed to 27 murders, though at least some of the victims he claimed to have killed were later found alive. It didn't help that he had been paid $7,500 by a newspaper for his confession. But it's clear that Holmes did kill several individuals: the Pitezels, and Julia Smythe, an early mistress of his.

In 2017, however, Jeff Mudgett, an ex-commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve, lawyer, and Holmes great, great grandson, revealed he had inherited journals from H.H. Holmes which detailed the murders of prostitutes in London. His claims were eventually made into a History Channel series, American Ripper. Mudgett also claimed the man put to death in 1896, having been convicted of the Pitezel murder, was not actually Holmes. That claim, at least, was debunked when the killer's remains were exhumed, and DNA testing used to confirm that Holmes truly had met justice.