JACK DE RIPPER..
Killer was Dutch sailor, claims historian
JACK the Ripper may have been a Dutch sailor who bludgeoned to death two women and is suspected of murdering two ex-wives.
Hendrik de Jong was named by historian Jan Bondeson as the latest “prime suspect” for the murders of five prostitutes in Whitechapel, East London, in 1888.
At the time, de Jong is thought to have worked as a steward on a ship regularly crossing from Rotterdam to London.
He is believed to have killed and buried his ex-wives in 1893, though he was never convicted.
Newspapers reported blood-stained surgical instruments were found among his possessions. He murdered the other women in Belgium in 1898 then apparently fled to the US where he vanished. Former Cardiff University lecturer Dr Bondeson has scoured Dutch newspapers from the time and found de Jong visited prostitutes and was a “pathological liar without conscience”. He added: “De Jong had the killer instinct to execute a murder and to get away scot-free.” It was also said a Dutch police inspector brought de Jong’s portrait to Whitechapel, where residents recognised him. De Jong has previously been named as a suspect but Dr Bondeson said he is more credible than scores of others.