Alan Robson in search of Jack the Ripper
WHITECHAPEL, London, the late 1800s, and an unknown serial killer was wreaking havoc on the streets of the nation’s capital.
A century and a quarter later, well-known Metro Radio DJ Alan Robson, ‘The Flashing Blade’, has gone in search of Jack the Ripper.
There were reputedly six notorious murders, but might the Ripper have claimed more victims?
The North’s East’s very own ‘Night Owl’ releases the first of his Walking In The Footsteps series of books and goes deep into Ripperland. But who was the Ripper? Numerous suspects have been attributed as the killer.
For example, in the 1990s, one Sunday newspaper claimed the Victorian writer, Dr Roslyn D’Onston, was the Ripper.
D’Onston was one of ten primary suspects which also included Duke of Clarence (Prince Eddy), Dr William Gull, Montague Druitt, William Bury, George Chapman, Aaron Cohen, Dr Thomas Cream, Frederick Deeming, and Dr Pedachenko.
Alan said: “I’ve always been fascinated with subjects like Jack the Ripper.
“The only way to find out is to start from the beginning and walk in the footsteps of the Ripper.
“And perhaps the only way to get a true feel for the real horror that happened in Whitechapel is late at night through until the early hours of the morning.
“The Metropolitan Police advised me it is not the safest area to be in alone late at night.
“That is now, so how must it have been when there were so few street lamps, a myriad of small alleys, extreme poverty and so many murders that the police could frankly not cope?”
The DJ also took part in two Ripper ghost hunts.
Alan added: “One night while we were live on air, we went down to Whitechapel and had a look around.
“There’s certainly still something about the place - it’s like it’s stained. I got to see the autopsy photos and they were
unreal, quite methodical really.
“According to the police, the Ripper only killed six people but we all know, moreso with forensic advances, you have to hone your craft first.
“The famous, thick London fog was also at its peak at this time, and that’s where he hid himself.”
The DJ added: “He knew exactly what he was doing, but he had to practice and that makes you think there more victims.” Robson’s research into not only the Ripper murders, but other crimes around that late1800s period, led him to a startling conclusion. “Having spoken to forensic scientists, it’s near impossible to say that Mary Ann Nichols was the first victim. “I’ve looked through the numerous other crimes of some potential and there were almost 40,” he explained. “It’s like, could there really be so many victims?
The famous thick London fog was also at its peak at this time, and that’s where he hid himself Alan Robson
“In the book I’ve given people a choice - a chance to work out for themselves, but it’s my belief that only one person could actually be Jack the Ripper.”
■Published by Britain’s Next Bestseller, the first book in Alan Robson’s series, Walking in the Footsteps, is newly available on Kindle (plans are in place for a limited print run later in the year) priced at £2.99.
■Alan is also due to launch his new website www.robsonsworld. com which is full of audio books & files, ghost hunt photographs and everything from over 40 years of the Flashing Blade.