EPISODE 10: THE AFTERMATH ## PART ONE: THE END ### CHAPTER 1: AFTER KELLY After the murder of Mary Jane Kelly on November 9, 1888, the canonical murders stopped. There was no announcement, no farewell letter, no final taunt to the police. The killer simply vanished. The streets of Whitechapel, which had been stalked for ten weeks, fell silent. The immediate reaction was uncertainty. For weeks after Kelly's death, Londoners waited for another murder. Police patrols continued. Women stayed off the streets after dark. The city held its breath. November passed. December came and went. The new year arrived, and still no murder. By early 1889, it was becoming clear that something had changed. The Ripper, whoever he was, had either stopped killing or had moved elsewhere. --- ### CHAPTER 2: THE THEORIES Why did the murders stop? This question has generated as much speculation as the killer's identity. The possibilities fall into several categories, each with supporting arguments and weaknesses. The simplest explanation is that the killer died. Perhaps Montague Druitt's suicide in late November 1888 ended the murders because he was the murderer. Perhaps someone else died—of disease, accident, or suicide—and took his secrets to the grave. Another possibility is that the killer was institutionalized. The violence of the Kelly murder, so extreme compared to the earlier...