The Slaughterman
In the book Jack The Ripper - In Fact And Fiction, Robin Odell makes the suggestion that Jack the Ripper was a Jewish shocet or ritual slaughter man, who after the Miller's Court murder was discovered by his own people, and dealt with in accordance to their own brand of justice. The man's identity was never made public. The police at the time considered the possibility that the Ripper may have been a Jewish slaughter man and made visits to Jewish abattoirs. The khalef, a scochet's ceremonial knife, was examined by police surgeon Dr Gordon Brown to see if it was capable, in his judgement, of inflicting the injuries on Catherine Eddowes body. Dr Brown said in his opinion such a knife, single-edged and lacking a point, could not have been used. Dr Bagster Philips thought the murder weapon must have been a very sharp knife with a thin narrow blade, at least six inches to eight inches long. Questioned by the coroner, Philips thought that the knives normally used by slaughtermen, which were well ground down, might have been used. Major Smith claimed to have checked on the movements of all the local butchers and slaughterers in the area. Chief Inspector Swanson reported that seventy six butchers and slaughterers had been visited, and the character of the men employed had been enquired into.
