Were there other Jack the Ripper victims?
There are five generally acknowledged, canonical murder victims of Jack the Ripper, as you can read here. Were there other Jack the Ripper victims?
The police at the time and other investigators since have wondered about other unsolved murders, and speculated that they could be linked to Jack the Ripper. As the case was never solved, and no perpetrator caught, no-one can be certain if Jack started earlier than previously thought. And as serial killers usually keep killing until they are caught, many think Jack did not end with the murder of Mary Kelly.
Here are other possible victims:
Emma Elizabeth Shaw
April 3rd 1888, Whitechapel
Emma Smith was robbed and sexually assaulted in Osborn Street, Whitechapel by a gang of 3 men. The men inserted a blunt object into her vagina, and this caused the peritonitis that killed her a day later.
It doesn’t appear to be a Ripper murder. A gang was involved, and Shaw’s throat was not cut, but the press at the time linked it to Jack.
Martha Tabram
August 7th, 1888 Whitechapel
Many books mention this murder as jack’s first, and it does have a lot in common with the 5 agreed murders, and it could have been the first, less twisted murder that often serial killers start with.
Tabram was killed in George Yard, close to other Ripper murder sites, and she was killed with a knife. However, rather than having her throat cut, Tabram died from loss of blood from 39 stab wounds in her abdomen. There were no wounds in her genital area or attempts to remove organs, which is why today the Tabram murder is not thought to be a Jack the Ripper murder.