Could Jose Rizal be Jack the Ripper?
Is it possible that Dr. Jose Rizal. The national hero of the Philippines be jack the ripper?
Rizal was in London from May 1888 to January 1889, in the British Library copying "Sucesos de las islas Filipinas" by hand because there were no photocopying machines at the time. Jack the Ripper was active around this time, and since we do not know what Rizal did at night or on the days he was not
in the library, some people would like to believe Rizal is suspect. They argue that when Rizal left London during January 1889 the Ripper murders stopped. They say that Jack the Ripper must have had some medical training, based on the way his victims were mutilated. Rizal, of course, was a doctor. Jack the Ripper liked women, and so did Rizal. And -- this is so obvious that many overlooked it -- Jose Rizal's initials match those of Jack the Ripper!
REACTIONS:
This theory is pretty interesting, but its points are not sufficient in terms of historical accuracy.
When Rizal went to Europe, his main purpose was to pursue higher learning. The allowance he received from his family often arrived late, and there was a time when all he could eat was a fixed ratio of crackers. His chosen Medicine-related course was both time- and effort-consuming. Do you think an often-broke, homesick, Spanish-colonized medical student would risk his family's good name and forever deny himself of a bright future just so he could butcher women in his free time? Also, we must remember that though Rizal was a doctor, his specialty was opthalmology. Abdominal surgery was not his major, and the trademark surgical expertise shown by the real Jack the Ripper would have been implausible for Rizal to accomplish.
"Jack the Ripper liked women, and so did Rizal": For the record, Jose Rizal was not a play boy. As a matter of fact, most of the women linked to him never became his girlfriend: True, Rizal courted Consuelo Ortiga, but she chose Eduardo de Lete over him....
