00:00:00
Hey weirdos. I'm Elena. I'm Ash. And this is Morbid. My name's kind of like an automatopia.
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Do you know what I mean? Ash. Ash. It is a little bit. Can't you hear that? My kids love that word. I know. Uh, I was
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playing hideand go seek with one of them the other day and we were hiding in a closet and she just kept going on the
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monopia on the monopia and I was like, "Shut the [ __ ] up. You're going to get us caught.
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>> Get us caught." >> And then the other kids just like stopped seeking us. >> Yeah. That they do that a lot.
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>> Yeah. >> Um, playing playing hide-and-seek with my children is really a risk that you
00:00:48
you take, you know. >> Also, one of them is so good that it's like dangerous actually because I'm
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like, we may never find her. >> Yeah. There's times when I'm like, I should put a little uh jingle bell, a
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little apple >> air tag on her. >> I'm going cat. You're going mom. >> Yeah. >> I'm like, a jingle bell.
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>> A little jingle bell on her. >> We could also lay out a saucer of milk for her.
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>> Like or we could just give her her little bracelet with the Apple Air Tag on it. Oh, also speaking of cats, thank
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you so much everybody um for helping me with the tips about um like ceramic bowls and all that for feline acne. We
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do all of that and he still has feline acne. He's just got really persistent acne.
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>> And now he's on prednazone and ointment and liquids and all that stuff. It's really great. It's awesome. She showed
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me a clip from the office this morning. >> She was explaining that she she was like, you know, and now Remy needs like
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this ointment twice a day and he's on this and he's on that. And I immediately thought of the the part in the office
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where Angela has Dwight go to like, you know, take care of her cat, Sparkles. And she's like, she just she's like,
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well, he's diabetic, so you have to roll the insulin. Don't shake it. And you have to put the ointment at the base of
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his tail. And then Dwight just like murders the cat. >> Yeah, that's crazy. >> I immediately thought about it and I had
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to show her the clip because that's just who I am as a person. >> And honestly, that's who I am. I'm
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Angela. Um, also you're going to hear two old episodes on Christmas, like we're rerunning Elena's favorite
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episodes the week of Christmas. >> In one of those episodes, you'll hear me say that I don't like cats. I need to
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remind all of us that people grow and I don't want to hear it. Okay, I just needed to get that out.
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>> It's true. It's fine. You >> I'm going to get so many messages like, I you one time you said you hated cats
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and now you have three. Do you hurt them? >> Yeah, that is precisely what's going to
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happen. I don't. >> It's just the >> Do you know how much money I spent for them to shave Remy's chin and give me
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all kinds of ointments and prednazone? >> They shaved my cat's chin. >> She's become that person that sits there
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and says, "Let me just show you a couple pictures of my cats." So, she loves those cats. I love them so much. That's
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what I mean. Like, you've become that person since this that episode. >> Yeah, you could message me nice stuff,
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but don't don't be like, "OH MY GOD." >> YEAH. Just don't don't get mad at You probably will still, but I just wanted
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to say >> some people will. But you know, >> and you know what, listener, weirdo
00:03:11
listening, it's not you. >> It's not you. You, you know, it's not you. >> It's not you.
00:03:15
>> You know, >> you're not the problem. It's not you. >> You're not the problem. It's not you.
00:03:18
>> But there are problems. >> And it's not you. >> And you're not them. >> You listening right now, wherever you
00:03:24
are, you are not the problem. >> Unless it's one of you. >> Unless you are the problem.
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>> All right. Anyway, I just really wanted to get that all out. What's up with you,
00:03:33
Red? Big Red. >> What is up with you, >> Big Red? It's almost your [ __ ] birthday. It is almost my birthday.
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>> I know what we're doing. >> And I have no idea what we're doing, which is fun. That's a fun thing.
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>> I'm drunk on PA. >> I'm drunk on PA. And you know what? And it's the end of the year. I always like
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I always love the end of the year cuz I love a fresh slate. Yeah, I agree. >> And I think there's a lot of cool stuff
00:03:55
that's happening next year. >> Yeah, there is fun stuff. >> Really good stuff. I mean, January pops
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off with another ghost concert. So, I am >> Oh, when are you going >> for this? It's at the end of January.
00:04:08
>> Oh, damn. >> But yeah. >> Okay, I'll be there. I love that. >> In Connecticut.
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>> Hell yeah. Connect. >> Cannot wait. >> Let's go. Excited for that. >> Debb is coming to this one, which I'm
00:04:20
really excited. Her first ghost concert. >> I cannot wait to see photos of that night. I'm going to die. She's purely
00:04:25
video of >> Deborah. Deb Deborah is a real one because she's like, "Well, you love
00:04:31
Ghost so much and I've heard some of their songs and I like them." Yeah. >> So, I want to go because you love it so
00:04:36
much and I want to go where you love things. >> Deb is a quintessential best friend.
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>> She really is. Like, just know that about >> Debb. She rides hard. >> She does. And so, that's going to be
00:04:45
fun. And then there's a bunch of other really cool stuff. >> There's so much fun stuff.
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>> Some things we we really can't say right now, but there's cool stuff. >> But you'll see. And speaking of awesome
00:04:53
stuff, did you see our [ __ ] awesome billboard in Times [ __ ] Square? a giant billboard that
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Sirius was so nice and they paused the billboard for us. They paused it for 5 minutes so we could take pictures.
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>> We never had that experience in the past. >> Never been offered that. >> We just had to watch it flick by really
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quick and we were like, "Hey, it's so cool that we have one, but oh, where'd it go?"
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>> Yeah, you wait another 45 minutes. This one we got to experience. >> We got to literally sit there like look
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at it, stare at it, take really take in the moment. It it like was such a different experience because you got to
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like take in the entirety of it. >> Yeah. It was >> And with Sam and Colby. >> Yes.
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>> So that was fun. >> No, it was really fun. And that was just really cool of them to do. We love being
00:05:41
at Sirius. >> We do. It's been so late. >> Uh and that was just great. So we hope
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you guys dug that episode. Um if you haven't listened to it yet, make sure you watch Sam and Col's video of our
00:05:54
investigation and then listen to our episode for the debrief. It's like a really fun little um you know meal and
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dessert platter. >> Yeah. It's like um it's like going to watch a movie at the Lux level.
00:06:05
>> Yeah. There you go. Just serving it up, you know. >> Remember that? I haven't done that in a
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long time. >> I haven't either actually cuz I haven't been to like the actual movie theater.
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>> No, I can't. I think the last time I was at the movie theater, I saw Wicked at uh
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like the old Wicked. I still haven't seen part two. >> Oh, yeah. >> I'm a little wicked out.
00:06:25
I didn't want to say it because I'm always that person. >> That's okay. I'll say
00:06:29
>> [ __ ] Like >> I think it's an incred like I've never seen the play. I want to see the play.
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>> But cuz so I don't even know what happens in part two, but I just need a minute.
00:06:40
>> Yeah, I think that >> Yeah, I just I think I just needed a minute. But, you know, my kids love it,
00:06:45
so I think it brings me to a little better of a place with it. But >> yeah, >> it really was all-encompassing for a
00:06:51
while. It just became like it it was the zeitgeist for a while. >> Yeah. Like the press tour.
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>> It was crazy. It >> was a lot. And you you thought you could get away with it, but you go scrolling
00:07:01
on TikTok and it's like your entire Tik Tok feed if you just say the word wicked, which I don't know if you guys
00:07:06
know, but we live in Massachusetts and we use the word wicked >> all the [ __ ] time.
00:07:10
>> 100 times a day. >> That was wicked bad. That was wicked scary. I'm wicked man.
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>> Yeah, exactly. >> And every time you say it, your phone is like, "Oh, wicked. You want to see
00:07:20
wicked videos? You want to talk to Ariana? You want to talk to Cynthia? Like >> like I don't I'm sorry. Not right now.
00:07:26
>> Not right now. I'm tired. >> I'm tired. Okay. >> And then all I could hear, which is like
00:07:30
the most incredible note, but I'm jealous I can't do is >> that note. >> How she is I'm not taking away from the
00:07:38
talent because the talent is like unmatched. >> And I love it. It's just I It was just I
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think it's a lot all at once. Sometimes it's the marketing >> that >> that can get to be too much. sometimes
00:07:50
they don't know when to stop. >> But I I'm not going to be able to avoid spoilers for a long time. So, I do need
00:07:55
to go see the second part cuz I want to hear your thoughts cuz we've seen >> uh John and I have seen the musical a
00:08:01
bunch of times. We both love it and then we took the girls to see it like a couple years ago
00:08:05
>> and they keep almost ruining it for me and then they're like, "Oh, wait. Tit hasn't seen it.
00:08:08
>> Ti hasn't seen it." They like catch themselves live. I'm like, "I'm actually very impressed with your ability to hold
00:08:13
that back." >> They hold back spoilers. They do. But yeah, the Cynthia Aribo's note in
00:08:18
Defying Gravity, I remember going into this thinking like I'm a little scared because I'm just like really partial to
00:08:25
Adena Menzel hitting that note. >> Can anyone hit it like Adel Dazim? I don't. >> And literally said, hold my beer.
00:08:33
>> And she said, "I can." And I said, "Respect." She said, "Watch this immediately."
00:08:40
I I just have to I just saw you being >> that her no good deed is by far the most
00:08:49
amazing thing in the world. Like >> see and we haven't seen it. >> I don't even know what that means.
00:08:53
>> Well, we're going to know what it is. So, no good deed killed it apparently. >> Let's go.
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>> We'll watch it after this. Don't worry about it. >> I know. We're going to watch it.
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>> Um but Cynthia Reva's voice is insane. >> All right. So, I think we should get
00:09:05
into this story. It's massive trigger warning for this story. >> Um, >> lots of racism just abound here.
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>> Um, it's it's a rough one, but it's an important story to tell cuz it's also unsolved.
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>> Oh. >> Um, and even though it is from the early 1900s, I think it's I don't think anything
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>> Not the 1900s. Not the year. I know >> you just sounded like a young a young No, this is like 1906, so it's actually
00:09:36
like 1900s. >> Yeah, it's we're talking about the Atlanta Ripper case. Um >> I've heard of this case, but I don't
00:09:43
know all the details. >> It's I truly believe just like the Jack the Ripper case, which we will mention
00:09:49
in this a lot because it really kind of came off the back of that. >> Oh, >> I think it can be solved. Yeah,
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>> I really don't think that any case is like fully out of the realm of being solved. It's just how you approach it.
00:10:01
>> I fully >> There's always something. >> There's always one little p like string
00:10:05
to pull >> and technology is crazy. Uh, exactly. And in this one in particular, I'm going
00:10:10
to be quoting like a lot of uh investigators who uh were uh wildly racist and I'm going to be quoting a lot
00:10:18
of newspapers which were uh >> wildly racist and uh they use language which I will not be using um because I
00:10:28
am a white person who does not use that language. Great. So, I will change that language so that I don't have to say
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something that is completely inappropriate and something that does not align with my love beliefs. Um, so
00:10:42
just so you know that. So, I'll tell you I'll say like here they said something gnarly, but I'm going to say this so you
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know, just so the context is there because I don't want to erase the fact that this was wildly racist.
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>> Yeah. >> Um, but I'm just not going to say certain words cuz icky. Um, but yeah, so
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yeah, just trigger warning. All of that is in here. It's a rough one. >> All right.
00:11:03
>> Uh, so in 1888, let's go back there for a minute. That's a familiar year. Yep.
00:11:08
>> 1888, Jack the Ripper. Remember that guy? >> I do. >> He terrorized the White Chapel
00:11:13
neighborhood of London's East End. He did. >> We've talked about him a few times. Um,
00:11:17
he honestly introduced the idea kind of to the world of a human who kills out of
00:11:23
a compulsive need and won't stop until they're either caught or die. Mhm. >> Um, the Ripper killings in White Chapel
00:11:29
ended by the close of 1988. It was a pretty quick spree. Uh, but the concept of like a Ripper killer has lived on and
00:11:38
on. >> Yeah. We've covered a few. >> Yeah. And for more than a century has at various times been attributed to
00:11:44
unidentified killers who commit like really brutal, gruesome murders. They They tend to get the Ripper moniker.
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>> I get I'm thinking of the Chicago Ripper. >> Exactly. like there's always those that
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pop up. Um during the second decade of the 20th century, an unidentified serial killer was believed to have operated in
00:12:03
Atlanta, Georgia, uh over here in the US, brutally killing at least 20 black women. Now, due to the similarities
00:12:10
between the White Chapel victims and the victims in Atlanta, the Georgia press dubbed their killer the Atlanta Ripper,
00:12:17
an anonymous monster whose presence literally held the city's black population in a grip of fear. For a
00:12:24
period of roughly 5 years, the Atlanta Ripper killed with regularity on the city streets, slashing, mutilating, and
00:12:32
otherwise brutalizing the bodies of the women that they killed. >> Despite having at least six viable
00:12:37
suspects, >> investigators were never able to conclusively identify who the Atlanta
00:12:43
Ripper was. And the murders are solving. Yeah. Um, and the city at this point was
00:12:48
boiling over with racial tensions and civil war resentment even because that's the time period we're in.
00:12:54
>> Oh, yeah. >> The Atlanta Ripper became also kind of a convenient scapegoat for domestic
00:12:59
violence and racially motivated murders. >> Yeah. >> Uh, which may have undermined
00:13:03
investigators abilities to solve the crimes at the time. >> There was just so much [ __ ] going on.
00:13:08
>> Yeah. >> And so much racism. Now, in the wake of the American Civil War, the reconstruction effort across the
00:13:15
American South was focused largely on the cities, which had been completely devastated to near completion by the
00:13:22
Union Army, nearing the war's end. >> Uh, in Georgia, a lot of the state's reconstruction was focusing on
00:13:28
rebuilding Atlanta in particular. Uh, it was the largest city in the state. It had been kind of the economic and social
00:13:34
hub. They wanted to get that back on track. >> I was so hoping you'd say the word hub.
00:13:38
>> I love hub. >> I It is a hub, you know. I like when things are hubs. >> I love being a hub.
00:13:43
>> It feels good. I like being a hub. >> I'm not a hub. Well, maybe I am a hub for something.
00:13:46
>> Maybe you're a hub. I don't really No, I don't want to be a hub. >> You're a hub for emotional um support.
00:13:52
>> Oh my god. Thanks. >> For me, you're my hub. >> This morning, Alina told me I can't die
00:13:56
because she wouldn't go on. And I said, "That's a lot of pressure." >> I said, "You literally like don't take
00:14:01
risks." >> Like, be be safe. >> Exactly. >> I said, "No risks." >> No risks. So the economic shift from
00:14:08
agricultural work to industrial and intellectual labor meant that anyone needing steady employment which included
00:14:15
the large number of now newly freed enslaved people Yeah. migrated to cities in search of work. This migration led to
00:14:22
major increases in city populations. And in Atlanta alone, the population of black citizens rose from less than
00:14:29
10,000 just after the war to around 35,000 by 1900. That's actually insane. >> Significant growth. So this huge
00:14:39
increase of black atlant were was directly related to the educational and economic opportunities that simply
00:14:45
couldn't be found elsewhere. But a secondary thing that made this migration happen was the community and social
00:14:53
networks that arose from the population increase. By the end of the 19th century, black enclaves like Sweet
00:14:59
Auburn and the West End had become like havens for black businesses, academics, and activists that would become very
00:15:09
essential to the civil rights movement of the early to mid 20th century. So this all kind of led to further growth
00:15:16
and further progress. Uh despite this progress in stability though, Atlanta like a lot of southern regions would
00:15:24
remain mostly segregated for many decades after the Civil War and resentment was still a regular part of
00:15:31
life. >> Yeah. >> The tension between black advancement and white resentment for that came to a
00:15:37
head in 1906 when an event known as the Atlanta Race Massacre laid bare the disparity between black and white
00:15:45
existence in Atlanta. I mean, anything that's labeled a massacre, yeah, should horrify you. Hoping to capitalize on the
00:15:54
growing fears of, you know, what was being touted as black-on-white crime at the time,
00:16:00
>> oh man, >> a number of Atlanta newspapers, which I've already up, >> published articles in the fall of 1906
00:16:08
that magnified or simply made the [ __ ] up examples of black residents attacking
00:16:14
white residents. Just lies. >> That's nice. On September 22nd, two Atlanta newspapers published articles
00:16:20
claiming that four white women had been sexually assaulted by black men. Now, we've seen this happen before.
00:16:26
>> Yep. >> Causing the racial tensions to simply boil over. >> Um, this is something I'm sure you're
00:16:33
thinking, EMTT. >> Yep. >> And by the way, later that was already known to be a complete [ __ ] lie.
00:16:40
>> Yep. Like that kid was brutalized, tortured, and murdered for no other reason besides him being
00:16:48
>> his skin color >> a little black boy. >> Yep. >> That the end like period. So this should
00:16:53
already make your senses go up, especially in this time period and in this place.
00:16:57
>> Yeah. So following that publication, white men and boys began assembling in mobs across Atlanta with estimates
00:17:04
raging between 10,000 to 15,000 of them patrolling the streets. >> That many white men.
00:17:12
>> These I'm saying these angry mobs besieged black neighborhoods. Like all these enclaves I just talked about,
00:17:18
destroying blackowned businesses, attacking black men at random, pulling them from street cars, chasing them down
00:17:24
the street. By the end of the night on September 22nd, this is horrifying. The end of the night, an estimated 25 to 30
00:17:32
black men had been killed by these mobs. God >> with countless others terrorized or
00:17:37
injured. >> Just because of these articles. >> It's like unthinkable. And the fact that
00:17:42
it wasn't even true. >> Yeah. >> Makes a million times. >> Or that's the thing. They had like no
00:17:47
like some of these things were >> I'm sure they were conflated. >> Yeah. I was going to say they were
00:17:50
either exaggerated or made up these articles. like they ranged in that. >> Despite the governor having mobilized
00:17:57
state troops to quell the chaos with local police and fire departments supporting their efforts, the violence
00:18:03
continued into the next day, finally coming to an end on September 25th a few days later. It's unknown how many black
00:18:11
Atlantans died during the massacre, but for many among the community, the violence obliterated any hope that they
00:18:19
could successfully integrate with or be welcomed by their white neighbors. Like this was clear at this point, like this
00:18:25
is not happening. >> And it's like you don't [ __ ] want to at that point. >> How can you ever trust that this would
00:18:30
never happen again, >> right? And some left the city bound for safer locations at this point around the
00:18:36
US and others just retreated into those enclaves that they had already built a community in.
00:18:40
>> Yeah. Like safe havens. >> Yeah. So the shocking displays of racism, cruelty, and violence of the
00:18:46
1906 massacre left the majority of black Atlantans in a constant state of hyper vigilance. At this point,
00:18:53
>> they were fearful for their safety, safety for their friends, their neighbors, their families. But it also
00:18:59
affirmed the feeling that a lot had about what was going on here. That there was two separate Atlantas here. And this
00:19:06
literal and figurative segregation would become a pretty critical piece of the Atlanta Ripper murders and the new south
00:19:13
as it moved into the 21st century in the late 19th century as Americans were struggling with this like post-war
00:19:21
>> just like racial tensions and violence and just like uncertainty and resentment
00:19:26
and >> shittiness. >> Things weren't things weren't solved. >> No, they were not they weren't solved.
00:19:31
They weren't solid. They weren't feeling good. News of a vicious killer in London
00:19:35
was now making its way to the states. >> Jack, >> we know Jack. The shocking crimes of
00:19:40
Jack the Ripper started dominating the American headlines, too. And by the early 1900s, Jack the Ripper had become
00:19:47
kind of a household name, and the concept was looming pretty large in the minds of a lot of people. A lot of
00:19:53
readers were fascinated by this mystery or just terrified by the brutality of the whole thing. And it's unlikely that
00:20:00
many of them recognized the role that like class stratification and racial tensions were going to have in this
00:20:07
whole thing. Yeah. >> But Jack the Ripper's victims were believed to be like we know sex workers.
00:20:12
That was their occupation and believed to be what people called women of very low social status.
00:20:19
>> Yeah. That was the big class thing. >> Women that I'm sure Jack the Ripper assumed would be missed by very few
00:20:26
people. Um, and it's a a population of women who were frequently victimized um, and rarely saw justice out of it. And in
00:20:35
simple terms, one of the reasons that Jack the Ripper's identity still remains a mystery to this day.
00:20:40
>> It is still a [ __ ] mystery. Don't get her started. >> Don't get me started.
00:20:44
>> Don't send her that article that said they solved it. They did not. And she will start talking to you about
00:20:48
mitochondrial DNA for seven years. >> It's true. I will. And that's not a bad thing.
00:20:53
>> No, it's not. But go back to the Tobias Forge episode when we talk about Skelea
00:20:56
and Or Kelly one. We put it in there too. Either one of those. Go to both of them.
00:21:02
But specifically the Elisa one that we just did. The Jack Harer stuff was fascinating.
00:21:06
>> It's true. So there you go. If you want to know more about that. Uh but the reason why it still remains a
00:21:24
mystery to this day and is unsolved is kind of similar to what Atlanta was going through. He existed in two
00:21:30
separate Londons, one for the wealthy middle class and one for the poor and destitute.
00:21:35
>> Mhm. >> The fact that his victims were for from a lower social class, that was not an
00:21:40
accident. It's not like he just wandered in there and was like, "Well, I'll just
00:21:43
do this." Yeah. >> They were likely chosen because, among other things, it was unlikely that
00:21:47
London police would work very hard to solve the murders, >> right? because they consider that a
00:21:52
quote and quote highrisisk job >> and they are less than >> and it's a major factor in this case,
00:21:58
the Atlanta Ripper case as well. >> Yeah, it sounds like it would be because violence against black men and women
00:22:03
have become such a common occurrence in Atlanta following the 1906 massacre. It's actually difficult to pinpoint
00:22:10
exactly when these Ripper murders began. Some believe it began with the murder of
00:22:14
29-year-old Dela Reed on April 5th, 1909. >> That's such a pretty name, Dela. Dela
00:22:19
Reed. Isn't that like it just it's pretty >> it flows. Yeah. >> Yeah. Dela's brutalized body was found
00:22:25
in a trash pile. >> That's >> a trash pile on Ranken Street. >> She died from what is only known known
00:22:34
and like recorded as a pulmonary hemorrhage. >> Okay. >> So, they don't like they don't know
00:22:38
exactly what occurred that led up to this, but she was in a trash pile. Like she was
00:22:43
clearly killed. You also have to wonder how much effort was put into finding out
00:22:48
actual cause of death. >> Now, a few months later in September, the body of an unidentified, still to
00:22:54
this day, black woman was discovered in Peach Street Creek, also murdered. >> By the end of the year, the murders had
00:23:00
picked up in frequency. Bodies were being discovered at a rate of one one per month at least.
00:23:05
>> Wow. >> Uh in the weeks and months that followed, more bodies were discovered.
00:23:10
Estella Baldwin was discovered in March, dead from a quote concussion of the brain. Uh, in April, it was Georgia
00:23:17
Brown. She was shot by an unknown asalent. The next day, it was Maddie Smith, also shot by someone unknown. The
00:23:24
following month, the bodies of Levvenia Austin, Francis Lampkin, and Eliza Griggs were all found within days of one
00:23:31
another. >> Wow. >> All shot to death. >> Oh, these are all very different causes
00:23:36
of death. It sounds like >> that's a lot of them. So all of them um or all of them except the first Estella
00:23:42
Baldwin and Dela Reed have at least gunshot wounds. >> Yeah. >> Um Dela Reed, we don't know. Yeah,
00:23:50
>> because it's pulmonary hemorrhage. So I have no idea. And again, this is from
00:23:54
1906, like 1909, so it's recorded. >> And we have Estella Baldwin, who was dead from a concussion of the brain,
00:24:01
which to me sounds like one for trauma. So we have some different and also none of these also go with the ripper
00:24:09
moniker. >> Exactly. >> Because usually that's when we think of a ripper we and we think of like
00:24:14
stabbing and mutilation, you know, mutilation. >> Um >> so again like you just pointed out the
00:24:20
differences in the manner of deaths here. >> It's pretty unlikely that all these were
00:24:24
done by the same person, but they're attributed a lot of times to this >> interesting. But with the 1906 massacre
00:24:30
so fresh in everyone's memories, the frequency and brutality with which black women were killed in the streets of
00:24:36
Atlanta only contributed to the apprehension and terror felt throughout the entire community. Um, also the
00:24:42
legend of Jack the Ripper was just continuing to permeate the United States media and the similarities in, you know,
00:24:50
like gender and manner of death and like the victim profiles were what led a lot
00:24:56
of people to think this is a ripper killer. >> Okay. >> So, the first murder that's like really
00:25:01
attributed like those those first ones that I mentioned are like sometimes attributed. This one's like the one
00:25:05
that's generally attributed to the Atlanta Ripper is 35-year-old Rosa Trice. Uh, her body was discovered a
00:25:14
short distance from her home on January 26th, 1911. Her body was found near the Southern Railway tracks. Her head beaten
00:25:22
badly with a blunt instrument, fracturing her skull and jawbone. >> Oh god. >> And her throat had been slashed. It was
00:25:29
It severed the jugular vein. >> Oh [ __ ] Police arrested Rosa's husband, John, for the murder, but he was
00:25:36
released a few days later when investigators and the coroner's inquest failed to find any evidence connecting
00:25:41
him to his wife's murder. >> Yeah. >> Now, less than a month later on February 19th, the Ripper had killed again. This
00:25:48
next victim was a young black woman whose throat was cut and her skull was bashed in as well. Same exact thing. The
00:25:54
discovery of another body in the woods, having suffered the exact same wounds as
00:25:58
the first victim, seemed evidence that this might be the start of something. >> Yeah.
00:26:04
>> But after the second body was found, no new murders were found um in March and
00:26:09
April. So, it seemed like, okay, those happened very quickly. >> Um but maybe maybe that was just a
00:26:15
coincidence. But on the morning of May 28th, the body of Mary Bell Walker was discovered on Gabaldi Street. Mary had
00:26:24
left the home of her employer the evening before after a long day of work, but she never arrived home that night.
00:26:31
The next morning, when her sister realized that she hadn't returned, she set out to look for her, but she didn't
00:26:36
have to look far. Uh Mary's body was discovered in an unused field just 25 yard from her home. 25 yard
00:26:45
at all. Her throat had been cut with what the press described as quote a jagged edge. Oh,
00:26:50
>> but there was no additional clues as to who killed her. A coroner's inquest was
00:26:55
held the next day, but without any evidence or information about her death, nothing really came of it.
00:26:59
>> That's so sad. >> Investigators and community members barely had time to react or even respond
00:27:05
to Mary Bell Walker's death when the killer had struck again. On June 15th, the body of Addie Watts was discovered
00:27:12
by the Southern Railway. Her skull was bashed in first with a brick, then with a railroad coupling pin.
00:27:19
>> Oh my god. >> And her throat was deeply slashed. Um, as in many of the other cases, two local
00:27:25
men were arrested for the murder, but both were let go a short time later because there was just lack of evidence
00:27:30
connecting them to the crime. >> Yeah. Now, it's important to note that despite several murders that could be attributed
00:27:36
to the same killer, >> the the the Atlanta press was, and again, at this time of high racial
00:27:44
tensions, whiteowned, white controlled, they had yet to address the murders in any meaningful way.
00:27:51
>> Wow. >> Despite the fact that like it seems like this is a serial killer. >> Shocking from where we sit today, but
00:27:57
like sadly not shocking for the time being. >> No. And in fact, while the deaths were
00:28:03
clearly described and investigated as murders, the papers rarely gave more than a few lines to the stories, offered
00:28:10
little or no follow-up, and in some cases didn't even bother to find out the name of the victim.
00:28:15
>> Are you [ __ ] kidding me? >> Yep. >> These women had their li like their throats literally slashed open,
00:28:21
>> skulls bashed in, and you can't even bother to print their name and like respect. Now, while the concept of a
00:28:28
serial killer was still not quite defined at all in the minds of most Americans,
00:28:33
>> it took a long time for that to happen. >> Thanks to Jack the Ripper, >> the public had come to understand that
00:28:39
it was entirely possible for one person to be responsible for seemingly random murders. Like, that was becoming a thing
00:28:45
that people were like, "Oh, fuck." Yeah. But throughout late 1910 and 1911, few if any public figures or institutions
00:28:52
had voiced any concern that such a thing could be happening in Atlanta's black community, despite the fact that it
00:28:59
clearly was. And it's like, not only are you not respecting these women who lost
00:29:03
their lives in such a brutal manner, you're also not paying any regard for this community to like be on the lookout
00:29:10
and be vigilant and be safe and >> you know what I mean? Like >> that's the thing. But that's your
00:29:16
responsibility >> literally and that's all they need is some like to be informed
00:29:21
>> but they don't >> people didn't want that they don't want >> they don't want people to be on the
00:29:26
lookout >> n want them to be safe >> horrifying it's a horrifying concept >> now the failure of the press to fully
00:29:32
acknowledge the alarming rate of murder in Atlanta is not only one of the reasons the killing spree went on for so
00:29:38
long but also one of the reasons why the Atlanta Ripper case is still pretty unknown to this day not just the killer
00:29:44
The case itself is pretty >> it's a name that I've heard before for sure, but I really don't know a lot
00:29:50
about it until sitting here today. >> Kind of like one of those that just under the rug,
00:29:55
>> which is crazy. You've only told me a few >> of the killings so far, and it's like
00:30:01
awful. >> But just one day after Addy Watts's murder, the Atlanta Journal finally
00:30:06
wrote about the alarming trend and the potential for having a serial killer. They didn't call it that, in their
00:30:11
midst. The journal article states, "On account of the number of recent murders of they say something different, black
00:30:18
women, uh, quote, "Police advanced the theory that Atlanta has an insane criminal, something on the order of the
00:30:24
famed Jack the Ripper, which also the famed Jack the Ripper." Have you ever heard of the term infamous, notorious,
00:30:33
>> like what? >> Like famed. That gives him like spotlight. Uh despite this, other
00:30:39
newspapers, however, remained less thorough in their coverage. According to Jeffrey Wells, the journal's main
00:30:46
competition, the Atlantic Constitution, quote, "Still reported the death of Watts as it had the other murders as
00:30:52
isolated incidents with no connection and certainly no mention of a serial killer."
00:30:56
>> It's like weird that we mentioned the exact same thing last week and the week
00:30:59
before that and the week before that. >> Yeah. And it's the same manner of death.
00:31:03
So, the noticeable discrepancy between how the papers covered the murders continued a few weeks later when the
00:31:08
body of Lizzie Watkins was discovered in the brush at the corner of White and Lawson Streets on June 27th. She was
00:31:15
killed the same exact way as the other victims. According to Wells, the Atlanta Journal quote gave front page attention
00:31:22
to the city's newest arch criminal, going so far as to begin examining the sim similarities between the murders.
00:31:29
The Atlantic Constitution, on the other hand, continued their trend of sparse coverage. Uh, and he said only this time
00:31:36
it managed to add its own spin, citing that it was certain the death was the result of alcohol or drugs.
00:31:43
>> Um, her throat was open. >> Yeah. >> And what >> is this? So, all of them. >> Oh, okay. Okay. For sure. While many
00:31:53
among the press and police had speculated that the murders were committed by a killer similar to Jack
00:31:57
the Ripper, there had yet to be any evidence or witness that could tie the cases together, which is hard. This
00:32:03
changed on July 2nd when the Ripper struck again, but left an eyewitness. >> Oh, [ __ ]
00:32:09
>> On the evening of the 2nd, 40-year-old Lena Sharp and her 20-year-old daughter,
00:32:14
Emma Lou, >> shut the [ __ ] up. I love a double name like that. >> It's so cute.
00:32:20
>> Really cute. They left their home for the market to do some shopping together.
00:32:24
As they made their way back home, a man stepped out from the bushes on Seabard Avenue, not far from the sharp house.
00:32:31
The man greeted the two women, and before they could respond, he raised a brick high above his head and brought it
00:32:37
down hard on Lena's skull, dropping her to the ground. >> And she's with her daughter.
00:32:42
>> Yep. Emloo attempted to run, making it only a few steps before she was grabbed
00:32:47
from behind. And he said, "Don't be afraid. I never hurt girls like you. >> Oh. >> Before driving a knife deeply into her
00:32:55
back and slashing at her wildly. >> What the [ __ ] >> Yeah. >> Emloo. >> Emiloo.
00:33:00
>> Oh. As Emiloo slumped to the ground, bleeding profusely now from these wounds, she watched helplessly as this
00:33:07
man went back to her mother, who was laying unconscious on the ground a few feet away, and started slashing at her
00:33:14
before finally slashing the knife across her throat from one side to the other several times. Oh my god.
00:33:20
>> The man then went back to Emiloo, intending to kill her as well, but then heard the sound of running footsteps and
00:33:26
he hovered over her for several seconds and then ran off into the darkness and people came to Emiloo's rescue. That is
00:33:34
the scariest [ __ ] I've ever [ __ ] heard. And for him to say, "Don't be afraid. I never hurt girls like you."
00:33:40
And before stabbing and slashing her, like what? >> What the [ __ ] That isn't I don't even know. I don't even know.
00:33:49
Now, Emma Lou Sharp suffered very serious injuries and required multiple surgeries, but she was still able to
00:33:55
give police a description of her attacker. >> Wow. >> According to Emma Louu, the killer was a
00:34:00
quote well-dressed black man who she described as a quote giant, well over 6 feet in height. Wow.
00:34:06
>> With tremendous breath of shoulders, an exceptionally strong and sinnuy arms.
00:34:12
sineu um that's like a like fibrous tissue that connects like bone to bone or muscle to bone. It's like fibers.
00:34:20
Okay. >> So I think like I don't know if she means like gangly >> gangly or like Yeah. Um, so the uh an
00:34:28
article in the Atlanta Journal noted, "While the ordinary um, and I won't say that murder attracts little attention,
00:34:35
the police department was upon the alert last night, doubtfully expecting a repetition of the long series of crimes
00:34:42
which have baffled every effort of the detectives." >> Okay, now >> these newspaper headlines are insane.
00:34:47
>> They're wild. Like, >> yeah, >> while the regular murder of a black person isn't cause for alarm. Yeah. Oh,
00:34:54
all right. Yeah. Now, Lena Sharp's murder and Emiloo's description of the killer finally only gave Atlanta
00:35:00
investigators something to work with in their investigation with one detective declaring, "It's the work of the same
00:35:06
man." And there seems to be little doubt that the fellow has tried a double crime
00:35:10
on a single night, >> which also is a little Jack the Rippery. It is a double event. Except with Jack
00:35:16
the Ripper, >> it wasn't really planned. >> I won't go into it. I don't think it was
00:35:19
planned. I think it was he [ __ ] up and then he had to satisfy. Yeah, he's a completionist. So,
00:35:24
>> I think that's a widely held belief. >> I think so, too. >> Um, but while the la latest attack
00:35:29
seemed to confirm the suspicions of many that it was the same man, it also elevated the story in the eyes of the
00:35:35
press. Right. >> The Atlanta Journal expanded their coverage. And um, even their rivals, the
00:35:41
Atlanta Constitution, who seemed to suck at all this, could no longer ignore the
00:35:44
story. But that wasn't all. News of the killer had also begun to spread to other
00:35:49
states. A few days later, papers from as far away as New York were reporting on,
00:35:53
quote, "Atlanta's Jack the Ripper," noting the inability of local investigators to stop the murders and
00:35:59
the toll it was taking on the city's black community. Uh, the New York Times reported, "Tonight, there are a few
00:36:05
black women on the street, and black cooks and housemaids are refusing to work after dark in cases where they have
00:36:13
any distance to go to their homes afterwards." So, while the national press coverage
00:36:19
had an undeniably racist tone, >> yeah, >> it cemented two important things in the
00:36:25
public eye. >> First, that there was a quote madman as methodical and cunning as Jack the
00:36:31
Ripper operating in Atlanta's black community. And second, that investigators seemed either uninterested
00:36:36
or completely incapable of doing literally anything to stop it. >> Yeah. >> And in truth, the murders were hardly
00:36:42
ingenious or cunning. Like that's they're not like like I Jack the Ripper is not ingenious or kind. He's pretty
00:36:49
cunning like and pretty quick and pretty like does it under the cover of darkness
00:36:54
and all that. >> Um >> this really wasn't that. >> Yeah. >> Atlanta's white police force didn't
00:36:59
prioritize solving violent crimes when they were committed against non-white people. That's just the way it is.
00:37:05
Fortunately, the expanded press coverage did put some pressure on investigators though, to the extent that a serious
00:37:12
effort was mounted to identify and catch the killer before he could kill again. >> Okay.
00:37:16
>> Not because they felt like it was like morally something that they should do,
00:37:20
but because they felt presser from now, the national press kind of roasting them
00:37:24
for it. >> Unfortunately, he would take several more lives before this killing spree
00:37:29
came to an end. Um, within a few days, investigators had developed a basic profile for the man they believed to be
00:37:36
the killer, but were careful not to attribute all the women killed in Atlanta that year to the Ripper.
00:37:42
>> Um, coroner Paul Donahoo told reporters, "While a number of black women have been
00:37:47
killed in the city, the work of the Ripper seems unmistakable." According to Paul, a peculiarity
00:37:55
to say it's so hard to say concerning the crimes is that all of his victims have met their deaths on a Saturday
00:38:00
night. >> Interesting. >> Which is a clue. That's a big clue. >> Uh leading police to believe it was only
00:38:06
a matter of days before the killer struck again. That should also give you a little bit of a clue like he's working
00:38:11
during the week. He works on these days. Like maybe he doesn't, you know, he's doing something on Sundays.
00:38:16
>> He can't do these things. Investigators theory that the killer only took victims
00:38:20
on Saturday held true, at least for the short term. On Saturday, July 8th, Mary Yel left the home of her employer, WM
00:38:29
Selker, around 8:30 p.m. and headed home after a very long day of work. Mary had
00:38:35
only went about a block or so when she heard a whistle as she passed by a dark alley. Oh. and stopping to see who was
00:38:41
trying to get her attention, she watched as a quote large, well-built black man,
00:38:45
which is exactly the description from the last one, emerged from the darkness and walked towards her. Mary screamed
00:38:51
and ran back to her employer's home, where she told her employer what happened. Selker grabbed his revolver
00:38:58
and ran to the spot where Mary had seen the man and was dis surprised to find that the man was still standing in the
00:39:04
alley. >> Oh. So he raised his pistol and demanded that this guy raise his hands. But
00:39:09
instead, the man quickly turned and quote, "Ran like a flash down the alley and into the vacant lot where Selker
00:39:16
lost sight of him." That's so freaky. >> He was just standing there waiting >> and ran like a flash.
00:39:22
>> Yeah. When he returned to his house, Selker phoned the police and both he and
00:39:26
Mary gave descriptions of her wouldbe asalent, who investigators believe was the same man responsible for the other
00:39:32
deaths. >> Yeah. Um, it's also like of note like these women, a lot of them are just
00:39:38
coming home from like a long [ __ ] day of work. >> Yeah, they're exhausting >> and they're running into this [ __ ]
00:39:43
Like that sucks. >> It does. It's awful. >> If the killer had been following some
00:39:47
compulsion to kill on Saturdays or if there was a reason he killed on Saturdays, he ignored that in the case
00:39:52
of the next victim. Ah, >> I also wonder if he started possibly released somehow or leaked that he only
00:40:01
killed on Saturdays and he said, "Well, I have to switch that up." >> On the morning of Tuesday, July 11th,
00:40:07
Will Broglin was on his way to work as a laborer when he came upon what appeared
00:40:11
to be signs of a considerable scuffle having taken place somewhat sometime earlier. There were deep drag marks in
00:40:18
the soft dirt. So, we followed the marks and eventually discovered the body of Satie Holly.
00:40:24
>> Like the others, Sadi's skull had been crushed with a large rock and her throat
00:40:28
was sliced from one side to the other. Unlike the others though, it looked like the killer had taken Sadi's shoes.
00:40:37
>> What? Which is like a strange little side quest. >> Had he or like had somebody else
00:40:44
>> perhaps, you know what I mean? Since her body was >> Yeah. out there. Maybe somebody needed
00:40:48
shoes. Was being weird. >> Maybe he took them. >> Maybe he took them, though. >> Now, the discovery of yet another body
00:40:55
so soon after the attempted attack on Mary Yel set off alarms not only within Atlanta's black community, but within
00:41:02
the other populations as well. uh having already begun covering the story now finally like in earnest the press
00:41:10
started tracing the murders back and discovered that the Ripper killings likely began for far earlier than anyone
00:41:16
had previously thought. >> Oh, >> as at least as far back as Rosa Trice's murder in January because remember
00:41:21
before they weren't even considering those. Um, also the realization prompted a new round of outrage from Atlantans,
00:41:28
all wanting to know why the murders hadn't been connected until now and demanding to know what the police were
00:41:34
going to [ __ ] do about it. >> Uh, one reporter wrote, "The police department has nothing to say in
00:41:38
explanation of its inability thus far to cope with the situation." >> Yikes. In the meantime,
00:41:45
uh, the black community are holding mass meetings and are appealing to the governor, the mayor, and the law-loving
00:41:51
citizens to help them in capturing the guilty party. So, they're doing the work.
00:41:54
>> Mhm. Of course, >> basically. >> Now, given the newly applied pressure and all the growing outrage that was
00:42:00
happening, it's likely no coincidence that just one day after Satie Holly's murder, police arrested 27year-old Henry
00:42:07
Huff out of nowhere. They're like, "Oh my god, found him." >> Yeah. and held him as a quote suspicious
00:42:13
character in the death of Holly. >> Like I think you guys are suspicious. >> I think so, too. Now, according to
00:42:18
investigators, there was quote strong circumstantial evidence against Huff, including the fact that he was known to
00:42:24
have a romantic relationship with Satie, had been seen with her on the night of her murder, was seen late that evening
00:42:31
wearing bloody clothes, and had a wound on his head, which he claimed to have received in a pool room fight. That is
00:42:37
also pretty evidence. Now, despite their certainty that Huff was Sades killer, just one day later,
00:42:57
police arrested Todd Henderson on suspicion of being the Atlanta Ripper. >> Okay. Like Huff, Todd Henderson was also
00:43:04
black and vaguely fit the description of the killer as given by Emiloo Sharp. And
00:43:09
investigators claimed to have quote strong circumstantial evidence connecting him to the crimes.
00:43:14
>> Okay. In his statement to the press, Sergeant Lanford told reporters while he
00:43:18
believes Henderson to be the ripper and guilty of several murders, if not all of
00:43:22
the crimes attributed to attributed to the fiend, he nonetheless found the evidence against Huff so compelling that
00:43:29
he quote thought best to have him before the jury as well. >> So like just pick. So in simple terms,
00:43:36
in their rush to show that like, hey, nope, we got it. We're not we we got it. We know who it is. We've been working on
00:43:44
this. We are not incapable. We are not not caring about this. Like, here we go. We got it. Progress. In the rush to do
00:43:51
that, Atlanta's police arrested two men who vaguely matched the description of the killer and held them both for the
00:43:57
same crimes, determining it was best to just shove them in front of a jury and be like, you guys decide who did it,
00:44:03
>> A or B. >> Which is like, that's literally your job. >> Yeah, >> that's literally your job.
00:44:08
>> Yeah. You can't put that on the jury. So, for a time, the residents of Atlanta
00:44:11
breathed easy, believing that the Rippers killing spree had come to an end. >> Too simple.
00:44:16
>> Maybe one of these guys did it. >> Too simple. >> In fact, following Sades murder in July,
00:44:20
there was a six-w weekek stretch of times that there was no murders. >> That's actually a pretty long time.
00:44:25
>> Which did lead many to believe that whether it was Huff or Henderson, the real killer had been caught. One of them
00:44:31
was it. Huff was indicted by a grand jury in early August for the murder of Satie Holly with investigators
00:44:37
announcing quote at least one of the Ripper crimes is no longer a mystery for the evidence against Henry Huff is so
00:44:43
conclusive that there is no doubt that he will be convicted of the murder of Satie Holly.
00:44:47
>> That's a bit of a stretch. I'm like I think we have circumstantial evidence but
00:44:52
>> and unfortunately the jury didn't agree with that the evidence against Huff was
00:44:56
all that compelling. I'm actually surprised >> and he was eventually acquitted for
00:45:00
murder. But I'm actually truly shocked by that. >> Now, ultimately, Henry Huff would be one
00:45:04
of several black men arrested on quote strong circumstantial evidence that they were the Atlanta Ripper.
00:45:10
>> That was apparently not so strong. >> Others included Todd Henderson, John Daniel, and Bud Wise. All of whom bore a
00:45:16
slight resemblance to the man who attacked Emma, um but otherwise had no connection to the murders and despite
00:45:23
investigators strong belief in their guilt, would eventually be acquitted or simply released.
00:45:27
>> Wow. Um, as in the case of Henry Huff, the timing of the arrests and indictments of the other suspects comes
00:45:33
after the public outcry over law enforcement's complete inability to catch the killer.
00:45:38
>> Makes sense. >> It's possible that one or more of these arrests could have satiated the public
00:45:43
demand for action had the killings not continued while Huff and the other suspects were in custody.
00:45:50
>> That does present a problem. >> That presents a problem. On the morning of August 31st, nearly 7 weeks since the
00:45:56
last Ripper victim was discovered, the body of 20-year-old Mary Anne Duncan was discovered by the railroad tracks just
00:46:03
outside of Atlanta in a community known as Bland Town. Like Satie Holly, Duncan's shoes had been removed. Oh,
00:46:10
>> okay. >> And were nowhere to be found. Her throat had been slit from one side to the
00:46:14
other. Uh, and a month later, Ellen Maddox, a cook for a family in Inman Park, was walking home from work when
00:46:21
she was struck from behind with a blunt object. She lived. Okay. >> Um, the next day, the uh papers reported
00:46:27
on the assault, saying, quote, "She was attacked from behind, her head almost crushed, and her face beat out of all
00:46:33
resemblance to a human being." >> Oh, wow. And she lived. >> She was rushed to the hospital. Um, and
00:46:39
despite the severity of her injuries, which were described right there, she was able to give a statement to police,
00:46:44
but she never saw her asal asalent. >> Okay. >> Uh, Maddox, it turned out, was lucky.
00:46:50
Before the end of the year, the bodies of Ava Florence, Minnie Wise, and Mary Putnham would also be discovered in
00:46:56
locations across Atlanta, all under the same circumstances. Head beaten, throat slashed, all of it.
00:47:03
>> So, it sounds like he comes up from behind to throw you off. He takes them by surprise.
00:47:08
>> By late 1911, public outcry over the continued failure of law enforcement to catch or even identify the actual killer
00:47:16
as opposed to very convenient scapegoats that they were trying to shoehorn in here had reached a fever pitch. As the
00:47:23
public continued to put pressure on the city government, letters from concerned citizens began arriving at city hall
00:47:28
with offers to help catch the ripper. How sad is it that they wouldn't even have faith in their police force and
00:47:34
they were like hey do you want me to take a take a crack at it? >> Literally the implication is that well
00:47:38
investigators don't have the ability to so why don't I help >> since you guys can't step aside.
00:47:43
>> In response Mayor Courtland Wyn published an editorial in the city paper to say among other things Atlanta is
00:47:50
known throughout the country as one of the most law-abiding cities of its size in the United States and its police and
00:47:56
detective departments are second to none. According to Wells, leaders, and this is why, according to Wells, leaders
00:48:03
in the black community used this time to renew their calls for help and for the hiring of black detectives to assist in
00:48:10
bringing the murderers because maybe black detectives would care. >> Yeah. For their part, investigators
00:48:16
deflected responsibility and directed their anger at the black community for wanting it to be solved. They made
00:48:24
strange and even racist comments to reporters suggesting black residents were somehow responsible for catching
00:48:31
the killer. Are you [ __ ] kidding me? Mhm. One unnamed, which convenient. One unnamed detective told reporters in late
00:48:38
November 1911, "We won't get to the bottom of this thing until we get some help from the he said something else,
00:48:44
but I'll say black community." >> Oh, honey, name them. >> He said, "These murders are being
00:48:50
committed among the lower class of He said something else. I'll say black people. The detective insisted, quote,
00:48:57
"Ignorant, brutal beasts that know nothing else. Their acquaintances are afraid to talk, but if there were a
00:49:03
little money slip to them, we could find out invaluable clues, and I wager we would land the murders." This isn't
00:49:09
something I say often, but I really hope that guy choked and died. >> I also hope he choked.
00:49:14
>> Cool. >> Choke, [ __ ] Yeah. uh that not only is that the most racist thing ever, um but
00:49:21
also he's literally saying the only reason we the literal detectives whose job description and paycheck is because
00:49:29
we're supposed to be solving these >> we can't solve this because the citizens who are being terrorized are not solving
00:49:38
it for us. >> That's literally what he's saying, babe. He's saying the community that is being
00:49:45
terrorized Yeah. >> isn't solving it. >> Yeah. >> So, we can't solve it and that's on
00:49:51
them. >> Yeah. When white people are killed, we're also expected to solve the the
00:49:54
murders. >> Of course. Yeah. Of course. That goes same way. >> Hello. Like, what?
00:50:01
>> Now, overt what a douchebag. overt and wildly explicit and egregious racism aside, there's something
00:50:10
uniquely reprehensible about blaming victims for the violence perpetrated against them and implying they are also
00:50:18
to blame for allowing the killings to continue. Like >> you guys should have stopped this
00:50:25
>> like this. >> We're busy. >> The levels of depravity. >> Yeah. on the investigation side of this
00:50:31
and also on a like murderer side and investigation side. The levels of depravity are no no bounds.
00:50:39
>> It just makes me wonder like how people can be so gross. >> Yeah. >> And suck so much. Like I'm like how are
00:50:45
you such a hateful [ __ ] >> That's how you suck people and how do you not realize how much you suck? Now
00:50:50
not surprisingly, the implication was entirely untrue. In fact, even before the press or law enforcement had
00:50:57
identified the murders as likely being the work of the same killer, Atlanta's black community had activated already
00:51:04
and were working together to warn of the dangers posed to women on the streets. I'm sure following Mayor Wyn's editorial
00:51:11
defending the police, leaders in the black community intensified their efforts to protect themselves and their
00:51:17
families and community, advocating for better protections, raising money that could be offered as a reward for
00:51:23
information leading to an arrest, like actually doing the physical work. How sad that they had to do that because
00:51:28
nobody else would. They probably would have done it anyways because their community.
00:51:34
>> One uh announcement read, "Stay indoors and your lives will be saved for venturing out at night moans only to
00:51:40
invite this monsters ravages." >> But how sad is that though? Because so many people had to work into the night
00:51:45
and then go home and they were saying stay at work. People have to live families. And
00:51:51
>> now by January 1912, the Atlanta Press was reporting that at least 15 women had
00:51:56
been killed by the Ripper. Wow. >> Yet, investigators were no closer to catching this person than they were one
00:52:01
year earlier when Rosa Trice's body was discovered. >> Worse yet, the murders continued almost
00:52:07
as though they were on schedule. Really, >> in January, the body of Pearl Williams
00:52:11
was discovered in a field um adjacent to Chestnut and West Fair Streets just a few blocks from her home. That seems to
00:52:18
be another thing. >> And what the Atlanta Constitution said was dead from a ghastly wound in her
00:52:24
throat. >> Police arrested a man named Frank Harvey for the murder based on his having known
00:52:30
the victim, having been discovered wearing clothes with blood on blood on them and as having a quote sharp potato
00:52:35
knife on him when he was arrested. >> It's unclear what became of him. >> Huh. >> Because he doesn't appear to have been
00:52:41
convicted of Williams death and nothing really came out of it. >> Disappears everywhere. It's very strange
00:52:47
that so many people were walking home with blood on their clothes. >> Yeah, that is a little weird.
00:52:51
>> I do hate that. >> That is a little weird. On February 17th, the body of 17-year-old Alice
00:52:56
Owens was discovered in a gully not far from the city limits. Her throat was cut. Her body was mutilated. Alice's
00:53:04
husband, Charlie, was quickly arrested for the murder, and despite insisting he was innocent, he was convicted of his
00:53:09
wife's murder and sentenced to a life term in a chain gang. Whoa. Now, it's here that the story of the Atlanta
00:53:16
Ripper becomes more like nebulous. >> Okay. >> Uh, this is when it gets like a little
00:53:22
like it has like a mythical quality to it at this point. Oh, >> because in early April, the body of
00:53:27
18-year-old Mary Kates was discovered in a field just beyond the city limits as well. Um, the Atlanta Journal said
00:53:34
murdered and mutilated after a hard struggle. Mary's throat had been cut, her clothes were ripped to shreds from
00:53:40
the killer. Um, and the killer had quote mutilated her body about the breast and
00:53:45
below the waist, which is very Jack the Ripper. Y >> in their description of the murder, the
00:53:50
press added yet another detail to the increasingly again mythical description of the killer, noting that, quote, "The
00:53:56
mutilation of the girl's body was evidently done with a surgical instrument, and the Slayer had some
00:54:02
anatomical knowledge as one of the organs was deafly removed." >> Interesting. >> Yeah. Now, in the months that followed,
00:54:12
other bodies of young black women were discovered, some bearing similarity to the earlier Ripper victims, while others
00:54:18
were a little less obvious to match up with the Ripper's preferred victim profile.
00:54:22
>> That last murder feels so disconnected from the >> It's literally Jack the Ripper.
00:54:27
>> Yeah. Whereas the other ones like there's blunt force trauma, there's jagged l
00:54:32
>> usually it's trauma to the head, throat cut, >> right? and some and maybe like stabs and
00:54:37
slashes, but >> yeah, >> but not like surgical level cuts. >> Yes. >> Very strange.
00:54:43
>> That's weird. >> That's why it takes on a little bit of you're like >> that's not the same person.
00:54:46
>> Is that like what? And also as time passed other bodies were discovered outside of Atlanta that bore the
00:54:52
hallmarks of the Ripper and many that didn't. >> Okay. Like after a bit of time, the
00:54:57
press began ascribing the Ripper moniker to unsolved murders of young black women
00:55:01
outside of Atlanta, regardless of whether there was any evidence or any kind of like similarities to the early
00:55:07
Ripper ones, like it just kind of all got thrown into one pot. >> Yeah. uh you know just liberally ascribing
00:55:14
blame to an increasingly mythical and kind of legendary killer at this point became a problem for investigators when
00:55:21
they did make an arrest in one of the cases in the summer of 1912. In August, police arrested Lton Brown for the
00:55:28
murder of Eva Florence, one of the victims that was assigned to the Ripper in late 1911. The arrest was based
00:55:35
largely on his having known the victim and his wife's statement that he'd been out on the night of the murder. Okay.
00:55:40
>> And she discovered him burning some of his clothes the next morning. >> That's suspicious.
00:55:45
>> Pretty suspicious. After a lengthy interrogation, Brown confessed to the murder of Florence. According to Brown,
00:55:51
he quote, "He knew Florence had $3.50 and that he killed her for the money." >> Okay.
00:55:57
>> While it's entirely plausible that Brown did kill Florence for the money that he
00:56:01
believed she possessed, the more he spoke to investigators, the more questionable his confession probably
00:56:07
should have become. In addition to confessing to Florence's murder, he claimed to have witnessed the murders of
00:56:12
several other Ripper victims, not as the killer or a participant, but as a spectator who was quote merely passing
00:56:20
by and chance to see the crimes. >> What? >> Which what >> how would you even know that they were
00:56:26
happening? >> With each day that passed, he offered a new information about his knowledge of
00:56:30
the Ripper murders. But rather than becoming increasingly skeptical of the ra veracity of these claims, which they
00:56:37
should have been, investigators, who were very eager to close this case, interpreted his statements as further
00:56:43
evidence of his guilt. >> Okay. In fact, despite a city physician declaring Brown quote, undoubtedly
00:56:49
insane. Sounded like it. Detectives quickly set about building their case against him and enthusiastically
00:56:56
declared they had quote gathered evidence which indicates strongly that Brown is the Jack the Ripper for whom
00:57:02
the entire police department has been searching for an entire year. >> I don't know. And remember, he's saying
00:57:08
that most of these he just happened upon while they were happening, >> right? >> Like what are the odds of that?
00:57:15
>> Like come on. >> Pretty low. Uh the majority of the case against Loten Brown was based on a
00:57:20
statement given to police by two women who both claimed to be his wife. >> He's a philander.
00:57:26
>> One of them said quote that the whole time she had lived with him, she believed that he was the murderer and it
00:57:32
was a great relief to her that he was caught and was behind bars. >> Oh wow. I mean that must have been
00:57:36
absolutely [ __ ] terrifying. >> Yeah. Brown offered nothing in response to the claims or how he was related to
00:57:42
these two women at all, which investigators took as evidence of fact rather than evidence of mental illness.
00:57:48
>> Yeah. Um his trial began in October with investigators enthusiastically claiming
00:57:52
they had caught the Ripper and they were certain he was going to be convicted. But just as in the cases of Huff,
00:57:58
Henderson, and the others who were accused of being the Ripper, the jury saw Brown for what he was, a mentally
00:58:04
ill man whose claims and confessions were clearly unreliable. Right. >> Also, the defense offered at least one
00:58:10
witness who quote testified that Brown had been forced into a partial confession by police and that he was
00:58:16
prone to hallucinations and would confess to almost anything out of pressure. >> Oh wow, that's so sad.
00:58:22
>> Yeah. After a lengthy trial, the jury deliberated a pretty short amount of time and acquitted Len Brown of the
00:58:28
murder charges. >> Wow. I did not see that going that way. And the murders continued into the
00:58:34
following year and would go on for nearly a decade. >> A decade >> before they slowly petered out by the
00:58:39
1920s. The problem was though was that the press and to a lesser extent the police
00:58:46
labeled like what whatever they were labeling as a ripper murder. It had become so vague and non-suspecific.
00:58:53
I don't know why I couldn't say that. that by the mid- teens, it was impossible to know whether the murders
00:58:58
were committed by the same man who terrorized Atlanta between 1911 and 1913 or whether maybe it was a few different
00:59:06
people and these were not all connected like which ones were part of >> like Jack the Ripper has the canonical,
00:59:13
you know, series of murder >> of murders and that we can kind of rely on as being like for sure
00:59:19
>> and there's so much evidence linking all of >> there's a lot of evidence linking and
00:59:23
some people even question a couple of those, you know what I mean? Like it happens. But this one didn't even they
00:59:28
had like a very >> loose, >> confusing set of canonical ones that they could attribute to him.
00:59:34
>> Yeah. >> According to Wells, quote, "There were some events that were attributed to what
00:59:38
would become the Atlanta Ripper that ended up not being the work of the Atlanta Ripper and ended up being the
00:59:43
work of disgruntled husbands and boyfriends." >> Oh, which damn woof. In most cases,
00:59:50
there was little to no evidence left behind in the more two more than two dozen cases eventually ascribed to the
00:59:56
Atlanta Ripper. Uh, in fact, the handful of suspects arrested and brought to trial for the crimes all were acquitted
01:00:03
by white juries, which was wild, for lack of evidence. >> That actually is wild cuz I didn't even
01:00:08
think of the fact that it was not necessarily >> a jury of their peers. It was white
01:00:13
juries, lack of evidence, which is a remarkable occurrence given the racial tensions and just like what was going on
01:00:19
in Atlanta at the time. Tells you how little there was. >> Well, and it's like how many other
01:00:24
stories have we heard where >> it's a jury of white people who are just like, "Yeah, they did it." But
01:00:29
>> yeah, they did it. Sure. There's barely any evidence, but Yeah. Yeah. So, this
01:00:32
is really, like you said, remarkable. >> Very interesting. And to this day, we don't know who committed those murders.
01:00:40
How sad is that? And which ones are even the work of the same person? >> Well, and honestly, it's a result from
01:00:46
zero effort being put into any of these cases. >> Just hearing that one detective that
01:00:51
summed it all up. >> How he talked about this, you're just like, "Got it." >> And feeling confident to talk to a
01:00:57
reporter like that >> really does show that the force's attitude at the time had to have been
01:01:03
pretty >> similar. Rancid >> and rancid. Yeah. >> Like that's really sad because that
01:01:08
could absolutely be a solved case. There was eyewitnesses could have that's the thing. There was eyewitnesses there
01:01:15
definitely could have solved this. >> And it seems to me like it is a serial killer situation because as we know
01:01:22
serial killers there are like certain tenants that seem to be ringing true with them where like
01:01:28
>> they usually don't kill outside of their race. It happens. That has absolutely
01:01:32
happened but it's rare. And this seems like we could this is a serial killer because it's like the same kind of
01:01:38
victim profile that's happening here, you know, like >> Yeah, it's interesting all of a sudden
01:01:43
black women and then like like the throat and the >> Yeah, the throat being slashed and it
01:01:48
seems like there's the same kind of modus operandi that's happening here. >> But then it is so strange that whoever
01:01:53
this was like started taking the shoes. >> I know that's two of the women that we
01:01:59
talked about if I remember. >> Two that I could that I could see. >> Interesting. Yeah. I don't know what
01:02:05
that's about. >> I I think every murder that we talked about today is not necessarily
01:02:10
>> No, I think there's definitely a few that we talked about that are totally outside of
01:02:15
>> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Wow. That's really really awful that because of people's lack of humanity,
01:02:21
this case isn't solved. >> Yeah. >> And I think it could be. You never know. >> Just saying.
01:02:26
>> You never know. Maybe somebody will revisit it someday and find a little connection that
01:02:31
>> like you said that little thread you start to pull to unravel. >> Exactly. >> Wow. What a sad case.
01:02:36
>> I know. >> Random fun fact. >> Random fun fact. Hold on. >> We need one for this one for sure.
01:02:41
>> Let's find a random fun fact. >> I don't know this one. >> I know. >> You knew the last one. What was it?
01:02:46
Dinora. >> Um Dan or Dan. Durian. >> Durian fruit. >> Okay, but hold on. That's not the fact
01:02:53
for today. Random fun fact. Jenner a tour. Let's go. Oh, this is fun. The word Lego
01:03:02
is formed from the Danish word leot, which means play well in English. In Latin, it means putting together.
01:03:10
>> Oh, I I always wondered if Lego was like cuz it's all capitals, so I wondered if
01:03:13
it stood for something. >> Yeah, you're right. >> But it's just from a Danish word.
01:03:18
>> I love that. >> Fun. I think um Lego is like a uh I think they they use it very specifically
01:03:26
people who are very into Legos cuz we watched Lego Master with the girls. What do you mean? They use it like um they
01:03:33
use it almost like a verb. >> Like I'm legoing. >> Yeah. Like I think it's there's a
01:03:38
there's a specific like terminology that they that they use. >> Huh. >> I think I might be wrong. You guys can
01:03:44
tell me. Uh if you're Lego if you're Lego lovers. >> Yeah. Um because I remember I I like
01:03:50
noticed it and I was like, "Oh, that's interesting. >> That is interesting." >> All right. So, that's that's a good one.
01:03:56
I like that. >> Well, that's what I got for you today. So, uh we hope you keep listening and we
01:04:01
hope you keep it, but not so weird that you don't Lego some Legos and not be a racist.
01:04:06
>> Lego. Bye. Woo.