Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting Network 

Show Name: Real Cases Fictional Minds 

Episode Title: Episode 1: Jack The Ripper Returns 

You are listening to Real Cases, Fictional Minds, the podcast with your host Jaylli Kushi.

In this episode of Real Cases, Fictional Minds, the Podcast, we discuss: Season 2 Episode 18 of Criminal Minds titled 'Jones' and the real case of the famous serial killer of London, Jack the Ripper.

Segment 1: Copycat Killer: Ms. Jones

In this episode of Criminal Minds, the BAU is called to New Orleans after a chilling letter arrives, signed by a supposed serial killer who had gone silent for over a year. Back in 2005, before Hurricane Katrina, 3 victims were murdered, their throats slit and organs carefully avoided while being mutilated, suggesting medical experience. Then suddenly… the murders stopped. But in 2007, another body appeared, and with it, a letter to Detective William LaMontagne, taunting the police, just like Jack the Ripper did in 1888. All four murders happened in a tight, 10-block radius, and the victims, all men between 22 and 35, were lured away at night, in public places, then killed with precision. The team quickly realizes this is a copycat killer, mimicking the infamous Ripper, down to the letters addressed to “Boss” and even promising to cut off an earlobe, just like the real Ripper did before his double murder. The profile for a possible unsub? Someone organized, charming, and calculated, but there's one twist. After linking a similar murder in Galveston, Texas, they realize the unsub is actually a woman, the only explanation for how she could lure men away from bars unnoticed. And she's not just a killer… She sees herself as a vigilante, sending a message to wipe away the entire race of men. It turns out, the unsub is Sarah Danlin, a woman who was raped in 1988 at a bar called Jones, and now she's hunting down men who remind her of her attackers. For her, each murder is revenge… justice… and reclaiming control. In the end, the case becomes more than just about a killer copying Jack the Ripper. It's about how trauma, identity, and rage can twist into something just terrifying. This episode demonstrates how Criminal Minds frequently draws inspiration from real-life horrors, such as the Jack the Ripper murders, and transforms them into modern psychological stories.  

• Serial killer and New Orleans who killed 3 victims before Hurricane Katrina
• Taking place in 2007
• A year later, another victim came up and sent a letter to William Lamontagne claiming to be the killer from a year ago
• Killed 3 times then stopped for 18 months before another 
• Ages ranging from 22 to 45
• All 4 murders occurred within a 10-block radius 
• The unsub seems to have experience with the slaughter because he cut around all organs without severing any of them
• All 4 victims were found with their throats slit 
• The unsub wants the police to think he is the modern-day Jack the Ripper lost in New Orleans 
• “The murders were perpetrated in semi-public places after dark. Investigators taunted with letters addressed to ‘boss.’ The only difference is that the case was 100 years ago and the murders took place in London."
• The unsub profile was: agile, friendly, somewhere between 30-35, allure with charm and kill with rage. Believed to be murdering men to gain power. Organized, calculating, might be stalking the victims days before the murder. He is mimicking Jack the Ripper because he has lost his own identity, maybe through years of child abuse or a traumatic event, holds a powerful position at his job, and also might have medical training so considering doctors and EMT's. 
• Their technical analysis found a similar case in Galveston, Texas, where lots of Katrina refugees moved after the event. In the case the victim was missing an organ, her liver, just like Jack the Ripper used to keep from his victims as trophies. 
• 2 team members go to Texas and learn that the victim, Leonard, over there was a soon-to-be husband who was bar hopping during his bachelor party. 
• They learn that the unsub is woman because that's the only way she can lure these men out away from the bar with their friends
• The next victim of this unsub cuts the ear off, “sticking to the Ripper's paradigm, in one letter of correspondence, Jack the Ripper Promised to cut the earlobe off of his next victim and that was the one day he killed twice.” So they learn she is going to kill again that very day after finding this victim's body. 
• The unsub may consider herself a vigilante; the men she is killing deserve to die
• The unsub was a rape victim from 9 years ago at a bar named Jones, now renamed, and she is killing these men because of what happened to her. 
• Sarah Danlin was the name of the rape victim back in 1998

Segment 2:  Jack the Ripper

Now, let's take a look at the real notorious serial killer, Jack the Ripper. It was 1888 in London, where women would walk alone at night in the streets of White Chapel, something or someone always watching from the shadows. Jack the Ripper is known to have killed five women, known as the “canonical five,” between August and November 1888, before he disappeared without a trace. Jack the Ripper's real identity is still unknown; that's right no one was ever caught or officially named as the killer. The name “Jack the Ripper" came from a letter sent to the police, supposedly by the killer himself, and signed with that name. White Chapel, where his crimes occurred, is in the East End of London, a place full of poverty and crime. Many women there turned to prostitution to survive, making them vulnerable. Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly were the names of the 5 victims, and they all participated in prostitution. All of the women were killed at night, in poorly lit public areas, and the killings were brutal, having their throats slit and their bodies mutilated. Jack the Ripper was more than just a killer; he was a sadistic mutilator, he wasn't just trying to kill; he was trying to send a message. After his killings, he dissected and removed internal organs, like kidneys, liver, and heart. This led some investigators to believe he might've been a doctor, butcher, or someone with medical training. He worked quickly and silently, never getting caught in the act, and leaving almost no clues behind, other than the letters. During the investigation, police received hundreds of letters, many claiming to be the killer. The most famous ones included the words: “Dear boss,” where the name “Jack the Ripper” first appeared, and “From Hell,” which were sent with human organs like the kidney. Over 100 suspects have been proposed over the years, some serious and looked into, some outrageous. Despite endless theories, no one was ever arrested, tried, or convicted. After the murder of Mary Jane Kelly, the killings stopped, and no one knows why. Did he die? Move away? Get arrested for another crime? We’ll probably never know. 

Segment 3:  Compare and Contrast

Let's break down the 2. In both stories, the killer targets victims in public places at night, strikes with surgical precision, and leaves behind taunting letters signed by the killer. Even the nickname “Jack the Ripper” is used in the episode, and just like in 1888, the unsub in the episode writes to the police, calling them “Boss,” echoing the real-life “Dear Boss” letters from the Real Jack the Ripper. Both killers are calculated, organized, and seem to want attention just as much as they want control. But here's where the differences hit. The real Jack the Ripper was never caught, never identified, and his victims were women, all involved in prostitution. In contrast, the Criminal Minds unsub is a woman, flipping the script, and she's targeting young men as revenge for a sexual assault in her past. Her motive isn't to cause chaos, it's deeply personal. So while the episode borrows the style, the brutality, and the theatrics of Jack the Ripper, it gives the killer a modern motive and identity. It's not just a copycat, it's a reinterpretation of the notorious Jack the Ripper. 

Music Credits:   

Intro/Outro: Deep Breath by KanovalocMusic

Transition: From the Underworld by KanovalocMusic

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