Eerie likeness of Jack the Ripper found carved onto cane which belonged to Scotland Yard detective

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The discovery is a significant part of the infamous case of Jack the Ripper

The face of one of the most infamous figures in UK crime history has been rediscovered etched into a cane. The likeness of Jack the Ripper was found on the stick which was owned by one of the officers tasked with catching the killer.

The eerie carving is said to be a facial composite of the killer who terrorised London’s East End in 1888. The identity of the Ripper remains unknown over a century later.

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The walking cane was originally given to chief inspector Abberline by his team in 1888 at the conclusion of his most infamous case, The Whitechapel murders, which were committed by Jack the Ripper and still remain unsolved.

Two staff members were recently searching through the College archives when they came across a number of policing memorabilia artefacts which had been moved into storage after the closure of the Bramshill site and discovered the cane amongst them.  It is now being displayed for staff and training delegates alongside original Police News cuttings about the Ripper murders.

Chief inspector Abberline worked his way up the ranks at Scotland Yard and worked on some of the biggest cases of the era. He was removed from the case in 1889 after being unable to catch the Ripper.

Antony Cash, content creator at the College of Policing, said: “Finding this cane was an exciting moment for us. Jack the Ripper is one of the biggest and most infamous murder cases in our history and his crimes were significant in paving the way for modern policing and forensics as it caused police to begin experimenting with and developing new techniques as they attempted to try and solve these murders, such as crime scene preservation, profiling and photography.

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The cane with Jack the Ripper’s likeness carved into it (Photo: College of Policing) The cane with Jack the Ripper’s likeness carved into it (Photo: College of Policing)
The cane with Jack the Ripper’s likeness carved into it (Photo: College of Policing) | College of Policing

“This walking cane is such a fascinating artefact, which represents such a historically significant time in policing, and it’s amazing that we can put it out on display here in Ryton, alongside the original newspaper cuttings, so that our officers can see first-hand how far we’ve advanced in policing since then.”

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