The Victims of Jack the Knife

As compiled by Leander Quartermoon formerly of the City Militia.

1. Jan. 21st. 1619. Unknown Female. Circa 16 years old. Dark hair. Brown eyes. Missing all her front teeth. Presumed to be a prostitute. Found at the bottom of Bell Lane. Cause of death; unknown, but both hands were cut from the arms and found some distance away. No report was filed at the time. Capt Dogmoss concluded the girl was most likely killed by her pander as a lesson to others.

2. Apr 2nd. 1619. Jane Root. 19 years old. Dark hair. Green eyes. Known to be a prostitute. Found in the courtyard of 12 Starch Alley. Presumed to have been killed during the night. The cause of death appeared to have been a cut throat, but both hands had been severed from the arms and placed in a nearby water trough. A white flower (possibly a dog rose) had apparently been pushed into the girls mouth after she had died.  

3. 12th Jun. 1619. Emily Brightfeather. 20 years old. Blonde hair. Brown eyes. The daughter of Dr Alfredo Brightfeather of Seven Halls Road. Found on a communal rubbish dump in the early hours of the 12th. Emily Brightfeather was examined by Capt Murdoch Fallow who reported the murder to the City Council and Sir Reginald Flatlock. Despite obvious concern amongst several Council Members, Flatlock secretly decided the matter was of small concern and blame for the murder was placed upon unnamed vagrants from outside the city.

4. 1 Mar. 1620. Rose Cupflower. 15 years old. Brown hair. Brown eyes. Presumed to be a prostitute. Found in the alley that runs from the bottom of Fountain Street. Cause of death was strangulation and the rope was still wound tight around her neck when I examined her. One of her hands was missing and the other had been cut at the wrist but not severed. At this point I remembered the previous killings and understood there was some kind of mysterious pattern to these murders. I approached Sir Reginald, but he dismissed the matter. Dead whores he said, are of no concern.

5. 14th Mar. 1620. Unknown Female pulled from river at Lower Corkbend. Age unknown. Hair; possibly dark. Eyes, unknown. This body was in a very poor condition (I estimated she must have been in the water for a month or more) and no examination was undertaken. It was reported however that both hands were missing. The body was burned.

6-9. 19th Dec. 1620. The High Gate Street Massacre. Four victims were discovered at Nr 7. High Gate St. There were two dead women and two dead men. No one seemed to know who the victims were or where they came from. It was reported to the Militia on watch outside the house, that the inhabitants had been foreigners who had moved into the building some several weeks prior to their murders. From their appearance, I took them to be Skavvians. The impact of this incident would have some impact with the City Council, and although Sir Reginald seemed genuinly shocked by it, he did little to advance an investigation into who had carried it out. When news of this atrocity broke in the city, rumours of a knife wielding maniac began to circulate. It was about this time people began to refer to a single murderer by the name Jack the Knife.
Victim Nr 6. Unknown woman. Circa 30 years old. Greying brown hair. Grey eyes. Found in the kitchen with her throat cut, both hands removed and placed in the wash basin, a dog rose petal in her mouth and both eyes gouged out.
Victim Nr 7. Unknown man. Possibly 25 years old. Blonde hair. Blue eyes. Foud in upper room. Cause of death; unknown. The man had been stabbed many times, beheaded, disembowelled and emasculated. His manhood was found with Victim Nr 9. There was a dog rose petal in his mouth.
Victim Nr 8. Unknown man. Roughly 40 years old. Bald, with silver hair. Grey eyes. he was found in the cellar, his arms and legs bound. The cause of death was a mass of stab wounds to the chest, neck and face. When I examined the house. I thought this body had been dead for a long time than the others. It was already in an advanced stage of putrifaction and it was impossible to remain in the cellar for any period of time. There was also a dog rose petal in his mouth.
Victim Nr 9. Unknown female. Approx 15 years old. Blonde hair. Grey eyes. Found in upper room. Cause of death appeared to be strangulation, though no rope or other tool of strangulation was evident. Both hands had been removed, though placed beside the body and she had a dog rose in her mouth from which several petals had been plucked. The manhood of Victim Nr 7 had been placed upon her stomach.

10. 9th Feb. 1621. Unknown Female. Possibly a young prostitute. Hair and eye colour; unknown due to an extreme state of decomposition. Body was found buried in the ground behind 17 Old Mill Lane, about two miles to the east of the city and may have lain there for several years. Cause of death; unknown. Both hands were missing.

11. 30th Mar. 1621. Unknown Male. Discovered buried in the ground not far from Victim Nr 10. Brown hair. This body was also decomposed but not to the same degree as the other body, leading to the natural assumption it had been buried at a later date. The cause of death was probably stabbing to the throat and upper body as this area showed a lot of damage. Both hands had been removed. There was so much debris in the corpse's mouth that I couldn't determine if anything had been placed there.

12. 12th Nov. 1621. Melody Cartwell. Aged 27 years old. Black hair. Green eyes. Found early in the morning, in a cart parked by the city wall. Doctor Cinder inspected the body and concluded the cause of death was strangulation with a thin cord of unknown description. Both hands had been removed post-mortem, probably with a thin bladed serrated blade, possibly a surgeon's saw and dumped in a nearby gutter. A dog-rose had been placed in her mouth. The body showed signs of excessive alcohol consumption and recent sexual intercourse, but there were no bruises or other evidence of force. The girl's father came to claim his daughter's body. He told me she had gone missing two days before, but as she had a known weakness for rum, this was not unusual. Melody Cartwell was only the second victim to be claimed by her family.

13. 1st Feb. 1622. Unknown Male. Age; uncertain. Possibly late forties. Hair; grey and blading. This man was fished from the river after he became tangled with a ships rudder. The body was bloated and distorted making it difficult to examine. Doctor Cinder was called but couldn't make out much except to note death was due to a rope that was still tied around the man's neck and both hands and feet were missing. Whether this man was a victim of Jack the Knife is uncertain.

14. 12th Apr. 1623. Meredith Harp. Aged 19. Blonde hair. Blue eyes. Found in the back yard of 6 Virgin's Lane. Cause of death was strangulation, apparently with broad strap of some kind, possibly a belt.  Both hands had been removed by several strong blows with a heavy blade, then discarded in a nearby gutter. A torn piece of canvas had been placed in her mouth. The body showed signs of sexual congress, but no obvious signs of rape. Meredith Harp had been engaged to marry a cartographer named Heathcliff Tunfallow. She had left him the afternoon of the day previous and no one knew where she'd been after that. I interviewed Heathcliff Tunfallow and he told me, to the best of his knowledge, Meredith had been a virgin. The girls family claimed the body and buried her. It had been a year and a half since Melody Cartwell and I was beginning to think Jack had stopped killing. Possibly he had moved away from the city, or died a natural death.

15. 17th Apr. 1623. Anna Foxglove. Aged 53 years. Grey/blonde hair. Blue eyes. Discovered by a Militia guard who said he also saw the murderer, but who ran away when challenged. Cause of death was strangulation, apparently by hand. In her mouth was a dog rose. Doctor Cinder examined the body and concluded she had engaged in sexual activity immediately prior to her death. Both hands were still attached however. Foxglove was a seamstress from Haven who arrived in Takshendal to visit her sister, three days earlier. Her sister Clarice Hogmantle told me, Anna had gone out to see the city the day before and not come back.
The description of the murderer was; a man, roughly middle aged and of avaerage build. He was wearing a bottle green coat and over this a dark cape. His hair was short and fair and he was balding on top. When challenged he glanced up, but in the darkness, it was impossible to see his face clearly. He may have had a short, closely cropped beard.

16. 12th Jun. 1623. Honore d'Avant. Aged 16 years. Brown hair. Brown eyes. Found in a porch at 28 Tinder Street. Doctor Cinder examined the body and concluded death was caused by multiple stab wounds to the neck and chest. The hands and penis had been cut from the body post-mortem, probably with a thin, very sharp blade. The severed body parts had been left beside the body. A dog rose had been pushed into his mouth. No one claimed Honore d'Avant's body. He was identified by locals as an immigrant who had come to the city two years before and sometimes worked at a local slaughter house where he was employed as a cleaner. Two locals described him as a boy-prostitute.

17.15th Aug. 1623. Emily Castelleto. With the city in the grip of war fever, and rumours of a contender for the throne, Emily Castelleto almost passed unnoticed. Only a chance remark by a militia guard informed me that there had been another murder. I made inquires but the body had already been disposed of. What I could understand was Emily Castelleto had been aged approx 19. Dark brown hair. Brown eyes. She was a known prostitute who frequented Cobblemoss Court and she was found strangled at 7 Old Wall St. with one of her hands partially severed.

18. 2nd Nev. 1623. Griselda Honeycomb. Aged 36. Blonde hair. Blue eyes. Griselda Honeycomb was the first, and so far only victim I knew prior to her murder. She was found outside the house of Sir Todsworth Underhock (a relation of the Grand Arch Duke, who was still then in power). She had been strangled and her hands had  been cut from her arms and thrown into a nearby trough. A dog rose had been pushed into her mouth. I wished to bring in Doctor Cinder and investigate the matter further, but Sir Reginald Flatlock ordered the matter to be kept quiet. The rumour was put about that Griselda Honeycomb had died of the pox. Despite all her influential friends and clients, no one came to claim her body. I took it upon myself, as a former neighbour, to pay for her funeral. Sir Reginald surprised me by also attending, though I understood he was making sure the affair was kept quiet.

19. 27th Mar. 1624. Annea Grouchmoss. 29 Years old. Light brown hair. Green eyes. The mother of four children. Found in the rear courtyard of the Harken Brothers Mews at 9 Dukes Court Road. Doctor Cinder examined the body and determined the cause of death was strangulation with a thin cord, such as a garrot. Both hands had been removed with a thin sharp knife and were found two days later in a nearby storm drain. A dog rose had been placed in her mouth. There were no signs of sexual activity, nor any signs of physical violence prior to strangulation. This murder caused a deal of public anger, and several affluent citizens put together a reward of four thousand crowns for any one who could provide the identity of Jack the Knife. The militia received several hundred references but since Doctor Cinder and I were the only people taking any great interest in finding out the identity of the killer, and neither of us had the time to follow so many idle leads, we were only able to devote a few afternoons to following these clues and made no progress at all.

20. 12th Apr. 1624. Unknown male. Age unknown. Hair; unknown. Eyes and general description; unknown. This victim almost went unnoticed. The crew of the galley Avenger, fished the body from the river and noted the event in their log. They also noted both hands were missing from the body and who ever this man was, he had been 'badly cut up around the throat and chest'.

21. 16th Sep. 1624. Annabel Longbottle. Aged 17. Black hair. Green eyes. Presumed to be a prostitute, but I'm not sure as no one seemed to have seen her doing business. Found in the street outside 7 Temperence Street. Doctor Cinder was unavilable so a local man; Doctor Merrysalt examined the body for me. He was unable to determine much, save she had been strangled by hand and she had almost certainly had sexual intercourse in the time prior to her death. Doctor Merrysalt also noted a bruise on the upper right cheek suggesting a heavy blow or a punch to the face. Both hands had been 'neatly' removed and placed in a nearby gutter. There was a dog rose in her mouth.

22. 3rd Feb. 1625. Unknown Female. Approx 15 years old. Dark brown hair. Green eyes. Presumed to be a migrant coming to the city to find work. The body was discovered in a small group of trees, roughly four miles south of the city. The locals informed their landlord who examined the body then ordered it buried. I later learned that the dead girl had had both hands 'cut off'. They were never found.

23. 2nd May. 1625. Molly Hartwick. Aged 25. Blonde hair. Brown eyes. A prostitute of repute due to her unique appearance of resembling a young man, complete with facial hair and a deep voice. Found in a rented room at 2 New Moon St. Doctor Cinder examined the body. Death was by strangulation with a thin cord, or garrot. There were no signs of physical violence, but Molly Hartwick did have two red marks about her ankles as if she had been tied in the hours prior to her murder. Both hands had been removed with a thin sharp blade. Doctor Cinder remarked in passing, that Jack is becoming quite adept at surgical amputation and the earlier 'hacking and sawing' that was evident is no longer present. A dog rose had been placed in her mouth. After we had examined the dead girl, Doctor Cinder and I went to see the Suregeon Royal; Doctor Herringslough where we examined several types of knife in an effort to determine what kind of tool Jack must be using. In Doctor Cinder's opinion the most likely candidate was a heavy catling with a nine inch blade. I examined such a knife, and both Doctor Cinder's and in my estimation, such a blade could also account for the victims killed by stabbing.

24. 14th Sept. 1625. Oberon Furrowhunt. Aged 16. Dark brown hair. Hazel brown eyes. Found in the rear courtyard of 15 High Brick Road (the outer gate was locked for the night). Furrowhunt was a known boy-prostitute. Doctor Cinder examined the body and concluded death was caused by multiple stab wounds to the upper chest and neck, by some one using a long thin knife, consistent with the catling Doctor Herringslough had shown us. Both hands had been removed in the usual manner and by a blade consistent with the weapon used for the murder. They were left lying in a nearby gutter. A dog rose petal was found in the victim's mouth. Doctor Cinder and I have pondered at some length on the significance of the dog roses, but as of yet, we have been unable to find any convincing explanation. No one came to claim the body of Oberon Furrowhunt.

25. 9th Mar. 1626. Allie Nettlebed. Aged 14. Blonde hair. Blue eyes.A choir-girl, returning from service, Nettlebed was found in the rear courtyard of a house at 7 Ruebarb Lane. she was the daughter of the cobbler Alred Nettlebed. Doctor Cinder examined the dead girl and concluded she had to have been killed within an hour of her discovery, which put the time of her death at midday. The cause of death was strangulation, almost certainly by means of a garrot from behind. Both hands had been removed and placed in a rain barrel. A dog rose had been placed in her mouth. There were evident signs of sexual activity.
Doctor Cinder believes the killer is developing, both in style and purpose and I am wont to agree. There is something of an ease in the way Jack has killed his later victims. Unfortunately I no longer have the time to investigate these perplexing murders as my duties now draw me further from investigation than I would like. I have decided to appoint some one who can devote all their time and efforts to take over.
I shall of course keep abreast of developments.

26. 4th Apr. 1626. Joan Murdle. Aged 21. Black hair. Brown eyes. A known prostitute who worked the Garden district. Found in the street outside 19 Temple Lane. Cause of death; strangulation with a thin cord or garrot. Both hands had been cut off and left in a drinking trough on Heron Road. Doctor Cinder examined the body, but I didn't have time to attend. Murdle had engaged in sexual activity prior to her death.

27. 2nd Dec. 1626. Edvard Arus.