Atlanta Ripper

     On July 8, 1911, the Atlanta Journal published an article predicting the possibility that the Ripper would be prowling that Saturday night.  The paper's prediction was proven true as the Ripper attempted to claim another victim that very night. The following articles are from the Journal and Constitution respectively.  The two papers contradict each other. The Journal states that the Ripper said nothing as he ran up to Mary Yeldell in a catlike tread. Whereas the Constitution claims that he said "Thow your hands up, I want you."  Nevertheless, the Ripper's attempt to kill again had been foiled.  Newspapers outside of Atlanta also published articles on this event.

On July 6, 1911, the Atlanta Georgian reported on the arrest of a pedophile named Henry Wiliams for the sexual assault and robbery of three black girls. The article states that the Fulton County police were investigating the possibility that he was the Atlanta Ripper. $5.27  in 1911 is worth  $143.73  today Two days later the Journal reported that Henry was brought before Emma Sharpe for identification and she was positive that he was not the man who stabbed her. The paper mistakenly refers to Emma by her mother's name, Lena.  The article incorrectly claims that seven of the Ripper victims were killed on seven Saturday nights. Truth is that the first two victims, Marie Gilliard, and the first Jane Doe were killed two years ago in 1909. Victim Maggie Brooks was slain in 1910. Rosa Trice and another Jane Doe were murdered in January and February 1911, respectively. It wasn't until Mary Belle Walker was cut down in May 1911 that the Ripper started killing every week. One of those

 On July 4, 1911, the Atlanta Constitution and the Atlanta Georgian, published articles about a reward being offered for the Ripper's arrest. $25 in 1910 is the equivalent of $691 today.

 The following articles are from newspapers outside of Atlanta. The following is from the Washington Post June 27, 1911.  This article claims that the victims were strangled before their throats were cut, but the Atlanta papers stated that most women had their skulls battered before their throats were slit.  This article comes from the Augusta Herald, dated July 2, 1911. The Post-Crescent (Appleton, Wisconsin) · 27 Jun 1911, Tue · Page 2 The Bucyrus Evening Telegraph (Bucyrus, Ohio) · 27 Jun 1911, Tue · Page 1 Fall River Daily Evening News (Fall River, Massachusetts) · 27 Jun 1911, Tue · Page 3 This is from the New York Times, dated July 3, 1911 The Times claims that no "out and out" black woman was slain which fits with statements from the Atlanta papers which claims that the victims were mulattos.  Buffalo Evening News (Buffalo, New York) · 3 Jul 1911, Mon · Page 12 St. Louis Globe-Democrat (St. Louis, Missouri) · 3 Jul 1911, Mon · Page 9 The Buffalo Times (Buffalo, New Yo

  From July 2, 1911 edition of the Atlanta Constitution. The Atlanta Journal also published an article about these two crimes. There are significant differences between the Journal's account and that of the Constitution . The Constitution claims that Lena Sharpe and her daughter were attacked separately, with Lena being slain as she was going to a meat market, while the Journal claims that both women were together when the ambushed them. Both agree that the Ripper was a tall, dark-skinned black man, dressed in black.

  This article is from the Atlanta Constitution, dated June 26, 1911. The Atlanta Journal also produced an article on these murders. Once again, they brought up the serial killer theory.

  The following article is from the Atlanta Constitution , dated June 17, 1911. The Atlanta Georgian also published an article on this case. The Atlanta Journal published an article on this murder as well.

Mary Belle Walker is the sixth victim attributed to the Atlanta Ripper. These articles are from the Atlanta Constitution and the Atlanta Georgian dated May 29, 1911. The Georgian once again states that the police believe a serial killer was on the loose. The paper claims that another woman was slain in the same area in a similar way two weeks ago, but the only black woman that I know of to be murdered was Rosa Rivers who was gunned down while walking with her sister on May 8, 1911. http://www.homicideresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/ATLANTA_RIPPER-for-website-2013.pdf

On February 20, 1911, the Atlanta Constitution and the Atlanta Georgian  reported on the discovery of a black woman's body near the West Point BeltLine in a wooded area not far from Grant Park. I've posted the Constitution first followed by the Georgian. The Georgian mentions that another woman was slain not far away, two or three months ago. This victim they're alluding to is probably Maggie Brooks who was slain at the intersection of Hill Street and the Beltline on October 3, 1910.  http://www.homicideresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/ATLANTA_RIPPER-for-website-2013.pdf Detective John Starnes

Rosa Trice is frequently reported as the Ripper's first victim, but in reality, she was the fourth victim attributed to the Ripper. The following articles are from the Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta Georgian, and the Atlanta Journal respectively. All were published on January 23, 1911

First Two Victims Claimed by Atlanta Ripper. Most articles and books on the Atlanta Ripper claim he killed his first victim in January 1911. but I found articles suggesting a serial killer back in 1909. This article from the Atlanta Georgian, dated February 22, 1909 On February 22, 1909, the Journal also published an account of this murder. There are some differences between the two with the Georgian claiming that two boys discovered the body while the Journal claims that three boys had found the body. More importantly, the Georgian claims that the woman died from blunt force trauma whereas the Journal says that she was strangled. The other difference is that one of the Georgian places the victim's age as being around twenty, whereas the Journal puts it around 15. Later this victim was identified as Marie Gilliard. This article is from the Atlanta Georgian, dated February 26, 1909 On March 8, 1909, the Georgian published an article about the discovery of another body not far f