The Man Who Vanished: Whitechapel’s Other Attacker

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The Man Who Vanished: Whitechapel’s Other Attacker
News of the Times | Episode 510 | 1888
Before Jack the Ripper cast his long shadow over London, Whitechapel was already soaked in fear. In this gripping episode, we follow the shocking case of Richard Patterson, a dock labourer turned violent fugitive, whose stormy night of rage left two victims gashed and bleeding — and the police scrambling.
On 26 June 1888, just weeks before the Ripper’s infamous spree began, a thunderstorm roared over Grove Street. Amid the rain and lightning, a young woman — her throat slashed — stumbled into the street. Behind her, her brother, also brutally wounded. The man they named as their attacker? Her husband. Then… he vanished.
Patterson’s rampage, escape, and dramatic return stunned a city already teetering under the weight of poverty and panic. Though not a Ripper killing, this case was part of a rising tide of violence that left London terrified — long before the Ripper ever lifted his blade.
👉 Featuring original newspaper accounts, testimony from survivors, and the involvement of Inspector Reid (yes, that Reid), this true crime tale is a vivid, violent portrait of East End desperation.
✨ In our Further Particulars: While British detectives stumbled through the fog, American cities were already deploying telephone patrol boxes, dawn courtroom sessions, and telegraphed justice. A Pall Mall Gazette correspondent asks: Are the Americans beating us at our own game?
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▶️ **Related episodes from the vault:**
1889: Florence Maybrick | Ep133
https://youtu.be/xV8BsTNREkM
1886 - 1946: Lancashire Murder Stories | Ep166
https://youtu.be/AEJxlmxF7u4
1881: The Mysterious Murder of Georgie Moore | Ep200
https://youtu.be/dba4Zel0IXo
1882: Scandal and Murder on Merseyside | Ep206
https://youtu.be/QmSsd1et-iI
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