The shadow of Jack the Ripper once again fell across Whitechapel's cobbled streets in the 1990s, when a modern-day copycat killer began stalking vulnerable women in the same neighbourhood that witnessed the Victorian era's most infamous murders.
Steven Pape, the convicted murderer who brought terror back to East London by emulating the Ripper's brutal methods, has died in prison at the age of 64. The Ministry of Justice confirmed his death at HMP Frankland, bringing a final chapter to one of Britain's most disturbing criminal cases.
The Reign of Terror Returns to Whitechapel
Between 1994 and 1995, Pape launched his own campaign of violence against sex workers in Whitechapel, deliberately choosing the same hunting grounds that made Jack the Ripper a household name over a century earlier. His brutal attacks left two women dead and the local community living in fear.
Pape's murderous spree began in December 1994 when he killed 33-year-old Julie Finley in Liverpool. Just months later, he travelled to London specifically to target women in Whitechapel, murdering 28-year-old Alison McGowan in May 1995.
Chilling Parallels with History's Most Notorious Killer
What made Pape's crimes particularly disturbing were the deliberate echoes of the original Ripper murders. Like his Victorian predecessor, he:
- Targeted sex workers in the Whitechapel area
- Used extreme violence in his attacks
- Left police struggling to identify a pattern
- Created widespread panic in the community
Detectives noted the similarities were too striking to be coincidental, suggesting Pape had studied the Ripper case and deliberately modelled his crimes on the 19th-century killer's methods.
Justice Finally Served
Pape's reign of terror ended when he was convicted of both murders in 1996 and sentenced to life in prison. The court heard how he had stalked the streets of Whitechapel, waiting for vulnerable women to target in attacks that mirrored the brutality of the original Ripper killings.
For over two decades, Pape remained behind bars at HMP Frankland, one of Britain's highest-security prisons, until his death was confirmed this week. A Prison Service spokesperson stated: "HMP Frankland prisoner Steven Pape died in custody on 18 September. The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has been informed."
A Dark Legacy Laid to Rest
The death of Steven Pape closes one of the most disturbing chapters in modern British criminal history. His crimes not only ended two young lives but revived the ghost of Jack the Ripper in the very streets where the original killer created his legend.
While the Whitechapel of today has transformed dramatically since both the Victorian era and the 1990s, the memory of these connected tragedies serves as a sombre reminder of how history's darkest shadows can sometimes re-emerge in the modern world.
