A forgotten Victorian serial killer, who terrorised London in the years before Jack the Ripper, may finally have been identified after 139 years, thanks to a new BBC investigation led by historian Lucy Worsley.
The Grisly Reign of the Thames Torso Murderer
The so-called Thames Torso Murderer is believed to have killed as many as five women between 1887 and 1902. His horrific signature was to dismember his victims and scatter their body parts along the River Thames. "The killer’s hallmark was to dismember the bodies of his victims and to scatter the body parts up and down the river," Lucy Worsley explains in her new series. "Given the name ‘The Thames Torso Murderer’, he was never caught."
The grim discoveries began in May 1887. A lighterman found a bag containing a woman's lower torso at Rainham in east London. Within weeks, more body parts surfaced:
- A thigh at Temple Pier on 5 June.
- An upper torso in Battersea.
- Arms and legs in Regent's Canal.
By July, police had recovered an almost complete body of a young woman, missing only her head and shoulders. The investigation stalled due to a lack of evidence.
A Chilling Pattern Emerges
The killer struck again in September 1888, leaving a torso in the basement of the building site for the new Scotland Yard headquarters. A journalist's dog even found another leg missed by police. "On one hand, he’s cautious and methodical, but on the other, he’s taking these crazy risks," Worsley observes.
In 1889, a third victim was discovered; ten dismembered parts were found around Battersea and Chelsea. This woman was around seven months pregnant. One part was found in the garden of Shelley House, home to Mary Shelley's son. A fourth victim was linked in Whitechapel in 1889, and a potential fifth in Vauxhall in 1902.
The Breakthrough Suspect: James Crick
After examining various leads, including a victim's violent partner and another convicted killer, the investigative team, including true crime author Sarah Bax Horton, focused on a man named James Crick.
Records show Crick had his own rowing skiff and a history of violence against women. He attacked Jessie Miller and Sarah Warburton. Although Miller was raped and thrown in the Thames, Crick's claim of consent was believed over hers. Warburton testified that Crick threatened her, saying, "if you make a noise...I intend to settle you as I have done other women that have been found in the Thames." After raping her, she escaped and alerted a police boat.
Crick was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Significantly, the Thames torso killings stopped while he was incarcerated.
Lucy Worsley and her team believe this is a compelling breakthrough. "I think there’s a very compelling case that we’ve got the guy," Worsley stated. The findings are presented in Lucy Worsley: Victorian Murder Club, which aired on BBC Two and iPlayer on 5 January.
