Saucy Jacky postcard

The "Saucy Jacky" postcard is the name of a message received in 1888, which claims to have been written by the serial killer now known as Jack the Ripper. Because so many hoax letters were received by Scotland Yard, the press and others, it is not known definitively if this was an authentic letter written by the Whitechapel killer. It did contain information that was compelling enough to lead investigators to publish a facsimile of the communication in hopes that someone might recognize the handwriting.

The text of the postcard reads:

I was not codding [sic] dear old Boss when I gave you the tip, you'll hear about Saucy Jacky's work tomorrow double event this time number one squealed a bit couldn't finish straight off. Had not got time to get ears off for police thanks for keeping last letter back till I got to work again.
Jack the Ripper

Postmarked and received on 1 October 1888, the postcard mentions that two victims were killed very close to one another: "double event this time". Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes were both killed in the early morning of 30 September, and part of Eddowes' ear was found detached at the crime scene as a result of facial mutilations that the killer performed. Some authors have argued that the letter was sent before the murders were publicised, making it unlikely that a hoaxer would have such knowledge of the crime, but the letter was postmarked more than 24 hours after the killings took place, long after many details were known by journalists and residents of the area. Police officials later claimed to have identified a specific journalist as the author of this message and the earlier "Dear Boss" letter.

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  A facsimile of the front of the "Saucy Jacky" postcard

In the years after the Ripper murders, the Saucy Jacky postcard disappeared from the police files. Although the "Dear Boss" letter was recovered in 1988, the "Saucy Jacky" postcard is still missing.

"Saucy Jacky" in popular culture

In the comedy film This is Spinal Tap, the band members discuss writing a musical based on the life of Jack the Ripper, titled Saucy Jack.

Sources

• Casebook: Jack the Ripper article on the Ripper letters
• Evans, Stewart; Keith Skinner (2001). Jack the Ripper: Letters From Hell. Stroud: Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0-7509-2549-3.
• Sugden, Philip (2002). The Complete History of Jack the Ripper. New York: Carroll & Graf. ISBN 0-7867-0932-4.