The gruesome story of the Manchester Ripper

London wasn’t the only city to be terrorised by a ‘ripper’ at the turn of the 20th century, as Manchester was also home to its very own serial killer.

Not long after the capital was caught in the grip of Ripper Fever, our own city was the scene for a series of grisly murders.

The crimes were documented by local historian, author, and associate lecturer in History at Manchester Metropolitan University, Michala Hulme.

She captured some of the darkest moments in Manchester’s past in her book, Manchester: Bloody British History, in which she retells some of the city’s most gruesome tales.

While it remains a mystery exactly how many lives the ripper claimed, the first known victim was 15-year-old Thomas Smith, who lived on Wood Street in Chorlton-on-Medlock.

Hoyle Street – Credit: Manchester Archives and Local Studies

His body was discovered in the afternoon of April 11th 1905, in a cellar of an empty property on Hoyle Street in Ardwick, gagged and mutilated.

Thomas was found by a man called David Shields, lying on his back with a brick on his neck and paper stuffed in his mouth – a red handkerchief was tied around his head to keep the paper in.

According to the doctor, his clothes were torn and disarranged showing signs of violence, with his scalp beaten to a pulp. He also didn’t think Thomas was killed in the cellar, but instead had been dumped there afterwards.

The post mortem revealed his skull was badly fractured and his body covered in bruises, with the nail from one of his middle fingers torn off and his hand and arm scratched – suggesting a huge struggle had happened.

Thomas’ mum said he was a timid boy wouldn’t even go to bed by himself, adding that he’d left the house and not returned – she said she didn’t know why he might leave without telling her.

Ancoats – Credit: Manchester Archives and Local Studies

Two years after the death of Thomas Smith, another murdered 15-year-old boy’s body was discovered not far from Hoyle Street.

While less information is known about the second victim, he was also found in an unoccupied house, this time down the road in Ancoats.

It was discovered that the cause of death was strangulation, and tied around the victim’s face was once again a red handkerchief.

Despite the efforts of the police, the murderer was never caught and no one faced justice for the brutal killings – just like Jack the Ripper…