A shocking new update has been revealed in the infamous cold case of Jack the Ripper after police discovered the killer's face while searching through old archives. Amongst dozens of artefacts, the face was found engraved into the handle of a wooden walking stick which belonged to the officer who devoted years of his life trying to catch the serial killer.
Scotland Yard detective Frederick Abberline was removed from the case in 1889 after failing to stop the notorious Jack the Ripper who butchered at least five women in Whitechapel over a century ago. The chilling image engraved into the handle is the only reported facial composite of the Ripper whose identity remains a mystery to this day, the Mirror reports.
The cane had been stored for years at the Police College in Bramshill, Hampshire and there were fears it had gone missing when the institution was shut in 2015. However, it was recently relocated by staff at the College of Policing's HQ in Ryton, West Midlands who were searching through memorabilia.
Now the terrifying face with eerie eyes has gone on display to highlight advancements in police technology to recruits. A College of Policing spokesman revealed that two staff members discovered the cane when rifling through artefacts placed into storage following Bramshill’s closure.
The college’s content creator Antony Cash said: "Finding this cane was an exciting moment for us. Jack the Ripper is one of the biggest and most infamous murder cases in our history and his crimes were significant in paving the way for modern policing and forensics as it caused police to begin experimenting with and developing new techniques as they attempted to try and solve these murders, such as crime scene preservation, profiling and photography.
"This walking cane is such a fascinating artefact which represents such a historically significant time in policing. It’s amazing that we can put it out on display here in Ryton, alongside the original newspaper cuttings, so that our officers can see first-hand how far we’ve advanced in policing since then.’’
The Ripper terrorised London's East End after he brutally murdered at least five females over a period of three months in 1888. The victim's were found with their throats cut and their bodies mutilated in such a way that it was believed the killer had some knowledge of human anatomy.
One victim's half kidney was sent to the police with a series of mocking notes from the evil killer who referred to himself as Jack the Ripper.
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