About
Irish woman known for being the final and youngest of the five known victims of the unidentified serial killer known as Jack the Ripper whose murders terrorized London's East End in 1888. She became historically significant after her brutal murder inside her small rented room at 13 Miller's Court in Spitalfields, London in November 1888.
Before fame
She moved to London during the mid-1880s. She moved frequently between lodging houses and rented rooms in Whitechapel and Spitalfields before eventually settling in Miller's Court in 1888. She lived with Joseph Barnett for several months in Miller's Court during 1888 before separating shortly before her death. She was murdered on November 9th, 1888, with her body being discovered on the morning of the 9th.
Trivia
She was known by several nicknames including Fair Emma, Ginger, Black Mary, and Dark Mary. She was the only one of the five commonly recognized victims of Jack the Ripper who was murdered indoors rather than in the street. A famous crime scene photograph taken inside her room became one of the earliest examples of forensic crime photography and is still studied by historians and criminologists today.
Family life
She was born in County Limerick, Ireland. Her birth name may have been Marie Jeanette Kelly, but historians are unsure of this. She grew up in a large Irish family and may have spent part of her childhood in Wales after her family relocated there. She was buried on November 19th, 1888, at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Cemetery in Leytonstone, London.
Associated with
She was portrayed by Heather Graham in the 2001 film From Hell which is a fictionalized account of the Jack the Ripper murders.
