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The Blackout Ripper

An evil monster roamed the streets of London fifty years after Jack the Ripper

By Marc HooverPublished about a year ago 3 min read
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Gordon Cummins was in the Royal Air Force by day and killed women by night

During the late 1800s, an unknown serial killer known as Jack the Ripper stalked the streets of London seeking female victims. The killer was never identified and will forever be remembered in the annals of British history. After Jack's reign of terror, another killer would continue his work fifty years later. This killer would prey on unsuspecting women in London during WWII.

After Adolph Hitler defeated France, he turned his attention to England. It was Hitler's belief that he could bomb the British into submission.

The infamous German Luftwaffe bombarded London for 57 consecutive days. You can only imagine how difficult it must have been for Londoners at that time. Their lives transitioned from living carefree to being obliterated on a daily basis. The bombings would adversely affect the lives of Londoners. Among these were the rationalization of food and a lack of other basic necessities.

Londoners had to deal with death from above as well as a monster seeking human blood.

Evelyn Hamilton, a 40-year-old pharmacist, was the first victim. On February 8, 1942, an electrician discovered Hamilton's body. She had been strangled and her purse had been robbed. There was no indication that the attack was sexually motivated.

On February 9, 1942, a second victim was discovered. Meter readers found the body of Evelyn Oatley, 35. The woman's killer had brutally murdered her. He had strangled her and then slashed her throat with a razor.

The killer's third victim was found on February 10, 1942. Her name was Margaret Florence Lowe, a 43-year-old widow. She was strangled and butchered as well. Her abdomen had been severed, exposing her internal organs. The brutality of the attack horrified investigators. The killer left a knife and a razor behind.

The body of a fourth woman, Doris Jouannet, was found on February 11, 1942, in the home she and her husband shared. Her body was also mutilated and strangled. Jouannet was said to have engaged in prostitution and had chosen the wrong sexual partner. The killer became careless after four homicides and left a clue that led to his capture. He attacked Mary Haywood, 32, on Friday, March 13, 1942.

After grabbing Haywood, the killer pushed her into a doorway and knocked her out. Before he was able to kill Haywood, an 18-year-old porter came to the scene and scared the killer off. After the killer escaped, he left behind his service respirator with serial number 525987. As soon as he left Haywood, he attacked a prostitute named Catherine Mulcahy. Despite his efforts, she managed to escape.

On February 17, 1942, law enforcement arrested and charged the killer. It was determined that he was responsible for the deaths of four women and the attacks on two others. A 27-year-old man named Gordon Frederick Cummins would be identified as the Blackout Killer.

So who was this sadistic killer?

Cummins joined the Royal Air Force in 1935. He worked at the Aircraft Reception Center in Regents Park, close to where he stalked his victims. He worked during the day and searched for victims at night. He would be tried, convicted, and executed on June 25, 1942. Despite his execution, his story didn't end there because he was suspected of killing two more women in 1941. Edith Humphries and Maple Churchyard were their names. Today, both murders remain unsolved and their killer was never held responsible for their homicides.

Marc is a long-time resident of Clermont County and an avid reader. Contact him through his website at www.themarcabe.com or through Facebook: www.Facebook.com/themarcabe or his Twitter account @themarcabe. Marc also has a podcast called Catch my Killer where he interviews family members seeking justice for their murdered loved ones. You can listen at www.catchmykiller.com.

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About the Creator

Marc Hoover

Marc Hoover is a Hooper award winning columnist for the Clermont Sun newspaper in Ohio. Contact him at [email protected]. Marc also has a podcast called Catch my Killer.

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