if any part of it had been fresh torn". Walter Dew later described the investigation: Smith had not provided descriptions of the men who had attacked her and no witnesses came forward or were found. The investigation proved fruitless and the murderer or murderers were never caught. Whitechapel murders The case was listed as the first of eleven Whitechapel murders in Metropolitan Police files. Although elements of the press linked her death to the later murders, which were blamed on a single serial killer known as "Jack the Ripper", her murder is unlikely to be connected with the later killings. With the exception of Walter Dew, who said he thought that Smith was the first victim of the Ripper, the police suspected it was the unrelated work of a criminal gang. Smith either refused to or could not describe her attackers in any form of detail, possibly because she feared reprisal. Prostitutes were often managed by gangs, and Smith could have been attacked by her pimps as a punishment for disobeying them, or as part of their intimidation. References Bibliography Begg, Paul (2003). Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History. London: Pearson Education. Connell, Nicholas (2005). Walter Dew: The Man Who Caught Crippen. Stroud, Gloucestershire: The History Press. Cook, Andrew (2009). Jack the Ripper. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Amberley Publishing. Evans, Stewart P.; Rumbelow, Donald (2006). Jack the Ripper: Scotland Yard Investigates. Stroud: Sutton. Evans, Stewart P.; Skinner, Keith (2000). The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Sourcebook: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. London: Constable and Robinson. Honeycombe, Gordon (1982). The Murders of the Black Museum: 1870-1970, London: Bloomsbury Books, Marriott, Trevor (2005). Jack the Ripper: The 21st Century Investigation. London: John Blake. Rumbelow, Donald (2004). The Complete Jack the Ripper: Fully Revised and Updated. Penguin Books. 1840s births 1880s murders in London 1888 murders in the United Kingdom 1888 deaths 19th-century English women April 1888 events English female prostitutes English murder victims Female murder victims People of the Victorian era Women of the Victorian era