 The " From Hell " letter was received by George Lusk , leader of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee , on 16 October 1888 . The handwriting and style is unlike that of the " Dear Boss " letter and " Saucy Jacky " postcard . The letter came with a small box in which Lusk discovered half of a kidney , preserved in " spirits of wine " ( ethanol ) . Eddowes ' left kidney had been removed by the killer . The writer claimed that he " fried and ate " the missing kidney half . There is disagreement over the kidney ; some contend that it belonged to Eddowes , while others argue that it was nothing more than a macabre practical joke . The kidney was examined by Dr Thomas Openshaw of the London Hospital , who determined that it was human and from the left side , but ( contrary to false newspaper reports ) he could not determine any other biological characteristics . Openshaw subsequently also received a letter signed " Jack the Ripper " . 
