 Bury killed his wife shortly after the height of the London Whitechapel murders , which were attributed to the unidentified serial killer " Jack the Ripper " . Bury 's previous abode near Whitechapel and similarities between the Ripper 's crimes and Bury 's led the press and executioner James Berry to suggest that Bury was the Ripper . Bury protested his innocence in the Ripper crimes , and the police discounted him as a suspect . Later authors have built on the earlier accusations , but the idea that Bury was the Ripper is not widely accepted . 
