THE RIPPER is a new Netflix docu-series about “The Yorkshire Ripper”. In other words, we’re dealing with true-crime and yes, this serial killer was ultimately caught and convicted.

This true-crime case is told over the course of four episodes – each just shy of one hour in runtime – and follows the crimes of this serial killer chronologically.

A modern Jack the Ripper

Since the women killed were often working as prostitutes – and left on display – a comparison to Jack the Ripper was quickly made. This resulted in the moniker “The Yorkshire Ripper” since the murders took place in the Yorkshire area. To be specific, it happened in or near poor neighborhoods.

Also, this was in a city that had been a booming industrial powerhouse just a decade earlier. Much of this docu-series does also focus on the circumstance. Both of the women murdered, who went into prostitution because they saw no other way to feed their children, and the people reluctant to talk to the police. Mostly because they didn’t trust them.

Finally, there is the issue of these women being labeled (perhaps wrongly in several cases) as prostitutes and whether that should even matter. Particularly due to the fact that not all his victims were prostitutes. Those who were not labeled as such instead got called “innocent”.

As if the rest of the victims were somehow guilty of their own murder. Talk about victim-blaming!

Also, the police were taunted when they received both letters and tapes from someone claiming to be the killer – just as other serial killers before him have done.

Old footage and new interviews

The element of victim-blaming and indifference to the murder of prostitutes by the public at large is exactly what much of this documentary also focuses on. Specifically how these murders were investigated and how the press covered them.

There is a lot of old footage in this Netflix docu-series which feels almost like time-traveling to a very distant past despite is being “only” back to the 1970s. Also, there are new interviews with police and journalists who actively worked on these crimes in various capacities.

In terms of documenting how the investigation and the press coverage evolved, it works really well.

And yes, the killer (who I won’t bother naming in this review since the focus should be on the victims) was caught and convicted. He died recently on Friday the 13th of November, 2020. Just over a month before the release of this documentary series.

Watch The Ripper docu-series on Netflix now!

Episode 4 (the final episode) is all about how The Yorkshire Ripper was finally caught. And let’s just say it wasn’t exactly due to excellent police work by the attached police unit. In fact, they could and should have caught him a lot earlier.

Before being arrested, The Yorkshire Ripper had murdered 13 women. Also, he ultimately admitted to having attacked an additional 9 women who were injured by him but survived.

You can read more about the serial killer on Wikipedia here. It might also help you keep track of the timeline while watching the Netflix documentary. Even though it is actually very easy to keep up with the timeline, I still found myself losing track since there are so many victims.

If you like watching true-crime documentaries, then you do not want to miss this The Ripper series on Netflix. What I especially liked is the fact that the focus is on the victims. Not least in the final moments of this docu-series.

All four episodes of The Ripper documentary series are out on Netflix from December 16, 2020.