Getty/Google Labeled for Reuse Is Meghan Markle related to Jack the Ripper?
Just days before her marriage to Prince Harry, news broke that Meghan Markle may possibly be related to a Victorian-era murderer suspected of being Jack the Ripper, according to claims aired in a new documentary called Meet the Markles.
Herman Webster Mudgett, better known as “America’s first serial killer” H. H. Holmes, is thought to be distantly connected to Markle through years of marriage in her family tree. The claims are made by another of H.H. Holmes’ descendants, US lawyer Jeff Mudgett, who has led investigations into the killer.
Mudgett, who would be Markles eighth cousin, has since claimed the family is related to the notorious killer, according to The Sun. “We did a study with the FBI and CIA and Scotland Yard regarding handwriting analysis.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. The Documentary “Meet the Markles” Showcases the Interview with Mudgett, who Connects Holmes to the Notorious Serial Killer Jack the Ripper
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
The Channel Four special “Meet the Markles” showcases an interview with Jeff Mudgett, a U.S. lawyer who discovered he is the great-great-great grandson of H. H. Holmes.
Mudgett has investigated and written about Holmes extensively. In a popular TED Talk, he also shares his theory that Holmes traveled to England and committed the Whitechapel slaughters attributed to Jack the Ripper.
Mudgett, a lawyer and former Commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve, bases his assertions on the writings in two diaries he inherited from Holmes which detail Holmes’s participation in the murder and mutilation of numerous prostitutes in London.
More recently, Mudgett connected his lineage to Meghan Markle, who he says is a distant cousin. According to The Daily Mail, the documentary “Meet The Markles” follows presenter Amelia Dimoldenberg as she tracks down a number of Markle’s relatives. The documentary is meant to be “humorous and warm in tone.”
“According to Channel 4, she meets the man who was Meghan’s first kiss, goes to a cannabis trade fair with Meghan’s nephew and eats alligator nuggets in Florida with another relative.”
2. H. H. Holmes was Known as “America’s First Serial Killer” and is Believed to have Killed over 200 People
Google – Labeled for ReuseMeghan Markle may be related to infamous serial killer H.H. Holmes, according to her distant cousin Jeff Mudgett.
H. H. Holmes, or Herman Webster Mudgett, was executed for one murder on May 7, 1896, but confessed to killing 27. Operating between 1891 and 1894, many experts believe Holmes’ real victim tally is over 200.
Holmes was a rich, intelligent doctor who lived in Chicago. He moved to the city from his hometown in New Hampshire in 1884. He ended up becoming the owner of a drugstore and opened a hotel in the suburb of Englewood.
According to his Biography.com, Holmes had a three-story building constructed nearby, creating an elaborate house of horrors. Holmes infamously lured targets into his “murder castle,” where he subjected them to horrific torture. The upper floors contained many small rooms where he tortured and killed his victims. There were trapdoors and chutes all around the house that enabled him to easily move the bodies down to the basement, where he could cremate the remains in a kiln or dispose of them in other ways.
“During the 1893 Columbian Exposition, Holmes opened up his home as a hotel for visitors. Unfortunately, many guests did not survive in what became known as the “Murder Castle.” Many of these victims — no one knows for certain the total number — were women who were seduced, swindled and then killed. Holmes had a habit of getting engaged to a woman, only for his fiancée to suddenly “disappear.” Other victims were lured there by the offer of employment.”
After several weeks of outrunning authorities, Holmes was finally apprehended in November 1894, according to Biography.com.
3. If Holmes Actually is Jack the Ripper, Markle May Share a Bloodline with England’s Most Notorious Serial Killer
Google Labeled for ReuseMeghan Markle may share a bloodline with England’s most notorious serial killer.
Jack the Ripper is the nickname given to the unidentified serial killer who stalked the streets of London’s Whitechapel district in 1888. He cut the throats and mutilated the bodies of at least five street-walking prostitutes. Never captured, his identity is one of England’s most famous unsolved mysteries.
“The series of killings that began in August 1888 stood out from other violent crime of the time: They were marked by sadistic butchery, suggesting a mind more sociopathic and hateful than most citizens could comprehend,” according to Biography.com. “Jack the Ripper didn’t just snuff out life with a knife, he mutilated and humiliated women, and his crimes seemed to portray an abhorrance for the entire female gender.”
Theories as to who might have been Jack the Ripper have fascinated the public ever since the murders were committed. The possibility that he was H. H. Holmes is just the latest intriguing example.
If Mudgett’s theory proves true, and Markle is actually a distant relative, that would mean that Markle might share a bloodline with England’s most notorious serial killer.
4. Mudgett Believes that Holmes Wasn’t the Man who was Hung on the Day of his Execution
H.H. Holmes infamous Murder Castle, where the serial killer allegedly killed between 20-200 people.
Holmes was finally caught after attempting to use a corpse in an insurance scam. According to History.com, he confessed, saying, “I was born with the devil in me. I could not help the fact that I was a murderer, no more than a poet can help the inspiration to sing.”
While in custody, he gave several different accounts of stories to police, once admitting to killing 27 people. Holmes was convicted in 1895, appealed his case and lost. He was executed on May 7, 1896.
However, according to Biography.com, Mudgett claims that the man that died in the public hanging that took place on May 7, 1896 was not Holmes, but actually a man that Holmes tricked into going to the gallows in his place.
The shocking twists to the well-documented, horrific stories of Holmes and Jack the Ripper are detailed in Mudgett’s book, Bloodstains. They can also be seen in HISTORY’s new eight-part series, “American Ripper,” which premieres on July 11th.
5. Mudgett Posted on Facebook, Claiming that NBC “Cut and Edited” His Comments About Markle and Prince Harry
In Meet the Markles, Mudgett talks about his shared connection to Holmes and, potentially, Jack the Ripper. He brings up his relation to Markle and notes that he isn’t sure if she knows about the connection.
“We did a study with the FBI and CIA and Scotland Yard regarding handwriting analysis. It turns out [H. H. Holmes] was Jack the Ripper. This means Meghan is related to Jack the Ripper. I don’t think the Queen knows. I am not proud he is my ancestor. Meghan won’t be either.”
According to Crime Feed, the U.K. tabloids had a meltdown over Meghan’s potential Ripper relation, and Mudgett wanted to clarify his position, including the fact that although he is related to Markle, he doesn’t know Markle or Prince Harry personally. He posted a lengthy post on Facebook stating:
To clarify the errors emerging from the tabloids: I’ve never met the soon to be Duchess or her fiancée, Prince Harry. In fact, I stated on air that I admired the Prince for his position proving love prevails over all, and his service to the Crown serving in Afghanistan under combat. That these were the things all Americans admire and respect. How my comments were cut and edited the world will soon discover.
A spokesperson for Channel Four also backed up Mudgett’s claims, stating that “the show is humorous and warm in tone.”
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