Summary

Fans of
Unsolved Mysteries
are divided on the Netflix revival, particularly the focus on Jack the Ripper’s case, which lacks interviews with key players.
Viewers wanted more current mysteries explored, like the disappearances of Brian Shaffer and Maura Murray, which offer potential for resolution.
The latest season has sparked debate over the value of rehashing old cases versus highlighting cases with a chance of being solved.

Since being resurrected by Netflix, Unsolved Mysteries has gained more fans who are obsessed with true crime and unsolved cases. It’s the DNA that made the original show with host Robert Stack such a hit because its viewers would, in equal parts, frighten themselves and think they could help solve one of the mysteries at the center of each episode. Fans have been nitpicky about the Netflix version, particularly the show doing away with narration, something the late Stack added to the original series that allows that version to remain iconic.

As this newest season has begun on the streamer, it has sparked another debate with fans, with the first episode featuring the notorious serial killer, Jack the Ripper. That’s not to say that the Jack the Ripper case isn’t a fascinating mystery, especially since he was never caught and his identity is still unknown. However, fans have been vocal online about the episode because the case is very old, and no one of importance can be interviewed as he began his reign of terror in 1888, with anyone who has any insight being long gone at this point.

Jack the Ripper Has History in Hollywood

Jack the Ripper has been discussed in various documentaries and TV shows and has even been given the big screen treatment throughout the years, including 2001’s From Hell, which starred Johnny Depp and was loosely based on the graphic novel of the same about the Jack the Ripper slayings that had the Whitechapel district of London, England, gripped in fear.

In what some believe is one of the first cases involving a serial killer, as we have come to know them, Jack the Ripper began terrorizing Whitechapel in 1888, with his victims primarily being women who were working as prostitutes. The murders were particularly gruesome, with some theorizing that the killer must have some knowledge of human anatomy to remove their organs the way he did with such exact precision. While 11 murders are believed to have been committed by Jack the Ripper, there is a group of women known as the “canonical five” that is linked primarily to the notorious serial killer. Although his identity was never revealed, and he was never caught, there are theories about various suspects, something the Unsolved Mysteries episode tries to dive into.

Jack the Ripper Is a Cold Case for Unsolved Mysteries

The original Unsolved Mysteries series was no stranger to tackling episodes that weren’t as timely or specifically true crime-based. There have been episodes about alien sightings, paranormal phenomena, and other fantastical mysteries, but the climate in which the new Unsolved Mysteries finds itself is much different. True-crime podcasts, TV shows, and documentaries have surged in recent years, with whole networks dedicated 24-7 coverage to real-life crimes.

Part of the appeal of true crime programming is the notion, if it’s detailing an unsolved crime, that there is hope of a resolution from those watching who might have insight into cracking the case. The inherent problem with an episode focusing on Jack the Ripper is that it offers a fascinating look, but it’s also a case that takes place so distant in the past that it makes it very difficult to provide anything of note to help solve the Whitechapel murders. Anyone reporting on the crimes or working the case as a detective at the time has been long gone, so the only people who are interviewed during the episode are crime historians who are rightfully intrigued by the case but can’t offer up a first-hand account that makes the episode worth it for fans.

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The episode offers several suspects, which could be interesting to speculate on. Still, it doesn’t satisfy the appetite of viewers who think that showcasing this case will reveal new details that would definitely identify who Jack the Ripper was. That’s not to say that featuring cold cases in true-crime series isn’t beneficial. Several shows and documentaries about the Golden State Killer, who began burglarizing, raping, and murdering individuals between 1974 and 1986, kept interest in that case viable enough that those working it well into 2018 eventually used forensic genealogy testing to identify Joseph James DeAngelo as the man responsible for those crimes. Despite the case going back to 1974, there were still witnesses, victims, detectives, and journalists who worked on that case that could offer current insight, something much different from the 1888 murders committed by Jack the Ripper.

The creators behind the new Unsolved Mysteries may have thought examining Jack the Ripper would be universally loved, and that’s not to say that some viewers weren’t intrigued, but a vocal majority have dubbed the episode to be a bit of a waste of time for some of the reasons previously stated. Another complaint is that an episode focused on a crime that still has a chance to be solved should’ve been highlighted over the Jack the Ripper case.

Clearly, fans were upset with the idea after a long delay between seasons.

The Mothman episode, though enjoyed by some, received a similar response from fans.

Fans Believe More Current Mysteries Should’ve Been Highlighted

Fans have offered up other cases that should’ve been featured on the show, which are more current and have the chance of being solved, unlike the Jack the Ripper case. Some have cited the disappearance of Brian Shaffer, a medical student who went missing in 2006 after security cameras saw him standing outside the bar with two women and walking out of sight, never to be seen or heard from again.

Making the disappearance even more baffling is that there were no other entrances or exits to the bar that could be accessed by the public, making it truly appear that he disappeared into thin air. Theories have included Shaffer being a victim of the Smiley Face serial killer, who is believed to be responsible for 45 men being found dead in bodies of water in the area between the 1990s and the 2010s, as well as the medical student going off on his own, running away and taking on a new identity. The mystery still fascinates true crime aficionados and would likely gain some new traction on Unsolved Mysteries.

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Another case mentioned by fans is the disappearance of Maura Murray, who went missing in 2004 after her car crashed on Route 112 in New Hampshire. Murray was 21 years old at the time and a nursing student coming up at the end of her junior year at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Adding to the mystery of Murray’s disappearance are the events that led up to it. Three months before going missing, she admitted to using a stolen credit card, although it was dismissed soon after due to three months of good behavior. A few days before her disappearance, during her shift at a campus security job, it was reported that Murray was crying and visibly upset, with her boss saying she was virtually unresponsive. This was later revealed to be due to a personal conversation with her sister Kathleen.

On the day of February 9, Murray emailed someone from her nursing school that she would be out of town for a week because of a death in the family, although her family would eventually reveal no such event happened. On the night she went missing, Murray got in an accident on Route 112 and was spotted by a passing school bus driver who saw the wreck and Murray walking around her car. When the driver offered to call the police for help, Murray declined the offer, saying she had already contacted AAA to pick her up. The bus driver was aware the cell service was spotty in the area, and when he departed, he called the police anyway. That was at 7:27 PM, but by 7:46 PM, when the police arrived, Murray was gone and hadn’t been seen since.

There are other mysteries and unsolved cases that the new Netflix iteration could’ve tackled, which have a shot at finding new leads. The frustration over the Jack the Ripper episode is that beyond theories and speculation, the odds of figuring out who the serial killer was are very slim. The series is reportedly coming back with more episodes in October, so here’s hoping those feature stories could offer some hope of a resolution instead of looking deep into the past and into a cold case that is practically frozen. Unsolved Mysteries is streaming on Netflix.