Elizabeth Stride

Elizabeth "Long Liz" Stride ( Gustafsdotter; 27 November 1843 – 30 September 1888) is believed to have been the third victim of the unidentified serial killer known as Jack the Ripper, who killed and mutilated at least five women in the Whitechapel and Spitalfields districts of London from late August to early November 1888. Unlike the other four canonical Ripper victims, Stride had not been mutilated following her murder, leading some historians to suspect Stride had not actually been murdered by Jack the Ripper. However, Stride's murder occurred less than one hour before the murder of the Ripper's fourth canonical victim, Catherine Eddowes, within walking distance, and her act of murder is suspected to have been disturbed by an individual entering the crime scene upon a two-wheeled cart. In addition, both women had been murdered by slash wounds to the throat, leading most authors and researchers to consider Stride to be the third of the Ripper's canonical five victims. Stride was nicknamed "Long Liz". Several explanations have been given for this pseudonym; some believe it sources from her married surname (a stride being a reference to a long step), while others believe this is a reference to either her height, or her general facial structure. Stride was born Elisabeth Gustafsdotter on 27 November 1843 in Stora Tumlehed; a rural village within the parish of Torslanda, west of Gothenburg, Sweden. She was the second of four children born to Swedish farmer Gustaf Ericsson (age 32) and his wife Beata Carlsdotter (age 33). As a child, Gustafsdotter lived upon this village farm. All four children were raised in the Lutheran faith, and all were required to perform numerous chores upon the farm. Gustafsdotter was confirmed at the Church of Torslanda on 14 August 1859 at the age of 15. The following year, she chose to relocate from Stora Tumlehed to the city of Gothenburg in search of employment. Shortly thereafter, she obtained employment as a domestic worker in the Gothenburg parish of Carl Johan, being employed by a couple named Olofsson.