Madman's notes throw new light on Ripper case

Medical records belonging to a Victorian mental patient suspected of being the serial killer Jack the Ripper have been made public.

The documents detail the treatment of Thomas Hayne Cutbush at Broadmoor, the high-security hospital for the criminally insane.

Cutbush, a disturbed and violent youth, became insane in 1888, the year of the killings, and was wandering the streets of London. He was sent to Lambeth Infirmary in 1891 suffering delusions thought to have been caused by syphilis. But he immediately escaped and stabbed one woman then attempted to stab a second.

He was pronounced insane and committed to Broadmoor in 1891 where he remained until his death in 1903. From the day he was detained, the Ripper attacks ceased.