 the "dear boss" letter was a message allegedly written by the notorious victorian serial killer known as jack the ripper. it was postmarked and received on 27 september 1888, by the central news agency of london. it was forwarded to scotland yard on 29 september. ==content==  written in red ink, the message, like most alleged ripper letters that followed, contains spelling and punctuation errors. it reads:  ==police response== initially this letter was considered to be just one of many hoaxes, but when the body of catherine eddowes was found with one earlobe severed on 30 september, the writer's promise to "clip the ladys ears off" attracted attention. the metropolitan police published handbills with facsimiles of it and the saucy jacky postcard (which had referred to the earlier message and was received before the first became public knowledge) hoping someone would recognize the handwriting, but nothing came of this effort. many newspapers also reprinted the text in whole or in part. these two messages gained worldwide notoriety after their publication. it was the first time the "jack the ripper" name had been us
Jack_the_Ripper Letters_(message)