Jack the Ripper’s series of murders have fascinated many since they were committed in the late 19th century.

Over the years, many people have devoted their lives to uncovering the identity of the UK’s infamous serial killer.

The latest research, by Swedish amateur historian Stefan Rantzow, is less about attempting to shed light on who the brutal butcher was, but rather finding out more about his many victims.

They were women who worked as prostitutes and lived in poverty.

One victim,who has become the subject of 25 years of Mr Rantzow’s work, is Elizabeth Stride, whose tempestuous relationship with a Sheerness carpenter arguably led her to untimely death.

She was born Elisabeth Gustafsdotter in a small village in Sweden called Stora Tumlehed, near Gothenburg, on November 27, 1843, to Gustaf Ericsson and Beata Carlsdotter.

During her late teens, she worked as a servant for a number of wealthy families, but later began prostituting herself.

In 1866, for reasons unknown, she moved to England, where she lived in Gower Street, London, and worked as a servant.

Mr Rantzow said of the years following her arrival in the country: “On March 7, 1869, she married John Thomas Stride from Sheerness.

“From now on her name Elisabeth changed to the English version.

“He was born on February 8, 1827, son of William and Elenor Monk, and was one of nine children.

“John’s father was a substantial property owner and had built Stride’s Row in Mile Town, Sheerness. On his death in 1873, the nine children, who settled down in London, did not receive anything.”

In 1870, John and Elizabeth opened a coffee shop in Poplar, London, but, according to Mr Rantzow, there is evidence to show their relationship was a stormy one, characterised by frequent fighting.

He said: “The marriage with Elizabeth ended in 1881 and John died of heart disease, age 63, at Poplar and Stepney sick asylum in Bromley, on October 24, 1884. He is buried in a public grave in the City of London Cemetery.

“It seems that the life of Elizabeth was getting worse after the separation from John and she was forced to prostitution to survive.

“Elizabeth frequently visited the Swedish Church where she begged for money or food.

“From 1882 onwards she lodges on and off at No. 32 Flower and Dean Street, which was described as perhaps the foulest and most dangerous street in the whole metropolis.”

On September 30, 1888, she was found with her throat slit in Berner Street. She was Jack the Ripper’s third victim.