Sanctuary Fic Resource Page
Tracy's Sanctuary Fanfiction Research
John Druitt (Written for www.sanctuaryfans.com)
I'm having a whale of a time researching for my latest fanfic project (The Curse). I thought I knew a fair bit about the Victorian Era and the Whitechapel Murders, but I was sorely mistaken. So, given the importance of Montague John Druitt and the role he (As Jack the Ripper) plays in Sanctuary, I thought I'd share a little information with you all. Many thanks to Skydiver on GW and Presence on SFA.com for their input! 
Montague John Druitt was the second (known homosexual) son of Doctor William Druitt. He was born in Dorset (the south coast of England) and lived and worked in Dorset and neighbouring county Hampshire (Where I live!) for much of his life.
MJD was part of a large family that consisted of his mother (Ann) and father (William), himself, older brother William (a lot of families followed - or in my family still follow! - the tradition of naming the eldest son after the father), two younger brothers and three younger sisters, Edith, Ethel and Georgiana. Also members of the household were Ann Flipp (cook), Edith Dennett (parlour maid) and Sophia Ridout (housemaid). As you can see, they were a wealthy family.
MJD was born in 1857 which makes him 7 years younger than Helen Magnus and makes him 31 at the time of the Whitechapel murders (Helen would have been 38).
In 1870, MJD gained a scholarship to Winchester College in Hampshire. Winchester is a top drawer public school for boys and has been for centuries. For non-British readers, public school is the term used for a fee-paying school (state school being run by the government). The reasoning behind this dates back to when the clergy ranthe education system, meaning that for the general public to attend school, they would have to pay fees for a public school as opposed to a seminary.
So Montague John Druitt was an incredibly intelligent young boy who went on, in 1976, to gain a scholarship to New College, Oxford in order to read the classics. At the age of twenty he enrolled (matriculated) at Oxford and graduated with a degree in the classics in 1880.
Throughout his time at Oxford, MJD was well known as a debater and was part of the Oxford Speaking Union, partaking in many BP debates. He was known to be a great orator, very well spoken and logical.
In addition to his love for debating and public speaking, MJD was a keen cricketer and all round sports fanatic. He was heavily involved in the University Cricket Club and in various cricket clubs later in life.
Between 1880 and 1881, however, there is little record of MJD. Some sources say he went underground, others say he took a teaching job directly after graduation. If we related this disappearance to the world of Sanctuary, could this be a turning point for Helen and John's relationship? Could she have persuaded him to come and live at the sanctuary, knowing that he was an abnormal?
In 1881, MJD took up a position as a teacher at a school in Blackheath, but is known to have had a season ticket rail pass from Blackheath to London. Why is this? In the world of Sanctuary, could this be MJD keeping in touch with his fiancée? MJD retained his job whilst training as a barrister. This retention of the teaching job (Which, incidentally was considered a very lowly job for a man of MJD's status) alongside the training in the Inner Temple before being called to the bar, shows great commitment and makes the 1880 disappearance even more unusual.
He worked both as a teacher and a barrister until 1888. In July of this year, his mother deteriorated and was declared clinically insane. This is significant as the Whitechapel Murders began that summer.
In November 1880, MJD was fired from the school he was working at and then, on December 31st of that same year, was found dead, his body was discovered at the bottom of the Thames, having been there for approximately a month, his pockets lined with stones.
----------
The Sanctuary related bit: So we have Montague John Druitt, a known homosexual, much younger than Helen. We also know that historically, insanity ran in MJD's family, on his mother's side (his mother, grandmother, great aunt and several other female relatives were certified insane and committed/attempted suicide).
This is my little conjecture:In the world of Sanctuary, MJD's family are NOT insane, they carry the nuclein of abnormals (in the Victorian era, DNA had not been discovered and they referred to the microscopic substances in plasma as nuclein). Therefore, the gene affects them later in life (Also affecting MJD's appearance and the change from the gaunt yet full haired look to our Sanctuary pale and bald look).
Between the years of 1880 and 1881, Helen managed to coax Druitt into spending time at the Sanctuary, hence his disappearance from the scene.The body that was found in 1888 was NOT that of MJD, but it was a body dumped in the Thames to throw police off the scent. After a month at the bottom of the filthy river (At this time there was a disgusting smell known as the Thames Stench and people would walk miles to avoid crossing the river at the East End), the body would be unrecognisable save for the personal effects.
The Whitechapel Murders stopped because Helen/Magnus Family/Sancturian Trollops managed to capture MJD and secure him.
All absolute conjecture, I know. But I had a little fun with the idea. So should you. Theories anyone?