WAS AMERICA'S FIRST SERIAL KILLER, H.H. HOLMES, ALSO JACK THE RIPPER?

HISTORY(R)'S NEW LIMITED SERIES 'AMERICAN RIPPER' EXPLORES SHOCKING THEORIES IN THE 130 YEAR OLD MYSTERY

Eight Part Limited Nonfiction Series Premieres Tuesday, July 11 10PM ET/PT

NEW YORK, NY - June 15, 2017 - In HISTORY's new eight-part limited series "American Ripper," the great-great-grandson of serial killer, H.H. Holmes, Jeff Mudgett is determined to prove an astonishing, controversial theory: that H.H. Holmes and Britain's notorious serial killer, Jack the Ripper, were the same man. Herman Mudgett, alias H.H. Holmes, was America's first serial killer rumored to have claimed as many as 200 lives in the late 19th century. Simultaneously, an unidentified murderer known as Jack the Ripper was terrorizing the streets of London. Mudgett leads an investigation that secured permission to exhume the presumed body of H.H. Holmes for DNA testing to determine whether he pulled off the ultimate con, escaping his own execution to lead a second secret life. "American Ripper" premieres on Tuesday, July 11 at 10PM ET/PT.

From the moment 20 years ago when Mudgett's world was shaken at the revelation that he was the descendant of H.H. Holmes, he became obsessed with acquiring information about his ancestor. Through extensive research, he began to believe the bold theory that Holmes was also Ripper. Now, the retired attorney has partnered with former CIA criminologist, Amaryllis Fox, who has spent her career identifying terrorists across the globe, to launch a deeper investigation.

Forensic science was at its infancy in the 1800s, leaving countless unanswered questions throughout the timeline of these killing sprees. "American Ripper" hunts down evidence to prove a link between these two monstrous men including: Holmes' personal copy of his published memoir, housed at the Library of Congress; clues about his earliest victims in Holmes' hometown and childhood home in Gilmanton, N.H.; crime scene evidence from the Jack the Ripper murders including photos, eyewitness accounts and coroners' reports; new interviews with numerous historians and detectives; and new leads in the search for long-lost remains of Holmes' many victims.

"American Ripper" is produced for HISTORY by Magilla Entertainment. Matthew Ostrom, Laura Palumbo Johnson and Jason Fox are executive producers for Magilla Entertainment. Kristen Burns and Sean Boyle are executive producers for HISTORY.

A+E Networks holds worldwide distribution rights for "American Ripper."

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HISTORY(R), now reaching more than 96 million homes, is the leading destination for award-winning series and specials that connect viewers with history in an informative, immersive and entertaining manner across all platforms. The network's all-original programming slate features a roster of signature series including "Pawn Stars," "American Pickers," "Swamp People," "Alone" as well as the hit drama series "SIX" and "Vikings." The HISTORY website is located at history.com. Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/history and Facebook at facebook.com/history.