Friday 5th Oct 1888
Good evening from Whitechapel on Friday October 5th 1888. The city is gripped by fear. The recent murders are truly "terrorism." Sir Charles Warren writes "to DISSAUDE THE UNFORTUNATE WOMEN from going into lonely places in the dark with any persons." A snippet: "The foreman sweeping the streets has stated that at the time when the murder he not more than 20 yards away. He never heard any woman's cries for help, nor any sounds of a struggle." Here's how the community is helping: "A score of citizen detectives went out on duty at 12 o'clock last night. Noiseless boots provided for the amateur policemen."
The Whitechapel murders are attracting widespread attention throughout America. Inspector Byrnes, of New York has an idea: "I would take 50 female habitués and covered the ground with them. Even if one fell a victim, I should get the murderer." R. MACDONALD, Coroner for North-East Middlesex notes that not one "victim made any noise or cry while being done to death. The theory is that the murderer goes about with a vial of rum or brandy in his pocket drugged with an opiate. He offers a swig of it to his victims, that in about ten to twenty minutes, the poison begins to do its work."
The papers are full of stories of "scares" such as the following two accounts which show everyone has thoughts of murder. "Last night a man entered a coffee-shop in Kilburn-lane, and talked in an incoherent manner about the Whitechapel tragedies. He produced what appeared to be a long-bladed knife. On being searched, a bright steel rule was found on him. The Whitechapel craze has extended to the genteel neighborhood lying between Upper Norwood and Croydon. Many believe the murderer finds concealment in a dense wood which skirts Leather Bottle-lane, and leads on to Croydon. The gardeners have seen a person dressed as a woman, but whom they assert is a man lurking about the wood at night. On each of the nights that the murders have been committed since August the person has been seen to enter the wood. An American, who refuses to give any account of himself, was arrested last night on suspicion of being the East-end murderer. The man was released at 10 o'clock this morning, inquiries having shown that his account of himself was entirely satisfactory."
Further column inches are given over to the "Whitehall Mystery" now also terrifying the west end of London. The Star says: "The arm found on the bank of the Thames is a limb cut from this trunk found at new police offices on the Thames-embankment. Medical gentlemen gave the approximate length of time that has elapsed since the body was cut up - namely, about six weeks. Mr. Edward Deuchar, went on a tramcar from Vauxhall Station to London- bridge. He noticed a man on the car carrying a parcel. He would not have taken particular notice of the parcel but for the fact that there was a terrible smell emanating from it. The man looked ill at ease and agitated. He asked the conductor, "Have we passed the Obelisk yet?" and then jumped out."
Last night the second version of the incident witnessed Israel Schwartz made clear that Liz Stride's attacker was drunk. Whilst it seems implausible that the Whitechapel killer operates in such a sloppy manner, one letter in today's paper says: "THE MURDERER APES DRUNKENNESS when in search of victims to induce the women as drunken men are their most lucrative customers." People write in to the paper filled with ideas about magnesium lamps, using blood-hounds and further increasing police. In equal number are arrests which relate to the crimes. Police seem to be pick people up and quickly release them again. "A man has been arrested at Tiptree-heath on suspicion of being concerned in the Whitechapel murders. He was met by Police-sergeant Creswell, of whom he asked alms. He objected to be searched. His appearance answers to the description circulated by the Police of the Whitechapel murderer in almost every particular. William Bull, who gave himself up to the police for the Mitre-square murder made his statement out of pure mischief. He was unfortunately the worse for drink when taken into custody. Judge was sorry there was no law to punish him."
Amidst all these theories and arrests and extra officers, in truth the police are no nearer to finding the Whitechapel killer.