Tuesday 27th Nov 1888
As the days wear on, a murder is occasionally attributed to the Whitechapel Terror. Such as here:
From The Times - 27 November 1888. "An atrocious murder was committed last evening at Havant Between 6 and 7 o'clock. A boy was lying against some palings still alive. He had 4 terrible gashes in this throat. His face was covered with blood. He died afterward. The general opinion was at the outset that this was the work of Jack the Ripper." A view not held for long.
7th December 1888
Days turn to weeks and there is an occasional mention of an arrest. Here were are on 7th December 1888, again in The Times: "The police yesterday made a singular arrest, reported to be in connexion with the Whitechapel murders. A Polish Jew was arrested near Drury-lane. Detective-Inspector Aberline immediately proceeded to Bow-street. He brought away the prisoner in a cab, which was strongly escorted. The man is stated to have been absent from Whitechapel lately."
19th December 1888
Then, just before Christmas, comes one last flicker of excitement over the case, just as people are getting on with their lives. On 19th Dec, a prostitute called Rose Mylett was seen in Commercial road, drinking. At 4.15 am the next morning she was dead. Sergeant Golding found her 2 miles from Whitechapel, lying on her side, with no disarray to her clothes, and no sign of injury. The post mortem revealed blood in her nostrils and a slight abrasion on her face. She had been strangled with a chord. To add to the mystery, another doctor said there was no sign of a struggle, and no second set of footprints in the soft ground. When the body was examined by Dr Bond, he found no signs of strangulation at all. The theory of murder was rebutted.
Two days later the inquest was begun and the views of Dr Bond were questioned. The verdict of murder was returned after all. However, Dr Anderson's view of death by natural causes was backed by police, who refused to investigate the case as murder. It did put people in mind of Jack the Ripper again but without the mutilation, and with doubt on the case, interest died away.
The New Year
1889 would see no more mutilations. It appears as if the Ripper committed his worst act imaginable in December, and vanished. The police had a number of suspects at the time, and I will mention here a handful of the more credible possibilities.
In CI John Littlechild's opinion, an American quack called Dr Francis Tumblety was the killer. He was an eccentric misogynist. But Tumblety had an unusual appearance, not matching witnesses, and was gay. It is very rare for gay men to attack women.
Met man Macnaghten favoured Montague Druitt who had depression, and was found dead in the Thames shortly after the final murder. But, frustratingly, we do not have any knowledge of what he was the prime suspect from the time, and no evidence to assess. Furthermore, Druitt movements around the time of the murders make it nearly impossible for him to have committed them.
Macnaghten also named a Polish Jew called Kosminski who hated prostitutes. Robert Anderson seems to say a witness identifies him. Kosminski has remained a popular suspect, but his mental illness meant he would have been unable to charm his victims and lure them to seclusion. Furthermore, there's no evidence he was even in the area at the time.
However I can tell three undeniable facts concerning three unfortunately popular "suspects" invented in modern times: The true hand-writing of James Maybrick does not match that of the supposed diary that reveals his "confessions". The idea of a Royal Conspiracy is utter fantasy and artist Walter Sicker was in France at the time of the Whitechapel murders.
The Whitechapel Murders were a phenomenon. The first newspaper to sell a million copies did so with a Jack the Ripper cover. The relentless media attacks on the police and government was incredibly corrosive and did nothing to help the poor victims. The disruption caused following the resignation of the Met chief actually hindered efforts after the murder of Mary Jane Kelly.
Incessant calls to address the problems of dark streets, crime and poverty would see changes in attitudes and street lighting. The crimes of 'Jack the Ripper' are almost unparalleled in their ability to fascinate, because they feature mystery upon mystery. During RipperLive we covered six murders, plus mentioned one other and looked at three failed attacks. But was it one man?
Those who study the subject can only agree "Jack" killed three. But Tabram, Stride and Kelly all have questionmarks over them. Tabram and Stride had no mutilations. Some say it was not Kelly killed, as several claimed to see after she was supposed dead. Witnesses to the crimes (who are unreliable at the best of times) seemed changeable, unreliable and often attention-seeking. Even to study one death in detail, such as the attack of Stride, throws up half a dozen witness statements which conflict. For 100 years there was only one known photo of the Kelly crime scene. Then in 1988 another appears, showing the room rearranged.
The case of Jack the Ripper is endlessly beguiling because it is not just one mystery to solve, there are countless questions.
How did the killer escape unnoticed so easily when he must have been covered in blood and carrying human organs? When and how did the killer enter Mary Jane Kelly's room if she sang till she slept and was found murdered in the morning? Did the killer write the graffito on the wall next to Catherine Eddowes' discarded bloody apron, or was it there already? If George Hutchinson was a discredited witness, then who did Sarah Lewis see standing watching Miller's Court? Any one of these puzzles can become an obsession on its own.
I hope you've enjoyed delving into the darkness with me lately.
Finally I must credit the absolutely definitive source for Ripper material, and the backbone of this little project: The website http://www.casebook.org discusses every facet and has countless essays. I am indebted to all who write the site.
Another site with great narrative (and some uncited facts I've not read elsewhere) is: http://what-when-how.com/jack-the-ripper/the-victims- jack-the-ripper-part-1/
Thanks to all who've interacted, commented and generally shown an interest.
I hope you've enjoyed.
Goodbye from Whitechapel and #RipperLive