The Victims of “Jack the Ripper”?

those who fell victim to the Whitechapel Murderer/s

The Whitechapel Murders were a spate of unsolved brutal attacks and increasingly gruesome murders of women that befell the London East End District of Whitechapel and its environs in 1888. These crimes would make the area world famous as the stalking ground of the mysterious, and as yet unidentified, killer now widely known as “Jack the Ripper”. The British Empire was at the height of its power and the City of London was its beating heart - the biggest and richest city in the world at the time. But London's neglected East End especially was massively overcrowded and the residents of Whitechapel in particular were horrendously impoverished. By any definition it was a rough place to live and police resources were stretched to the limit even before this series of unprecedented killings took hold.
      Of the fifteen attacks considered here as crimes directly relating to the Whitechapel Murders, eleven of them were ultimately fatal and all of them were committed by a person, or persons, unknown. All of the murder victims were women who were often described as "unfortunates", a euphemism of the time that implied they were a sex worker or at least an occasional sex worker, but it was in fact a dismissive label often attached by Victorian society to any impoverished women who did not have the perceived moral safeguard of a husband or other male guardian — as the gender norms of the day dictated. That's not to say that none of them were sex workers, for a few of them undoubtedly were (whether by choice or necessity), but historically the assumption has been that all of the victims were at least occaisional sex workers, which is not necessarily the case.

This page will be subject to regular updates as our investigation continues.

Descent into the Abyss

The early Victims in the run-up to the Autumn of Terror

Those victims that mark the start of the Whitechapel Murders and those that may have fallen victim to a serial killer in the making. It is well established that all serial killers have to start somewhere — honing their skills and mastering their modus-operandi... we may never know how the killer known as “Jack the Ripper” started his bloody mission but the crimes listed here may provide a clue.

Emily Horsnell

A.K.A. Emily Horsnail, born Emily Atkins?

Victim Profile: 26/27-year-old part-time charwomen (quoted as doing "anything else" to make a living) residing in Satchell's Lodging House at 19 George Street, Spitalfields. She had resided there three or four years previously, ever since leaving her cabinet maker husband Alfred. They had a daughter named Emily who would have been 6 or 7 years old in 1887 (and probably lived with her father?).

Crime: attacked during the night of Saturday, 5 November 1887. (Guy Fawkes Day/Bonfire Night — a widely observed commemorative festival but not a bank-holiday.) She sustained severe abdominal injuries but did not approach the police or seek medical help. (It seems her fellow lodgers and the keepers of the lodging house did not do so either).

Crime Scene: unknown exterior — attack happened while victim was out drinking (or on her way home).

Crime Description: victim was severely beaten and kicked. She died days later of peritonitis (inflammation of the intestines) caused by her injuries. She was discovered dead in her bed by the lodging house keeper, Mrs Eliza Ryen, on the morning of Thursday, 10 November. Dr J. Dukes was called and he examined the deceased, he found marks of severe bruises on her right side and her stomach was enormously distended. There was no autopsy ordered and the fact that the death could have been a murder didn't come to light till the inquest held by Coroner Wynne E. Baxter on Saturday, 12 November. At the inquest John Satchell, the owner of the lodging house, related that he saw the victim on Wednesday night doubled up in a corner of her room and that she then told him about the attack. Coroner Baxter asked the police representative at the inquest whether any inquiries had been made and the sergeant admitted that none had (this was probably the first the police had heard of the incident). The Coroner admitted that had he known the facts of the case he would have ordered a post-mortem examination: but it appeared that nothing could be gained from an adjournment. The jury returned an open verdict.

Weapon/s used: none — victim was repeatedly punched and kicked.

Mementos taken: none known, though motive for attack may have been robbery... or just base thuggery.

Suspect Description: persons unknown — victim had described her assailants as "some men" whom she did not know - possibly members of a street or “High-Rip” gang.

Compare with the attacks on Margaret Hayes and Emma Smith.

Margaret Hayes

A.K.A. Margaret Hames

Victim Profile: 54-year-old widow (of John, a ship's cook) residing in a lodging house at 18 George Street, Spitalfields.

Crime: attacked early in the morning of Friday, 8 December 1887. Although the victim sort medical help she did not report the attack to the police.

Crime Scene: unknown exterior — its unclear where this attack took place but at the inquest into Emma Smith's murder, in which Margaret Hayes appeared as a witness, she seems to imply that this 1887 attack on her happened in the same fearfully rough quarter. But — she could be referring to either where Emma Smith was attacked in 1888, near Osborn Street in Whitechapel, or where she herself was attacked that same night in 1888, near the junction of Burdett Road and Farrance Street in Limehouse.

Crime Description: victim was beaten, sustaining face and chest injuries, and consequently was admitted to the Whitechapel Infirmary at 11.15am Friday, 8 December 1887. She recuperated in the infirmary for 20 days — testament to the seriousness of her injuries. At Emma Smith's inquest Hayes reported that she had been assaulted in a similar fashion to Smith so was possibly raped (and maybe sexually assaulted with a blunt instrument?) but didn't admit that at the time.

Weapon/s used: punched and kicked — and possibly raped? (And possibly sexually assaulted with a blunt instrument — though not as severely as Emma Smith?)

Mementos taken: none known, though motive for attack was probably robbery... or just base thuggery.

Suspect Description: person or, more probably, persons unknown — no description given — possibly members of a street or “High-Rip” gang.

Compare with the attacks on Emily Horsnell and Emma Smith.

Fairy Fay

Victim Profile: an unknown woman - appears to be a mythical victim - she was alluded to (as an unidentified victim) by the press during the Autumn of Terror (the first being “Lines on the Terrible Tragedy in Whitechapel” published early September 1888)

Crime: reportedly attacked & murdered early one morning during Christmas week 1887. It was a later retelling by Terence Robertson in Reynolds News (1950) that narrowed down the date to the night of 26 December, Boxing Day — a Bank Holiday — and that finally gave her the name Fairy Fay.

Crime Scene: unknown exterior - alleged to be an alley near Osborn and Wentworth Streets (or in an alley off Commercial Road), Whitechapel.

Victim's Body Discovered By: not known.

Crime Description: the Daily Telegraph (10 September, 1888) states that there was “a stick or iron instrument thrust into her body as if she had been interred under the law until recently applicable to suicides, which required a person found guilty of felo de se to be buried at the four cross-roads with a stake driven through the chest.” Tom Cullen, in his book 'Autumn of Terror' (1965), claimed that she was also mutilated.

Weapon/s used: allegedly a stick or iron instrument.

Mementos taken: none known.

Suspect Description: person or persons unknown. According to the Daily Telegraph “the crime was the result of a drunken freak on the part of the nameless ruffians who swarm about Whitechapel”.

Seems to be a fanciful amalgamation and/or miss-remembering of the attacks on Emily Horsnell (murdered in the winter of 1887), Margaret Hayes (attacked in December 1887), Emma Smith (murdered with a stick near four cross-roads in the early morning following the 1888 Easter Monday Bank Holiday) and possibly incorporating elements of the attack on Martha Tabram (pierced with a long blade in the sternum in the early hours following the 6 August — a Bank Holiday) that took on a folkloric life of its own.

Annie Millwood

A.K.A. Annie Milward/Millward?

Victim Profile: 38 year old widow (of Richard, a soldier) residing at Spitalfields Chambers lodging house, 8 White's Row, Spitalfields.

Crime: attacked and stabbed in the late afternoon of Saturday, 25 February 1888. It seems the police were not notified but she was admitted to the Whitechapel Workhouse Infirmary at 5.00pm that day.

Crime Scene: unknown exterior — presumably close to, or at, the victim's home in White's Row.

Crime Description: stabbed numerous times in the legs and lower part of the body — she survived and apparently recovered favourably. After her discharge from the infirmary on 21 March 1888 she was sent to the South Grove Workhouse on Mile End Road where, ten days later on 31 March, she collapsed and died while “engaged in some occupation” (using the toilet) in the rear yard — while accompanied by Richard Sage, a messenger at the workhouse. He stated, “I was standing at the door conversing with the deceased, and my attention being called in another direction I turned my back to her, and after a space of three minutes I returned, to find her lying down with her face on the step.” It was assumed at first that her death was as a consequence of the attack but the post-mortem established that the cause of death was a “sudden effusion into the pericardium from the rupture of the left pulmonary artery through ulceration”. At the inquest held on 5 April 1888, headed by Coroner Wynne E. Baxter, the jury returned a verdict of death from natural causes.

Weapon/s used: a clasp-knife.

Mementos taken: none known.

Suspect Description: person or persons unknown. The victim simply described her attacker as "a stranger". (The Stabbing Stranger)

Compare with the attack on Martha Tabram.

Ada Wilson

Victim Profile: a young dressmaker, approximately 20 years old, residing at 19 Maidman Street, Bow, Mile End (a neighbouring district of Whitechapel). At the time, female sex workers often gave their occupation as dressmaker or seamstress; this, along with the witnesses description of the events, might support the notion that the victim was engaged in sex work — but that would be pure supposition. The witness Rose Bierman, who lived upstairs from the victim, said that she knew Ada as a married woman, although she had never seen her husband.

Crime: attacked c. 12.30am Wednesday, 28 March 1888.

Crime Scene: interior of the victim's home — front room of a ground-floor 2 room living space.

Crime Description: victim stabbed twice in the neck — she survived. The victim claimed that her assailant called at the door with the intention of robbery and when she refused to hand him money he attacked her. Rose Bierman reported that the victim had come to the house earlier that evening in the company of her attacker. The witness reported that Wilson often had visitors, but that she (the witness) had rarely seen them. Rose goes on to say that she "heard the most terrible screams one can imagine" at about midnight and came rushing down the stairs and saw the victim "... partially dressed, wringing her hands and crying, 'Stop that man for cutting my throat! He has stabbed me!' She then fell fainting in the passage. I saw all that as I was coming downstairs, but as soon as I commenced to descend I noticed a young fair man rush to the front door and let himself out. He did not seem somehow to unfasten the catch as if he had been accustomed to do so before." That last part seems to suggest he was unfamiliar with the catch, so probably hadn't been there before, or at least hadn't let himself out before.

Weapon/s used: a clasp-knife.

Mementos taken: none known, though motive for attack may have been robbery (if the victim's account is to be believed).

Suspect Description: an unknown man. The victim described her assailant (Mac the Knife) as aged about 30, height 5ft 6in, sunburnt face, with fair moustache; dressed in a dark coat, with light trousers and a wide-awake hat (a hat made of soft felt with a low crown and wide brim).
      The Witness Rose Bierman also believed the attacker to be a young fair man, but with a light coat on.

Emma Smith

A.K.A. Emma Elizabeth Smith, Emma Eliza Smith.

Victim Profile: 45-year-old mother of two, widowed or simply estranged from her husband (she had told acquaintances conflicting stories), and described in most reports as an "unfortunate". She resided in a lodging house at 18 George Street, Spitalfields, and had been doing so for about a year and a half.

Crime: attacked & murdered c. 1.30am Tuesday, 3 April 1888. The previous day, Monday the 2nd of April 1888, was a Bank Holiday.

Crime Scene: exterior — victim was followed/chased from the junction of Osborn Street with Whitechapel High Street up Osborn Street and was assaulted near the junction with Wentworth Street and Brick Lane, Whitechapel.

Crime Description: victim was badly beaten (one of her ears partially torn), raped, and viciously jabbed with a blunt object into her vagina, tearing the perineum. The attackers robbed her before leaving her to die on the street. Unbelievably, with her face bloodied and her ear cut, the victim used a shawl to soak up the blood flowing from her ripped perineum and managed to get herself home after this vicious attack. Against her will the lodging house deputy and another lodger then took her to the London Hospital on Whitechapel Road where she succumbed to a coma and died at nine o'clock in the morning of Wednesday the 4th.

Weapon/s used: punched, kicked, raped then sexually assaulted with a long blunt instrument — possibly a walking stick?

Mementos taken: none known — though victim was robbed of the little money that she was carrying.

Suspect Description: person or persons unknown. Victim said her attackers were a group of three (or four) young men, one of whom looked a youth of 19 years. They were possibly members of a street or “High-Rip” gang.

Compare with the attacks on Emily Horsnell and Margaret Hayes.

Martha Tabram

A.K.A. Martha Turner, Emma Turner — born Martha White.

Victim Profile: 39-year-old mother of two, a hawker of trinkets and of necessity an occaisional sex worker. She was about 5ft 3ins tall, plump and had dark hair and complexion. She was a heavy drinker. She was wearing a black bonnet, a long black jacket, a dark green skirt with brown petticoat, stockings and spring (elastic) sided boots showing considerable age. At the time of her death she was of no fixed abode but her last known address was Satchell's Lodging House at 19 George Street, Spitalfields. Tabram had married Henry Samuel Tabram in 1869, they had two sons (Frederick John, born in February 1871 and Charles Henry, born in December of 1872). The marriage ended in 1875 due to her drinking. Up until about mid June/July 1888 she lived, off and on, with Henry Turner (taking his surname) — but her increasing bouts of heavy drinking proved to be too much for him also.

Crime: attacked & murdered around 2.30am on Tuesday, 7 August 1888. This time of death was estimated at the post-mortem examination held by Dr. Timothy Killeen at 5.30am that morning. The previous day, Monday the 6th of August 1888, was a Bank Holiday.

Crime Scene: partial exterior — first-floor landing at the back of George Yard Buildings, George Yard, an alley off Whitechapel High Street, Whitechapel. The victim was laying on her back with arms by her side and fingers tightly clenched. Her legs were apart with her knees slightly raised.

Victim's Body Discovered By: Alfred Crow at 3.30am saw what he assumed was a homeless person sleeping on the first floor landing. This was not an uncommon sight so he continued on to his lodging within the building and went to bed.
      John Reeves left his lodging in the building at 4.45am, he too saw the body but, probably due to the growing light of the approaching dawn, he also saw the pool of blood that the body was lying in and, realising the implications, went to find a police-constable.

Crime Description: victim was stabbed 39 times on body, neck and groin then left for dead. She probably died shortly after.

Weapon/s used: 1 wound (to the sternum) with a long-bladed knife, possibly a dagger or bayonet (or a sword stick blade?), the rest with a clasp- or pen-knife.

Mementos taken: none known.

Suspect Description: person or persons unknown. Due to the suggestion that the perpetrator used a dagger or bayonet the police assumed the killer was either a soldier or sailor. Victim was last seen (by Mary Ann Connelly) with a Grenadier or Coldstream Guardsman at 11.45pm on the 6th but that was almost three hours before she was attacked — she may have been in the company of numerous other men between then and the time of her murder.
      PC Thomas Barrett, at about 2.00am, was in the neighbourhood of George Yard when he noticed a soldier loitering at the corner of Wentworth Street and George Yard. PC Barrett remarked to the Private that it was quite time he was in barracks. The soldier replied that he was waiting for a mate who had gone away with a woman to one of the buildings close at hand. The soldier, a Grenadier Guardsman, was 22 to 26 years old, stood 5'-9 or 10" tall, had fair complexion, dark hair, and a small dark-brown moustache turned up at the ends. PC Barrett identified a Private John Leary in a subsequent identity parade but the private denied he was there and was able to provide the police with a satisfactory account of his movements on that night.
      Dr. Timothy Killeen, who carried out the post-mortem examination of Martha Tabram, believed that all the wounds, possibly barring the (potentially left-handed) long-bladed one, had been inflicted by a right-handed attacker. This raises the possibility that there were at least two attackers... or one, possibly ambidextrous, attacker who used both hands... or possibly not.
      The possibility that the victim was attacked by more than one person suggests she may have been attacked by members of a so-called “High-Rip” gang.
      John Reeves and his wife, while sleeping in their lodging in 37 George Yard Buildings, heard a disturbance (not for the first time that night) and piercing screams at about 2.00am (probably a little later to allow PC Barrett, and the soldier he talked to, to move on) — a crowd of "a few roughs" seemed to be moving in the direction of George Yard. However, the noise soon lessened in volume, and Mr. and Mrs. Reeves then retired for the night. Were the piercing screams those of Martha Tabram as she was accosted by a "few roughs"?

Compare with the attack on Annie Millwood.

The Autumn of Terror

Many contemporary investigators assumed that all the Whitechapel Murders were related and committed by the same callous individual or individuals. Most Ripperologists today however think that as few as five of the murders can be said to have been carried out by the same hand. These are the five victims that most experts agree were killed by the murderer now known as “Jack the Ripper” and are dubbed as the Canonical Ripper Murders.

Mary Ann Nichols

A.K.A. Polly Nichols — born Mary Ann Walker.

Victim Profile: 42-year-old mother of five with a serious drinking problem. She was about 5ft 2ins tall with brown greying hair, brown eyes, dark complexion and several missing front teeth. She was wearing a black straw bonnet, a reddish brown ulster coat, a brown linsey frock, a white flannel chest cloth, black ribbed wool stockings, two petticoats, short brown stays, flannel drawers and men's spring sided boots with the uppers cut and steel tips on the heels. She married William Nichols on January 16, 1864, and they seperated for the final time after a troubled marraige in 1881. William Nichols briefly payed maintenance to her, but this stopped when he established that she was living as a "common prostitute"... though this might just mean she was living with another man outside of wedlock (probably with a man named Thomas Dew). After years of moving from one workhouse to another, Nichols lodged at Wilmott's Lodging House at 18 Thrawl Street, Spitalfields, but had recently moved to a lodging house known as the White House at 56 Flower and Dean Street, apparently because it allowed members of the opposite sex to share a bed (something that was not allowed in most lodging houses).

Crime: attacked & murdered c. 3.30 to 3.35am Friday, 31 August 1888.

Crime Scene: exterior — before the gateway entrance to Brown's stable yard, between a board school to the west and terrace houses to the east, in Buck's Row, Whitechapel. Nichols was lying on her back — lengthways along the street and her left hand touching the gate. Her skirts were pulled up.

Victim's Body Discovered By: Two men on their way to work, Charles Cross and Robert Paul, come upon the victim's body between about 3.40 and 3.45am. Her hands and face were cold but the arms above the elbow and legs were still warm. Cross thought she was dead but Paul thought he could feel a faint heartbeat. After pulling the skirts of the victim down they leave the scene to fetch a police-constable.
      Shortly after, PC John Neil finds the body independently while on his regular beat. He passes down Buck's row every half hour or so. He saw no one else on the street.

Crime Description: victim bruised on the lower right jaw — possibly caused by a blow or pressure from a thumb. Also bruised similarly on the lower left jaw. Victim was probably strangled to unconsciousness before the neck was slashed twice — windpipe and oesophagus cut through. There were several incisions running across the lower abdomen as well as a long, very deep jagged knife wound — along with several others — cut violently downwards. All cuts appeared to be from the same weapon.

Weapon/s used: Dr. Rees Ralph Llewellyn, who carried out the post-mortem examination of Mary Ann Nichols, thought "a long-bladed knife, moderately sharp, and used with great violence".

Mementos taken: none known.

Suspect Description: person or persons unknown. About an hour before the presumed time of Nichols' murder, witness Emily Holland saw Nichols walking down Osborne-street toward Whitechapel-road, they met at the corner. The two had previously shared a lodging room at Thrawl Street. Nichols was alone, and very much the worse for drink. She informed Holland that where she had been living in Flower and Dean Street they would not allow her to return because she could not pay for her room. Holland asked her to go back to Thrawl Street with her, but she refused, adding that she had earned her lodging money three times that day and had spent it on drink. After stating she would earn her doss money again, Nichols then went along Whitechapel Road. The witness did not know (or would not say) how Nichols made a living, but she always seemed to her to be a quiet woman, and kept very much to herself.
      Charles Cross apparently came upon Nichols moments before Robert Paul and possibly minutes after the attack. This, and the fact that he used a false name, his real name being Charles Allen Lechmere, has caused some to wonder if he may actually be the killer. He was bending over the body as Paul approached and, some suggest, maybe he only pretended to have just found the body rather than run. He was on his way to work as a carman for Pickford's in Broad Street, from where he lived at 22 Doveton Street, Cambridge Road, Bethnal Green. Theorist have suggested that all the canonical murders happened on his possible routes to work... but that is somewhat debatable.
      Dr. Llewellyn believed at first that the killer was left-handed but was later less sure.

Annie Chapman

A.K.A. Dark Annie, Annie Sievey [Sivvey] — born Annie Eliza Smith.

Victim Profile: 45-year-old widow and mother of three, she did crochet work and sold flowers before having to resort to occasional prostitution after her husband died. She was 5ft tall, stout, had a pallid complexion, blue eyes, a thick nose, dark brown wavy hair. An alcoholic, she was under-nourished and suffering from a chronic disease of the lungs and brain tissue as well as depression. She was wearing a long figured black coat, a black skirt, brown bodice, lace up boots, red and white striped woollen stockings and a white neckerchief with a wide red border. Of no fixed abode, her last known address was Crossingham's Lodging House at 35 Dorset Street, Spitalfields.
      Annie married John Chapman, a coachman, in 1869. The couple separated by mutual consent around the beginning of 1885. The reason is uncertain, but both were heavy drinkers and she was arrested several times for drunkenness, a police report claims that it was her "drunken and immoral ways" that led to the seperation. John paid his wife 10 shillings most weeks by Post Office order until his death on Christmas day in 1886. By this time she was living with a sieve maker named John Sievy or Sivvey (a nickname perhaps) at the common lodging house at 30 Dorset Street, Spitalfields. He left her soon after her husband's death, probably when the money stopped coming. By 1888, Annie was in a relationship with Edward "Ted" Stanley, a bricklayer's mate, known as the Pensioner (for he claimed to be drawing a pension from the military but, it turns out, this was not true). Stanley spent most weekends with Annie at Crossingham's, and often paid for Annie's bed while he was not there. Annie has a fight with Eliza Cooper, a possible love rival, around the end of August or the very beginning of September and her relationship with Stanley seems to dissolve.

Crime: attacked & murdered c. 5.31am Saturday, 8 September 1888.

Crime Scene: exterior — the back yard of 29 Hanbury Street, Spitalfields. The back yard was accessible through the property via a passage way with latched, but unlocked, doors at each end. The yard was known to have been used by prostitutes for their liaisons and the passage way by homeless people looking for some where to sleep. The yard has a 5ft 6inch fence bordering it.
      Albert Cadosch, a resident at 27 Hanbury Street (next door to number 29) entered the backyard of that property at about 5.20am, probably to use the privy there. On his way back, just as he reached the back door into the property he heard a woman say "No" in the yard of number 29 but gave it no heed. About three or four minutes later Cadosch went into the back yard again (for the privy?). This time on his return he "heard a sort of a fall against the fence which divides my yard from that of 29. It seemed as if something touched the fence suddenly." Not giving it a second thought at the time Cadosch left the premises immediately after to go to work.

Victim's Body Discovered By: John Davis, a little before 6.00am. A lodger of the third floor at 29 Hanbury Street, Davis came down the stairs and stepped into the passage way running through the ground level. He saw that the front door was wide open (which is not that unusual) but went to the backyard door and opened it - he directly saw the body of the victim to the left, in a recess between the stone steps of the door and the wooden fence that separated it from the next property. The head was turned to the right side - the left arm was placed across the left breast and the legs were drawn up with the feet resting on the ground and the knees turned outwards.

Crime Description: The victim was strangled (into unconsciousness?) before the throat was slashed twice, from left to right, possibly in an attempt to decapitate her, this was the cause of death. The tongue was swollen and protruded between the front teeth, but not beyond the lips. Her abdomen had then been entirely laid open and the intestines, severed from their mesenteric attachments, had been lifted out of the body and placed on the ground above the right shoulder. There was a large quantity of blood and a part of the stomach above the left shoulder. Near the feet of the corpse a small piece of cloth, a pocket comb and a small-tooth comb appeared to have been purposely arranged in some order and a torn corner of an envelope was found near her head containing two pills. It is assumed that these were the contents of her pockets. The scrap of envelope had the seal of the Sussex Regiment on it and was postal stamped "London, 28 Aug 1888" - inscribed is a partial address showing the first letter from each of three lines consisting of the letter M, the number 2, and an S.

Weapon/s used: a very sharp knife with a thin narrow blade, at least 5 to 8 inches in length, probably longer. According to Dr. Bagster Philips it was the kind of knife used by slaughter-men and surgeons for amputations but was not a dagger or bayonet.

Mementos taken: three brass rings and, according to Dr. Bagster Philips, "... the uterus and its appendages, with the upper portion of the vagina and the posterior two-thirds of the bladder ... were cleanly cut ... [and] ... entirely removed".

Suspect Description: person or persons unknown. Dr. Bagster Philips, who carried out the post-mortem examination of Annie Chapman, reckoned the killer was an expert with great knowledge of anatomical or pathological examinations.
      Coroner Baxter concluded at the inquest that no mere slaughterer of animals could have carried out these operations. It must have been someone accustomed to the post-mortem room.
      Elizabeth Long witnessed a "shabby genteel" man talking with the victim at about 5:30am, leaning against shutters at the front of 29 Hanbury St. The witness hears him say "Will you?" and Annie Chapman reply "Yes." The man had his back to the witness but she thought he (The Shabby Genteel in a Deer Stalker) was over 40, dark-complexioned, wearing a brown deerstalker hat and possibly a dark coat. He seemed to be a little taller than the deceased and looked, in her words, like a foreigner.
      Mrs Fiddymont, the wife of the proprietor of the Prince Albert pub (21 Brushfield Street - at the corner of Steward Street), and a friend, Mary Chappell, witnessed at 7.00am a man (The Hawk Eyed Shabby Genteel) of rough and frightening appearance enter the pub (only four hundred yards from the murder scene). The man was wearing a dark coat and a brown stiff hat pulled over his eyes, his shirt was torn and he had splashes of blood on his right hand and below his ear. The man ordered and quickly drank a half pint of ale, then left. Mary Chappell followed the man into Brushfield Street and noting that he was heading in the direction of Bishopsgate, pointed him out to a bystander, Joseph Taylor.
      Joseph Taylor followed the man as far as Dirty Dicks in Half-Moon Street. He described the man as thin, about 5ft 8ins tall, between 40 and 50 years of age with a ginger coloured moustache, curling at the ends. With short sandy hair, eyes wild like hawk's and dressed shabby genteel, with a loose fitting pair of trousers and a dark coat. Taylor added that he "walked very rapidly with a peculiar springy walk that I would recognise again, he carried himself very erect, like a horse soldier. His neck was rather long, and he was holding his coat together at the top. He had a nervous and frightened way about him and his appearance was exceedingly strange."

Elizabeth Stride

A.K.A. Long Liz, Annie Fitzgerald — born Elisabeth Gustafsdotter.

Victim Profile: 45-year-old who mostly earned a living by doing sewing or cleaning work. Known for sometimes being drunk and boisterous, she was 5ft 2ins tall, had a very light complexion and dark brown curly hair. Dressed predominantly in black she had a red rose and white maiden hair fern decorating her long cloth jacket — possibly given to her by the killer (or someone else she met that night) for she was not wearing the flower earlier. She wore a dark brown velveteen bodice, a black skirt, a black crepe bonnet, a checked neck scarf, white stockings and spring sided boots. Her last known address was at the lodging house at 32 Flower-and-Dean Street, Spitalfields.
      Swedish by birth, she came to live in England in 1866. In March 1865, when she was in her early twenties, she had been registered by the police of Sweden as a prostitute, though this may simply have been because she was unmarried and pregnant. On April 21 of that year she gives birth to a stillborn baby girl. In the later months of that year she was treated for a venereal disease. In England she married John Stride in 1869 and the two kept a string of coffee shops in Poplar until 1875. By 1881-82 the marraige seems to have irrevocably failed. John Stride died in 1884. By 1885 she was living with Michael Kidney, a waterside laborer seven years her junior. Their relationship was stormy and lasted on and off till just before her murder. He last saw her five days earlier at 33 Dorset Street where they lived together, before she went on one of her semi-regular days-long drinking binges around town after the relationship went through a tough patch. She had always come back to him before.

Crime: attacked & murdered between 12.45 and 1.00am Sunday, 30 September 1888.

Crime Scene: exterior — just inside Dutfield Yard, off Berner Street, Whitechapel. The unlit yard is fully enclosed and can only be accessed via the gate on Berner Street. The body was lying on the near side, with the face turned toward the wall, the head up the yard and the feet toward the street. The left arm was extended and a packet of breath fresheners were held in the left hand - the right arm was laid over the belly. The legs were drawn up with the feet close to the wall.

Victim's Body Discovered By: Louis Diemschutz at c. 1.00am entered Dutfield's Yard driving his cart and pony. Immediately at the entrance, his pony shied and refused to proceed. Suspecting something was in the way (though he could not see into the utterly pitch black yard) he probed ahead with his whip and came upon the victim's body — he immediately runs for help. On reflection, and due to the warm temperature of the body and the continuing odd behaviour of his pony, Diemschutz later believed that the killer was still in the yard at that point. The body and face were still warm but the hands cold when Dr. George Bagster Phillips attended the scene, the legs were also quite warm.

Crime Description: the victim's throat was slashed from the left, nearly severing the vessels on that side, cutting the windpipe completely in two, and terminating on the opposite side..." (Dr Blackwell)

Weapon/s used: a heavy knife, according to Dr. Bagster Philips.

Mementos taken: none known.

Suspect Description: person or persons unknown. Dr. Bagster Philips stated that her killer must have been someone accustomed to the use of a heavy knife. The victim was witnessed in the company of possibly four different men in the hour before her murder.
      William Marshall, at 11.45pm, witnessed the following man with the victim near the crime scene. A rather stout middle-aged man, 5ft 6ins, wearing a round cap with a small peak, "like what a sailor would wear," dressed like a clerk, and speaking like an educated man.
      Constable Smith, at 12.30am, witnessed the following man with the victim on Berner Street close to the crime scene. (The Respectable in a Deer Stalker) A 28 or 30-year-old man, with dark hair and moustache, dark complexion and about 5ft 7 or 8ins tall, dressed in a dark hard felt deerstalker hat with a black diagonal cutaway coat, white collar and tie - respectable looking. Had a good-sized parcel wrapped in newspaper in his hands.
      James Brown, probably a little before 12.45am, witnessed the following man with the victim at the intersection of Berner and Fairclough Streets. A man about 5ft 7ins, wearing a very long dark overcoat. (The Respectable in a Deer Stalker again?)
      Israel Schwartz, at 12.45am, witnessed the following 1st-individual at the crime scene, violently pulling the victim to the ground, she screams 3 times and the 1st-individual calls out a warning “Lipsky!” to the witness (or to the 2nd-individual? Annoyed that his lookout had not spotted the Jewish gentleman approaching perhaps? According to DI Abberline, “Lipsky” had become an insulting and derogatory nickname or slur used against Jewish people in the East End since a Polish Jew named Israel Lipski murdered Miriam Angel, a fellow lodger, at 16 Batty Street by pouring nitric acid down her throat on 28 June 1887 — Israel Lipski was hanged at Newgate on 22 August 1887). This 1st individual (The Anti-Semite) is a 30-year-old man, 5ft 5ins, complexion fair, hair dark, small brown moustache, full face, broad shouldered with dark jacket and trousers, black cap with peak, had nothing in his hands.
      Israel Schwartz also witnessed the following 2nd-individual, at 12.45am, standing lighting his pipe in the doorway of a public house a few doors off, across the road from the crime scene, and apparently watching the 1st-individual and the victim struggle. After the 1st-individual called out "Lipsky" this 2nd-individual briefly followed the witness (menacingly according to the Star newspaper) as he quickly and fearfully retreated from the area. (The Pipe Man) A 35-year-old man, 5ft 11ins, complexion fresh, light brown hair, brown moustache, wearing dark overcoat, old black hard-felt hat with wide brim and a clay pipe in his hand (and/or a knife according to the Star newspaper).

Catherine Eddowes

A.K.A. May Eddowes, Catherine Conway, Kate Conway, Emily Birrell, Kate Kelly, Jane Kelly, Mary Ann Kelly.

Victim Profile: 46-year-old mother of three described by her friends as intelligent and scholarly — a very jolly woman, often singing, but possessed a fierce temper and had an occasional drinking problem. She was suffering from Bright's Disease, was 5ft tall, had hazel eyes, dark auburn hair and had "TC" tattooed in blue ink on her left forearm. Dressed in a black jacket, a dark green chintz skirt, a black bonnet trimmed with green and black velvet, she used a piece of red gauze silk as a neckerchief and wore brown ribbed knee stockings and a pair of men's lace-up boots. Was lodging at Cooney's Lodging House, 55 Flower-and-Dean Street, Spitalfields at the time of her death.
      From about 1862 to 1881, Eddowes lived with Thomas Conway, a pensioner from the 18th Royal Irish (though he was not old) and the father of her children, though they were probably never married. They made a living selling cheap books of lives written by the pensioner and hawking gallows ballads. In 1881 Catherine moved to Cooney's Lodging House and met John Kelly, a jobbing market-man who had been more or less regularly employed by a fruit salesman. Every year Kelly and Eddowes went hop picking during the season. In 1888 they went to Hunton near Maidstone in Kent and returned to Cooney's Lodging House on Friday, September the 28th. At 8:45pm on Saturday the 29th, in a drunken stupor, Catherine Eddowes was placed in a cell at Bishopsgate Police Station. Having sobered up she was released at about 12:55am on Sunday the 30th. "I shall get a damn fine hiding when I get home." She tells PC Hutt on the way out. Hutt replies, "And serve you right, you had no right to get drunk." She leaves with the words "Goodnight, old cock." Interestingly, at the police station, Eddowes gave her name as Mary Ann Kelly.

Crime: attacked & murdered c. 1.37am Sunday, 30 September 1888.

Crime Scene: exterior — the most southerly corner of Mitre Square, Aldgate. The body was on its back, the head turned to the left with the arms by the sides as if they had fallen there. Both palms upwards, the fingers slightly bent. The left leg was extended in a line with the body and the right leg bent at the thigh and knee. The victim's skirts were lifted and the abdomen exposed.

Victim's Body Discovered By: PC Edward Watkins at 1.44am while on his regular beat that passed through (and right round) Mitre Square every 12 or 14 minutes - there was no sight nor sound of an assailant.

Crime Description: Cause of death was a deeply slashed throat from left to right. Post Mortem injuries include: many cuts to the face, "…the abdomen had been laid open from the breast bone to the pubes… intestines had been detached to a large extent ... about two feet of the colon was cut away...” (Dr. Frederick Gordon Brown).

Weapon/s used: “a sharp-pointed knife, and I should say at least 6 in. long” (Dr. Frederick Gordon Brown).

Mementos taken: The left kidney had been “... carefully taken out and removed.” A part of “... the womb had been taken away with some of the ligaments...” (Dr. Frederick Gordon Brown).

Suspect Description: person or persons unknown. According to Dr. Frederick Gordon Brown, “He must have had a good deal of knowledge as to the position of the abdominal organs, and the way to remove them.”
      Joseph Lawende, Joseph Hyam Levy and Harry Harris, at 1:35am, witnessed the following individual talking with the victim at the corner of Duke Street and Church Passage — close to the crime scene. Victim was standing facing the man with her hand on his chest, but not (according to the witnesses) in a manner to suggest that she is resisting him. The man was about 30 years old, of medium build, about 5ft 7ins, wearing a dark pepper-and-salt coloured jacket, a grey cloth peaked cap, a reddish handkerchief knotted around his neck and with a fair complexion and moustache, he had the appearance of being a sailor.

NB: Concerning Catherine Eddowes' supposed shawl and the recent DNA evidence linking Aaron Kosminski to her murder - see HERE!

Mary Jane Kelly

A.K.A. Mary Jane Davies, Marie Jeanette Kelly/Davies, Mary Ann Kelly/Davies, Black Mary, Fair Emma, Ginger.

Victim Profile: an approximately 25-year-old Irish (possibly Welsh) sex worker, 5ft 7ins tall, of quite stout build, with blue eyes — described as likeable and attractive, with a very fine head of (strawberry blonde) hair which reached nearly to her waist. Last seen alive wearing a linsey frock with a red shawl over her shoulders. Resided at 13 Miller's Court, Dorset Street, Whitechapel. Kelly was in a relationship (and had lived) with Joseph Barnett since 1886/87 but they had recently separated, though were still seeing each other off and on. The pair had argued throughout October over Kelly letting other prostitutes share their lodgings at Millers Court - first a woman named Julia and then Maria Harvey. It was during a final quarrel on the 30th that the window closest to the door was broken. Barnett took up lodgings in Bishopsgate after this event but he still visited Kelly regularly and gave her money, it seems they remained on relatively good terms. Previous to her involvement with Barnett, Kelly was said to have been in a relationship with Joe Fleming who treated her badly, by some accounts, but still saw her occasionally and gave her money when he could.

Crime: attacked & murdered, probably(?) around 3.30 to 4.00am (though possibly as late as 8.00am), Friday, 9 November 1888. This timing of the attack and murder is based on the onset of rigor mortis (not an exact science at the time) at Dr. Thomas Bond's post mortem examination with Dr. Bagster Philips in attendance — and despite one witness, Caroline Maxwell, claiming to have seen the deceased alive and well at about 8.15am (and again at about 8.45am) and another witness, Maurice Lewis, claiming to have seen Kelly at 10.00am. It should be noted that at least three individuals living in Miller's Court heard a women cry out "Murder!" at about 4.00am — but such calls were not uncommon and they all chose to ignore it.

Crime Scene: interior of victim's home, a single room which was designated number 13 in Miller's Court, an alley off Dorset Street, Spitalfields. Her body was found naked but for a slashed chemise — she was sprawled on the bed. Her clothes were neatly folded on a chair and her boots were placed in front of the fireplace — where, in the grate, there were traces of a large amount of women's clothing having been burnt. In a cupboard was a few bits of pottery, some ginger-beer bottles, and a bit of bread on a plate. The key to this locked-room mystery was nowhere to be found.

Victim's Body Discovered By: Thomas Bowyer at 10.45am. He comes to the victim's home to collect rent (which was 4s/6d a week - 29s was owed), he gets no answer by knocking on the door and, after discovering that the door is locked, he peaks into the room through the nearest window, which was broken. He moves aside an old coat that hung inside the window and sees the mutilated body of Mary Jane.

Crime Description: Cause of death was a severely slashed throat causing the severance of the carotid artery. Post Mortem injuries include: many gashes to the face, abdomen slit open into three flaps, breasts cut off, arms gashed and thighs cut into flaps at the front and stripped to bone. Her heart had been removed. The uterus, kidney and one breast was placed under the head, the other breast was placed by the right foot, the liver between the feet, the intestines by the right side and the spleen by the left side. The flaps removed from the abdomen and thighs were on a table.

Weapon/s used: a very sharp, strong knife about an inch in width and at least six inches long.

Mementos taken: none known.

Suspect Description: person or persons unknown. According to Dr. Thomas Bond, the same perpetrator as the other Whitechapel murders — a person who had no scientific nor anatomical knowledge.
      Joseph Barnett claimed the last time he saw Kelly was Thursday night, at about 8.00pm — from where he left to his lodgings and there he played 'Whist' before going to bed at around 12.30am. Joseph Barnett was a 30 year old fish porter who'd lost his job at Billingsgate Market (due to theft) in July 1888, he was of medium build and fair complexion, with a moustache, blue eyes, and was 5ft 7ins tall. Barnett was questioned by police after the murder for four hours but was released without charge.
      Maurice Lewis told newspapers that he had seen Kelly on the night of the murder with some women and a man named Dan or Danny in the Horn of Plenty Public House (5 Crispin St, on the north-west corner of Dorset Street) between 10.00 and 11.00pm. This Dan or Danny was probably Daniel Barnett, the elder brother of Joseph Barnett (who had told the Star newspaper that his brother had spoken with her that night). Daniel Barnett was 36 year old fish porter at Billingsgate Market (like his brother had been), he was 5ft 4ins tall with a fair complexion and was said to be facialy very similar to his brother.
      Mary Ann Cox, at 11.45pm, witnessed the victim going into Miller's Court with a 36-year-old man, short and stout, about 5ft 5ins, with a fresh complexion and blotches on his face, he had small side whiskers and a thick carrotty moustache. The man was dressed in shabby dark clothes, a dark overcoat and a round hard black felt billycock hat. Later nicknamed Blotchy Face, this man was carrying a pot of ale.
      George Hutchinson, from about 2.00am, witnessed the victim walking with the following individual (The Astrakhan Gent) from the Queen's Head Public House (74 Commercial Street) to her home, they stayed inside for at least 45 minutes while the witness watched outside. If the witness's actions — following the pair and then waiting outside for 45 minutes — weren't suspicious enough his overly detailed description makes them even more so — a 34 or 35-year-old man, 5ft 6ins tall, pale complexion with dark eyes and eye lashes, with a slight moustache curled up at each end and dark hair. He was very surly looking; wearing a long dark coat with collar and cuffs trimmed in astrakhan and a dark jacket underneath, a light waistcoat, dark trousers and a dark felt hat turned down in the middle, button boots and gaiters with white buttons, and a black tie with a horse shoe pin. Jewish and respectable in appearance, "walked very sharp", carrying a small parcel in his left hand with a kind of strap round it. “His watch chain had a big seal, with a red stone, hanging from it ... no side whiskers ... chin was clean shaven ... I believe that he lives in the neighbourhood.” George Hutchinson didn't come forward with his account until after the inquest.
      Sarah Lewis, at about 2.00am, witnessed a 40-year-old man with a woman in Commercial Street near the corner with Dorset Street, he was fairly short, pale-faced with a black moustache, wearing a short black coat, a round high hat, pepper-and-salt trousers and carrying a black bag. She recognized this Black Bag Man as the same one who had approached the witness and a girlfriend at around 8.00pm on the 7th, except he then had on a long brownish overcoat, asking one of either of them to follow him - he frightened them so they had declined.
      The same witness then saw another man (at around 2.10am?) loitering opposite the entrance to Miller's Court, outside Crossingham's Lodging House, 17 Dorset Street — "He was not tall ... but stout ... had on a black wideawake hat ... I did not notice his clothes ... he was looking up the court as if waiting for someone to come out." (Possibly George Hutchinson waiting for the Astrakhan Gent?)
      Caroline Maxwell, at about 8.45am, claimed to have seen Kelly outside The Britannia Public House (87 Commercial Street, on the north corner of Dorset Street's eastern end) and talking to a stout man in dark clothes and a plaid coat (The Man in Plaid). Maurice Lewis claimed that he saw the victim as late as 10.00am inside the Britannia.

Panic, Hysteria & more Murders

The alarm over the Whitechapel Murders continued for some time after the Autumn of Terror. For want of a credible suspect to pin the murders on, the name “Jack the Ripper” had by this time become synonymous with the mysterious and unknown Whitechapel Murderer in the eyes of the press and the public. Almost every subsequent attack on a woman in the East End contributed to the continuing Ripper Scare.

Annie Farmer

A.K.A. Flossie, Tilly, Dark Sarah, Laughing Liz, Singing Liz.

Victim Profile: a 40-year-old, well educated mother of three, separated from her husband (a respectable City Road tradesman) and of no fixed abode. Farmer was her maiden name, her married name is unknown. Had received a regular alimony at one time, but due to her dissipated habits and drink this had been stopped. More recently she was forced to earn a meagre living by singing in the streets and increasingly, it seems, on prostitution.

Crime: an alleged(?) attack at c. 9.30am Wednesday, 21 November 1888, that was briefly part of the Ripper Scare.

Crime Scene: interior — a small partitioned-off box room with a double-bed on the first floor of Satchell's Lodging House, 19 George Street, Spitalfields. The victim, in the company of a man who paid 8d to take possession of a double-bed, entered the room at about 7.30am that morning. The man had paid Annie Farmer 6d for her company.

Crime Description: The victim received at least one or more (possibly as many as five or six) cuts to the neck, each about 3 inches in length, not deep but bleeding. Annie Farmer claimed she was half-asleep and felt a knife cross her throat, which woke her up, she fought the man and screamed causing the him to flee. The police were sceptical of this scenario - suspecting that Farmer had in fact stolen from the man (they discovered that she was hiding coins in her mouth) and that he had caught her out, leading to a fight in which she cried "Murder" to get herself out of it. They even suspected that the wounds on her neck were self inflicted. Annie Farmer resolutely stuck to her original story though.

Weapon/s used: probably a knife with a blunt blade.

Mementos taken: none known.

Suspect Description: person unknown. The victim herself claimed to have known her attacker from a year previously, when she had drank in his company, and that then he had made himself known to her that morning and had treated her to several drinks. She described him as about 36 years of age, about 5ft 6in in height, with a dark moustache, and wearing a shabby black diagonal suit and hard felt hat. She thought he was a saddler — but, it seems, did not know his name.
      Ellen Marks and Mary Callaghan, just after 9.30am, saw the following man run into the street from Satchell's Lodging House — "about 5ft 7in in height, with a fair moustache, and of very sallow complexion. There was a scar of an abscess on the left side of the neck. I should call him a fair man. He wore a blue-black diagonal overcoat, speckled grey trousers, and a hard black felt hat. There was a white handkerchief round the throat. There was nothing in his hands. He seemed excited, and was panting, and as he went off it struck me that he was a sturdily-built man. I never spoke to him. Almost at the same minute I heard a woman scream on the stairs, 'He has cut my throat.'"
      Frank Ruffle, who had been talking to Marks and Callaghan, saw the same man who, "with his collar up", run round the corner into Thrawl Street, and in the direction of Brick Lane. "I saw that his mouth was bleeding, and he turned round and made use of a low expression, referring to some woman ... I should say the man was 35 years of age. He was clean shaven, with the exception of a slight fair moustache. I have never seen him before."
      The following day, the Evening News (UK) reported that the man responsible, a sailor, was known in the area. He had lived with Farmer for some months, but they subsequently separated and recently renewed their acquaintance. On the morning preceding the alledged attack they were together in a tavern in Brick-lane. It also reported that a man was arrested the night of the 21st in connection with the incident, but his name was not released and, it seems, he was later released without charge.

Rose Mylett

A.K.A. Catherine Millett/Mellett, Elizabeth Davis, 'Drunken Lizzie' Davis, Alice Downey/Downe, 'Fair Alice' Downey, Fair Clara, — born Catherine Mylett.

Victim Profile: a 29-year-old mother of one classed as an "unfortunate" by most reports; she was about 5ft 2in tall, with light hair — frizzed close to the head — and hazel eyes. She was wearing a black alpaca dress, a brown stuff skirt, and a red flannel petticoat. She also had on a dark double-breasted tweed jacket, a lilac print apron, blue and red striped stockings, and side-spring boots. She was residing at a lodging house at 18 George Street, Spitalfields, cohabiting with a man named Goodson. She had been married to an upholsterer called Davis, he was the father of her child, but they had seperated sometime before 1888.

Crime: possible attack and murder by strangulation — or death by a natural/unknown cause — c. 4.00am Thursday, 20 December 1888. Though her very mysterious death was part of the Ripper Scare there is little to connect it to the other Whitechapel murders — other than perhaps Mary Ann Nichols and Annie Chapman's, whose bodies did show signs of strangulation and similar bruising.

Crime Scene: exterior — victim's body was found in Clarke's Yard, the yard between 184 and 186 Poplar High Street, Poplar (two and a half miles or so East of Whitechapel). A woman's hat, believed to be that of the victim, was found within the railings of a garden in front of a private dwelling on the East India Dock Road near the Eagle Tavern — a few hundred yards from Clarke's Yard.

Victim's Body Discovered By: Police Sergeant Robert Golding at 4.15am while he was on patrol with PC Thomas Costella. The body was still warm.

Crime Description: Assistant Commissioner CID Robert Anderson did not believe that a crime had been committed — pointing out that there were no signs of violence, or even a struggle, and no second set of foot prints in the soft ground. He believed the body "lay naturally". Not surprisingly, his police force agreed with him, it was their opinion that she was not attacked at all and died of a natural/unknown cause while drunk.
      Dr. Matthew Brownfield, who carried out the post mortem, (among others equally qualified) thought that Mylett's death was caused by strangulation. "On the neck there was a mark which had evidently been caused by a cord drawn tightly round the neck, from the spine to the left ear. Such a mark would be made by a four thread cord. There were also impressions of the thumbs and middle and index fingers of some person plainly visible on each side of the neck."
      Dr. Thomas Bond, who examined the body five days after the post mortem to provide a further opinion (at the behest of Anderson), could find no traces of strangulation however (the marks apparently having faded) and cited the lack of a protruding tongue or clenched fists as clear signs she was not strangled. He suggested the idea that she fell down drunk and was accidentally choked by her stiff collar.
      Wynne E. Baxter, the coroner, and the jury at the inquest into Mylett's death decided that it indeed was an act of murder, but the police still refused to investigate, believing that it would be a waste of manpower and resources.

Weapon/s used: None — or a four thread cord.

Mementos taken: None known.

Suspect Description: Person or persons unknown (according to the inquest), though the police believed no crime was committed.
      Dr. George Bagster Phillips believed the murderer "had studied the theory of strangulation, for he evidently knew where to place the cord so as to immediately bring his victim under control."
      Alice Graves, at 2.30am, had seen the victim, who was clearly drunk, in the company of two men (one report claims dressed as seamen) outside of The George public house in Commercial Road. Earlier that night, at about 7:55pm, an infirmary night-attendant called Charles Ptolomey saw her speaking with two sailors in Poplar High Street, not far from Clarke's Yard. She appeared to have been sober then, and was heard to say "No, no, no!" to one of the sailors. Their manner of conduct was suspicious enough so as to bring attention to themselves.

Alice McKenzie

A.K.A. 'Clay Pipe' Alice, Alice Bryant, Alice M'Kenzie

Victim Profile: an approximately 39 or 40-year-old washerwoman and charwoman who was, according to the police, an occasional sex worker. Quite well built she was 5ft 5in tall with brown hair and eyes, a freckled-face and a penchant for both smoke and drink. On the day of her murder she was wearing a red stuff bodice, one black and one maroon stocking, a brown stuff kilted skirt, a brown linsey petticoat, a white chemise, a white apron, a paisley shawl and button boots. She was cohabiting at Mr. Tenpenny's Lodging House, Gun Street, Spitalfields, with her common-law husband of about five years, John McCormack (M'Cormack or Bryant). They had been at Tenpenny's since about April of 1888.

Crime: attacked & murdered c. 12.35am Wednesday, 17 July 1889.

Crime Scene: exterior — the pavement of Castle Alley, an alley off Whitechapel High Street, Whitechapel. The victim's head was angled toward the curb, her feet toward the wall and her skirts had been raised to expose the abdomen.

Victim's Body Discovered By: PC Walter Andrews at 12.50am while on his regular beat. He had last been through the alley 27 minutes earlier.

Crime Description: cause of death was severance of the left carotid artery, there were two jagged cuts starting from the left side of the neck about 4 inches in length but not deep enough to have severed the victim's wind-pipe — the first was probably inflicted from behind the victim while the second was probably inflicted on the victim while she was lying on her back on the ground. There were also numerous superficial mutilations carried out on McKenzie's body — a 7 inch long 'but not unduly deep' wound from the bottom of the left breast down to the navel, there were seven or eight scratches beginning at the navel and pointing toward the genitalia and a small cut across the mons-pubis.
      There were also five bruises or finger-nail marks on the left side of the abdomen and bruises on the victim's chest — suggesting the killer probably held her down with one hand while inflicting the second throat cut (and possibly some of the mutilating wounds) with the other.

Weapon/s used: a sharp, pointed blade; thought to be shorter than that used in previous Whitechapel murders.

Mementos taken: None known.

Suspect Description: Person or persons unknown. According to Dr George Baxter Philips, who carried out the post-mortem, a left-handed person with a broad hand span and at least one pointed finger-nail and knowledge of how to effectually and speedily deprive a person of life... but not the killer known as Jack the Ripper.
      Dr Thomas Bond, called in to perform a second examination, believed it was the work of Jack the Ripper... as did James Monro, the Police Commissioner at the time.

Compare with the attacks on Annie Millwood and Martha Tabram. Although this murder does bare some similarities to these early Whitechapel murders there are also some definite and clear differences — not least the severity of the wounds.

The Pinchin Street Torso

Victim Profile: an unidentified woman of stoutish build, well formed and with a full bust, with dark brown hair and fair skin, about 5ft 3in tall, in her early thirties - her hands were soft and shapely with no marks of rings on the fingers and with well kept nails. There was no evidence of maternity. Conflicting rumours circulated after the discovery of this murder that the victim was either Lydia Hart or Emily Barker - both of whom had been missing for some time - but both these women later turned up very much alive.

Crime: attacked & murdered c. Sunday, 8 September 1889 — no later than 6.00am, Monday the 9th — the time of death was estimated to be at least 24hrs before the attending surgeon, Mr. J. Clarke, examined the torso at the crime scene at 6.00am Tuesday the 10th.

Crime Scene: unknown — remains were dumped beneath the railway arches at Pinchin Street, Whitechapel, but it was assumed she was killed elsewhere.

Victim's Body Discovered By: PC William Pennett at 5.25am on Tuesday, 10 September 1889. His regular beat lead him past the Pinchin Street railway arches when he saw what he thought was a bundle about four yards into the archway from the pavement. He was sure he would have seen it, if it had been there, the last time he had passed that way about 25 minutes earlier. The bundle turned out to be a woman's torso, lying on it's stomach, with no head or legs (the arms and hands were still attached) covered by two or three pieces of rag (which turned out to be the torn and bloody remnants of a chemise — 37 inches in length, of common material and not stitched by an experienced needlewoman but evidently home-made by a poor person). There was no blood upon the very dusty ground and very little upon the body, which was in the early stages of decomposition.

Crime Description: the circumstances of the murder are unknown but the cause of death was probably blood loss. Dr George Bagster Phillips, who carried out the post-mortem, thought that the victim's throat had been cut, severing a main artery, but that the wound was probably obliterated by the separation of the head after death. Apart from the wounds caused by the severance of the head and legs - which were cleanly and skilfully done - there was a wound 15 inches long through the external coat of the abdomen. On the back there were four bruises, all caused shortly before death. There was one over the spine, on a level with the lower part of the shoulder blade, that was about the size of a shilling. An inch lower down there was a similar bruise at about the middle of the back, also on the spine, that was about the size of a half-a-crown. On the level of the top of the hip bone was a bruise 2 1/2 inches in diameter — it was such a bruise as would be caused by a fall or a kick. On the right arm there were eight distinct bruises and seven on the left, all of them caused shortly before death and mainly on the back of both forearms and hands as if they had been tightly grasped. On the outer side of the left forearm, about 3 inches above the wrist, was a cut about 2 inches in length, and half an inch lower down was another cut — these were caused after death.

Weapon/s used: a strong knife with a blade 8 inches long or more.

Mementos taken: none known.

Suspect Description: Person or persons unknown. Dr George Bagster Phillips had no reason to think that the person who cut up the body had any anatomical knowledge. He thought that the mutilations were effected by some one accustomed to the cutting up of animals or to seeing them cut up.
      The torso must have been transported to the site of its discovery in a trap, or more likely on a costermonger's barrow — with the torso probably hidden under something to avoid attention. There were no signs of the torso having being dragged into position and a person carrying such a large and heavy bundle/parcel by hand, as well as having difficulty with it, would certainly have aroused suspicion.
      The mysterious John Cleary was briefly a person of interest in this case for two (possibly coincidental) reasons. The first being that around the area of the railway archers there were numerous graffito messages in chalk mentioning a John (or Jos) Cleary. The only full message recorded is "John Cleary is a fool". This alone would seem to be purely coincidental to the murder... but for the second reason this individual is of interest — at 1.05am on Sunday, 8 September (the estimated date of the victim's death), a man calling himself John Cleary had entered the London offices of the New York Herald claiming that another Whitechapel murder had been committed in Backchurch-lane, Whitechapel (Pinchin street is an extension of this lane and the torso was discovered very close to where the two 'intersect') and asked if he would get a reward for the information. John Cleary's tale of how he knew that a murder had been committed is suspicious to say the least — first he told the newspaper men that a police officer had told him, then that changed to an ex-police officer before becoming a soldier in uniform. He was asked to go with two reporters to the scene of the murder but he refused and, making excuses, he left. The two reporters went to Backchurch-lane any way but could find no evidence that a murder had taken place. (Perhaps the graffito found two days later were the annoyed messages of these disgruntled reporters who'd just spent the early hours of their Sunday morning looking for a murder story that failed to materialise?). The newspaper men just assumed that he was a crank trying to make some money until only two days later the torso was discovered near the area that Cleary had indicated and they informed the police. Needless to say the police were now very interested in finding this John Cleary, whom the New York Herald described as "... a young man, apparently between 25 and 28 years of age. He was short, his height being about 5ft 4in. He was of medium build, and weighed about 140 lb. He was light-complexioned, had a small fair moustache and blue eyes. On his left cheek was an inflamed spot, which looked as if a boil had lately been there and was healing. He wore a dark coat and waistcoat. His shirt was not seen, the space at the throat being covered by a dirty white handkerchief tied about his neck. His trousers were dark velveteen, so soiled at the knees as to indicate that he blacked shoes. His hat was a round, black, stiff felt. He walked with a shuffle and spoke in the usual fashion of the developing citizens of Whitechapel, whom, in all respects, he resembled."
      And then there's the mysterious policeman or soldier (or, more likely from the description, a commissionaire of some sort) — on Friday, 13 September, (after the story of John Cleary had broke in the press) John Arnold, a newspaper vendor, gave himself up to the police and admitted that he was John Cleary. He told them that, on his way back to his lodging house late Saturday night, he was approached by "... a man dressed as a soldier, in black uniform, black cord shoulder strap, lightish buttons, cheese cutter cap, brass ornament in front of cap like a horn. Cannot say whether there was a band round or not, age about 35 to 36. Height 5ft 6 or 7 (inches), complexion fair. Fair moustache, good looking, carrying a brown paper parcel about 6 or 8 inches long." The soldier said to him, "Hurry up with your papers, another horrible murder ... in Backchurch Lane." Arnold immediately went to the newspaper office to give them the story and hopefully make some money. He'd given a false name and address because he didn't want his estranged wife finding out where he now lived and that he'd left the offices abruptly because he needed to get to his lodging house before it's doors closed for the night.

Compare with the cases of the other “Thames Torso Murders”; the Tottenham Court Road Mystery, the Rainham Torso, the Whitehall Mystery and Elizabeth Jackson (soon).

Frances Coles

A.K.A. 'Carroty Nell', Frances Coleman, Frances Hawkins

Victim Profile: a 31-year-old women who had been a sex worker for about eight years. She was about 5ft tall with brown hair and eyes. Her last known residence was at Spitalfields Chambers lodging house, 8 White's Row, Spitalfields.

Crime: attacked & murdered c. 2.13am Friday, 13 February 1891.

Crime Scene: under a railway arch, in the middle of the roadway of Swallow Gardens — a short passage between Chamber Street and Royal Mint Street, Whitechapel.

Victim's Body Discovered By: PC Ernest Thompson at 2.15am on Friday, 13 February 1889, while on his beat. Having only been on the Force for two months this was the first time he had done the beat alone. While walking down Chamber Street he heard the footsteps of a man ahead of him, he thought heading in the same direction as himself, but could not see him. A few seconds later he shone his lamp into the dark shadows of Swallow Gardens and discovered the body of the victim. Blood was flowing profusely from her throat and he saw one of her eyes open and then close. She was still alive so protocol dictated that the officer had to stay with her and not chase down the man whose footsteps he had heard moments earlier.

Crime Description: Frances Coles had been thrown violently down to the ground where she was found, surmised by the wounds on the back of her head, and her throat had then been cut. According to Dr Frederick Oxely, the first doctor to arrive at the scene shortly after 2.25am, there were two wounds to the throat inflicted from the front. Dr George Bagster Phillips, who performed the autopsy, believed the killer struck from the right side of the prone victim and held her head back by the chin with his left hand while cutting the throat with his right, and that the knife passed the throat three times — first from left to right, then from right to left, and then again from left to right.

Weapon/s used: Dr Philips believed the murder weapon was not a very sharp knife.

Mementos taken: none known.

Suspect Description: Person or persons unknown. Dr Philips believed that the killer did not demonstrate any skill and that this attacker was not the perpetrator of the earlier series of killings. Various notable policemen disagreed with Phillips in this, however, and perhaps the most notable among them being Detective Inspector Edmund Reid, who investigated several of the Whitechapel Murders. It should be remembered that Philips also discounted Catherine Eddowes as a Ripper victim.
      James Sadler, a 53-year-old merchant seaman and fireman on the S.S. Fez, was the initial suspect in this murder. Shortly after being discharged from his ship on Wednesday, the 11th of February, he happened to meet up with Francis, of whom he had been a former client, in the Princess Alice pub on Commercial Street. The two spent that night together at Spitalfields Chambers lodging house and then spent the next day drinking in various bars until they were both very drunk. At some time between 9pm and 11pm Sadler is robbed of all his money — when he asks Francis for some money they get into an argument and split up. Francis Coles returns to the lodging house at 11.30am and falls asleep at the kitchen table. Sadler, bloodied and bruised, returns some short time later and cleans himself up — but then leaves at about 12.00am being unable to pay to stay for that night. Francis wakes up some time later, but she too does not have the doss money for the night, and she leaves at some time between 12.30 and 1.30am. James Sadler gets into a brawl, at about 1.50am, with some dockworkers at St. Katharine Dock after failing to force his way back onto the S.S. Fez. He then tries to gain entry into a lodging house in East Smithfield but is turned away. Sadler was seen "decidedly drunk" around 2.00am by Police Sergeant Wesley Edwards outside the Mint — "he came up to me and said he had been assaulted by some men at the dock gates. I walked with him about 30 yards in the direction of the Minories, and when opposite Lockhart's Coffee Rooms I examined his ribs, but could not say they were broken. I parted from him soon after the clock struck 2, and it would take him about three minutes to walk from there to the scene of the murder."
      Ellen Callana (or sometimes Callaghan), a friend of Coles', bumped into the victim at about 1.45am outside the Princess Alice publichouse and walked up Commercial Street towards the Minories with her. At the inquest, Callana said "A man spoke to me. He was a very short man, with a dark moustache, shiny boots, and blue trousers, and had the appearance of a sailor. It was not Sadler. Because I would not go with him he punched me and tore my jacket. Frances was about three or four yards away at the time. We were both just getting over drunkenness. He went and spoke to Frances then, and I said, 'Frances, don't go with that man, I don't like his look.' She replied, 'I will,' and I then said, 'If you are going with that man I will bid you goodnight.' I left them at the bottom of Commercial Street going towards the Minories, and I went to Theobald's lodging-house, Brick-lane. I watched them till they turned round by the publichouse into White Street."
      A man, said to look like a ship's fireman, and a woman are seen at the Royal Mint Street corner of Swallow Gardens at around 2.10am by Carmen William 'Jumbo' Friday and two brothers named Knapton.
      At 3.00am Sadler tried once more to gain entry to the lodging house at 8 Whites Row but was turned away — Sarah Fleming, the deputy, recalled that he was very bloodied and claiming he had been robbed on Ratcliff Highway. By 5.00am Sadler admits himself to the London Hospital in Whitechapel to have his various wounds seen to. At 10.15am Duncan Campbell, a seaman at the Sailor's Home in Wells Street, purchases a blunt knife from Sadler for a shilling and some tobacco. It's easy to see why James Sadler was initially suspected of Francis Coles' murder — but, largely due to the fact that the Seamen's Union paid for his proper legal representation, the allegation soon fell apart. According to Police Sergeant Edwards, who had spoken with Sadler at around 2.00am, he was way too drunk to have been able to carry out the murder, he could barely walk. Also, the knife sold to Duncan Campbell, was probably far too blunt to have been the murder weapon.

None "Whitechapel" Murders & possibly Related Crimes

In this section we'll be looking at possibly related crimes that did not happen in the Whitechapel area of London. They are mostly composed of "Thames Torso Murders" possibly related to the Pinchin Street Torso killing, of the further crimes of "Jack the Ripper" suspects, or of those other murders that were suspected at some time of being commited by "The Ripper". Many happen in and around London, but a fair number spread to wider locals around Britain and even as far as the USA.

The Tottenham Court Road Mystery

Victim Profile: an unknown woman with a rose tattoo on her arm.

Crime: probably murdered c. September/October 1884? The body was dismembered after death. The Inquest returned a verdict of "Found Dead".

Crime Scene: unknown location, probably somewhere in or near central London.

Victim's Body Discovered: on 23 October 1884 a skull, still with some flesh attatched, and a large piece of flesh from the thighbone, were discovered in the neighbourhood of Tottenham Court Road. A parcel containing an arm was found just to the north in Bedford Square, apparently thrown or dumped over a railing, at about the same time. On 28 October a police constable, passing Number 33 Fitzroy Square, noticed a large brown paper parcel. His investigation revealed a portion of a human torso. The building concerned was a military drill-hall and armoury, and subject to frequent police patrols. The Pall Mall Gazette theorized that, "the parcel was deposited between ten o'clock and ten fifteen, when the police relief takes place".

Crime Description: not known.

Weapon/s used: not known.

Mementos taken: not known.

Suspect Description: The Times reported that the medical evidence suggested that the parts came from the same female and had been "divided by someone skilled, but certainly not for the purpose of anatomy."

The Mornington Crescent Mystery

Victim Profile: an unknown woman — not the same woman whose parts were discovered in connection to the Tottenham Court Road Mystery.

Crime:probably not murdered, but died c. October/November 1884? The body was dismembered after death.

Crime Scene: unknown location, probably somewhere in or near central London.

Victim's Body Discovered: on 9 December, a parcel discovered in the "Mornington Crescent inclosure" at Camden, in London, was found to contain bones of the right arm, right and left foot, and right forearm of a woman.

Crime Description: not known.

Weapon/s used: not known.

Mementos taken: not known.

Suspect Description: Dr. Jenkins, the Divisional Surgeon at S Division, concluded that the parts "had been skillfully dissected" in a way dissimilar to the other "Thames Torso Murders". It was theorised that this incident at least was probably a prank perpetrated by medical students using parts from a body that had been used in an anatomy class.

The Rainham Torso

Victim Profile: an unknown woman about 28 or 29 years old.

Crime: probably murdered c. early May 1887?. The inquest returned a verdict of "Found Dead".

Crime Scene: unknown location, probably somewhere in or near central London.

Victim's Body Discovered: in May, near the ferry on the River Thames — east of, and down stream from, London — at the village of Rainham in Essex, workers pulled from the river a canvas bundle containing the trunk of the victim. On the 8th of June another canvas parcel, this time containing the victim's limbs, was recovered from the Thames near Temple Stairs, London. In July some more remains were found in Regent's Canal at Chalk Farm, Camden, London.

Crime Description: The body was dismembered after death, but a cause of death or violent attack could not be established.

Weapon/s used: not known.

Mementos taken: possibly the head and upper chest - which were never found.

Suspect Description: the Doctors involved, including Westminster's Police Surgeon Dr. Thomas Bond were of the opinion that a degree of anatomical or medical knowledge was evident, but that the body was not dissected for medical purposes. Experienced pathologist Dr Charles Hebbert was invited to examine the body parts and he concluded it to be work of an expert hunter or butcher, not a surgeon.

The Pimlico / Whitehall Mystery

Victim Profile: an unknown woman, probably about 5 feet 8 inches tall and apparently not used to manual labour. Dr Thomas Bond, who carried out the post mortem examination, stated that, "the woman was of mature development – undoubtedly over 24 or 25 years of age. It appeared that she was full fleshed, well nourished, with a fair skin and dark hair. The appearances went to prove that deceased had never borne, or at any rate had never suckled, a child." He also stated that, "at some time the woman had suffered from severe pleurisy". Dr Hebbert put the woman's age at about 18 to 20 years.

Crime: probably murdered sometime in the first half of July 1888. Dr Bond placed the time of death between six weeks and two months before his on scene examination of the torso 2 October (which begs the question, where were the body parts being kept previous to dumping). The inquest returned a verdict of "Found Dead".

Crime Scene: unknown location, probably somewhere in or near central London.

Victim's Body Discovered: On 11 September, an arm belonging to a female was discovered on the bank of the Thames off Pimlico in central London. On 28 September, the other arm was found dumped on the Lambeth Road in central London. On October 2nd, workmen involved in the building of the new Police Headquarters in Whitehall found the dumped and decomposed torso of the woman, tightly bound in a bundle, in a vault of the cellar there. A sniffer dog was brought in to the construction site and this led to the investigators finding the left leg and foot of the woman in a shallow grave.

Crime Description: The body was dismembered after death, but the cause of death could not be determined. She did not die of suffocation or drowning. Although the trunk had various cuts they all appeared to have been made post-mortem.

Weapon/s used: a large knife and a saw had been used for the dismemberment.

Mementos taken: possibly the head and right leg - which were never found.

Suspect Description: Dr. Charles Hebbert, who assisted Dr Bond and examined one of the arms closely, stated, "I thought the arm was cut off by a person who, while he was not necessarily an anatomist, certainly knew what he was doing - who knew where the joints were and cut them pretty regularly." The construction site of New Scotland Yard had a secure hoarding surrounding it, but evidence of a breach was never found and no suspicious actions ever reported within it. How did the killer get access?

Jane Beadmore

A.K.A. Jane Savage.

Victim Profile: a quite stout 27 year old, about 5 feet 3 inches in height, who had been in poor health for some time with heart disease. She lived at White House Cottage near Birtley, a small mining village in County Durham, just south of Gateshead in the North East of England, with her mother, stepfather Joseph Savage and half brother William. She was well liked locally and commonly known as Jane Savage after her stepfather. For the previous two years Jane had been courting with a young man, aged 22 years, and named William Waddell. A few days before her death, Jane had confided with a friend named Isabella McGuinness that she wished to have no more to do with Waddle and had "found someone nicer". The identity of this other man was never disclosed.

Crime: attacked & murdered during the night of Saturday-Sunday, September 22nd-23rd, 1888. Was briefly part of the Ripper Scare despite the removed location.

Crime Scene: exterior — a ditch that ran alongside the east side of a branch line railway which connected various collieries in the area and ran north/south alongside the village of Birtley. It was just two fields from White House Cottage. Jane Beadman's body was lying on her left side, with her right arm raised to her face as if warding off an attacker. Her left leg lay straight out, and her right was bent at the knee on top of the left one. Her clothing was ruffled up her body on the right hand side, exposing her right leg to the thigh. Her clothes and the ground under where she lay had been saturated with blood. Her pockets held a handkerchief with sixpence in silver in it, a pair of gloves and some toffee wrapped in paper.

Victim's Body Discovered by: John Fish, a boilersmith, at 7:20 on the morning of Sunday, 23 September, 1888. He was on his way to work at Eighton Banks to the north from his home near Ouston, south of the village. He noticed there was blood on her underclothing and on her right cheek. Fish touched her right arm and right cheek, and from the coldness of her skin he instantly realised she was dead. Fish ran to the nearest house to raise the alarm and from which he was directed to the nearby home of a local police constable, John Dodds.

Crime Description: P.C. Dodds immediately found that she had been stabbed in three places. On the face, the neck and there was a deep gash in the abdomen through which the woman's intestines were protruding. With the presence of coins on the victim's person, it seemed clear that robbery was not the motive; and the abdominal injury in particular, instantly put all those who heard of it in mind of the Whitechapel Murders. It was about two weeks after the well publicised murder of Annie Chapman.

Weapon/s used: a knife of some description.

Mementos taken: none known.

Suspect Description: Between nine and ten on Saturday evening, James Gilmore, a miner, walked past a couple who appeared to be exchanging strong words with each other in the vacinity of Birtley. After he passed them, he looked back and saw them turn onto the Black Road in the direction of the railway, near to where the body was found. The woman matched the description of the victim and the man was described as as being about 5 feet 9 or 10 inches tall. It was dark, though, and he could not swear to their identity.
      Immediately after the murder, the idea that the Whitchapel Fiend may have been responsible for this attack circulated quite widely. So much so that the Metropolitan Police CID despatched Inspector Thomas Roots with Dr George Bagster Phillips, the Divisional Surgeon for Whitechapel, north to the location so as to establish a link or not. Dr Philips examined the body and gave his opinion that the abdominal injuries in this case had been a "clumsy piece of butchery", showing none of the finesse and skill of the Whitechapel Murderer.
      After the local police had made some inquiries into Jane's background, it soon became apparent that she had wished to end her relationship with William Waddell, and that he had not been seen in the locality since shortly before the murder. For the previous 8 or 9 months, Waddell had been living at a lodging in Birtley named the Brickgarth, run by a widow named Jane McCormack. Waddell had left the lodging house at about seven o'clock on the Saturday evening, giving no indication that he would not return. He was in a drunken state, had not eaten anything for hours and had been sick earlier. Mrs McCormack had stated that this was far from his usual habits.
      William Waddell was generally described as quiet and sullen, with a sallow complexion, brown hair and blue eyes which were described as sunken. He was quite tall for the day at 5 feet 9 or 10. He had worked variously as a farm labourer in the past but his most recent position was in the employ of John McAvoy, a beer house keeper in Birtley, for whom he operated a slag-breaking machine. The last time he had been seen there was between two and three that same afternoon, when he had collected his wages for the week of nineteen shillings. He had appeared to be sober at that point, and had given McAvoy no indication that he would not be back for work on the following Monday.
      The police concentrated all their efforts in finding Waddell and circulated his description far and wide. he was eventually apprehended on the 1 October, near a town called Yetholm, just two miles or so from Berwick on the Scottish side of the border. He was confused and disoriented, but initially gave his name as William Laws from Coldstream. The pretence did not last long, when asked if he knew a Jane Savage he replied, "That is my wife ... I left her on Birtley Fell on Saturday."
      "Was she alive when you left her?" The arresting constable asked. "No, dead," was the reply. Waddell was soon transported to Gateshead where he was remanded into custody so that the inquest into Beadmore's death could continue and further evidence gathered. He was formally charged with the murder at the Petty Sessional Courts in Chester-le-Street. The trial was held on Thursday 29 November in Chester-le-Street, as part of the Durham Autumn Assizes before the Hon. Sir Charles Edward Pollock, Knight, Baron of the Exchequer and Judge of Her Majesty's High Court of Justice. Although the case against Waddell was largely circumstantial, his fate was sealed by his actions after the fact.
      The jury took just thirty minutes to return a guilty verdict. On 16 December in Durham Gaol the Dean of the County, Dr Lake, asked Waddell if he would like to confess, he replied. "Yes, sir, I did it." After a pause, the Dean remarked, "Whatever could have possessed you to commit such a crime?" Waddell attributed the crime to his having been so drunk as to having entirely lost his mind. He also stated that he had been reading the accounts of the Whitechapel Murders in London, and his mind must have been deranged.
      Wiliam Waddell was executed some minutes after eight in the morning of Wednesday, 19 December at Durham Gaol, with hangman James Berry the appointed executioner.

Ellen Bury

Victim Profile: born Ellen Elliot in 1856, she was a neatly dressed woman, fair haired, slim and of genteel appearance. She initially worked as a needlewoman in a jute processing factory before giving birth to an illegitimate daughter in 1883. Also called Ellen, the daughter died in Poplar workhouse in 1885. By 1886 she was working for James Martin as a servent (and possibly a sex worker) at his brothel, 80 Quickett Street, Bow, near Whitechapel. While there, she met William Henry Bury, who was taken on by Martin as a sawdust seller in 1887. Ellen and William struck up a relationship, they left Martin's employ (with William owing a debt to Martin) and moved to a furnished room at 3 Swaton Road, Bow, where they lived together until their marriage on Easter Monday, 2 April 1888. William Bury, by all accounts, was a violent drunk, and often was abusive to his wife. Shortly after the marriage, Elizabeth Haynes (their landlady) caught William kneeling on his new bride threatening to cut her throat with a knife. Haynes evicted them, and Ellen sold one of six £100 shares she had bought with money inherited from a maiden aunt to pay William's debt to Martin.
      Throughout the course of 1888 William was reemployed by Martin and the married couple moved to 11 Blackthorn Street and then 3 Spanby Road, both in Bow. According to Martin, William had developed a venereal disease. By the end of December they had worked their way through the rest of Ellen's shares and William had sold the horse and cart that he used in his now neglected sawdust work. In January of 1889, William told his landlord at 3 Spanby Road that he was thinking of emigrating to Brisbane, Australia, and asked him to make two wooden crates for the journey. Instead, they moved to Dundee in Scotland. Ellen was not keen on this relocation and only agreed to it after William lied that he had obtained a position in a jute factory there. In Dundee, the Bury's rented a room above a bar at 43 Union Street. Within eight days they moved to a squat at 113 Prince's Street, a basement flat under a shop, the keys of which William had got under false pretences.

Crime: attacked & murdered c. 1.30am Tuesday, 5 February 1889.

Crime Scene: interior — a basement flat under a shop at 113 Prince's Street, Dundee.

Crime Description: Ellen had been strangled with a rope (that William had bought the day before), stabbed and mutilated. Her right leg was broken in two places so her body could be crammed into a crate (one of the crates William had bought from his landlord in Bow). Incisions ran downwards along her abdomen and had been made "within at most ten minutes of the time of death", according to a consensous of the five physicians who examined the body: police surgeon Charles Templeman, his colleague Alexander Stalker, Edinburgh surgeon Henry Littlejohn and two local doctors, David Lennox and William Kinnear.

Weapon/s used: a large penknife that was found in the basement flat, it still had human blood and flesh on it. The rope was also found and it was entwined with strands of Ellen's hair.

Mementos taken: Jewellery belonging to Ellen was found in William's pockets.

Suspect: There is little doubt that William Bury murdered his wife, Ellen. The guilt of the act seemed to weigh heavy on Bury, he turned himself in on the 10th of February, at first claiming that Ellen had commited suicide, he'd found her with a rope around her neck after waking from a drunken stupor and he panicked, stabbing her body and packing it in the crate. The crime might not have been discovered overwise. When the police went to the basement in which the Bury's had resided, they found chalk graffiti on the rear door of the flat, which read "Jack Ripper is at the back of this door", and more on a stairwell leading up from the rear, that said "Jack Ripper is in this seller [sic]". Inside they found Ellen's body in the packing crate, the flat was sparsley furnished and many of her clothes and personal effects had been burned in the fireplace. The police and the press seemed to think that a local boy (never named) must be responsible for the graffiti, but it was present before the murder of Ellen was discovered, so this seems unlikely (at least to me). Why would Burry not have wiped such an accusation away? Could Bury himself have wrote them in one of his guilt-ridden drunken stupors after the murder?
      Before turning himself in, Bury had visited an acquaintance named Walker who claimed that, while Bury was reading a newspaper, the acquaintance asked him if there was any news regarding Jack the Ripper, at which Bury threw down the newspaper with a fright. Bury told Lieutenant James Parr, the first policeman he spoke to when turning himself in, that his actions were now preying on his mind, and he was afraid that he would be accused of being Jack the Ripper. On 18 March 1889, Bury was arraigned for the murder of his wife; he entered a plea of not guilty. The trial was seen before Lord Young in the High Court of Justiciary on 28 March, and lasted 13 hours. At 10:40pm, the jury of fifteen men returned from consideration with a unanimous verdict of guilty. Lord Young passed the mandatory sentence for murder: death by hanging. Bury finally confessed to a Reverend Gough that he had killed Ellen, and wrote a confession on 22 April 1889, which he asked to be withheld until after he was dead. William claimed that he had strangled Ellen without premeditation on the night of 4 February 1889 during a drunken row over money, and that he had tried to dismember the body for disposal the next day but was too squeamish to continue (though this does not match the expert testimony of the physicians). William stated he had stuffed Ellen's body into the crate as part of a later plan for disposal, but instead came up with the suicide story when he realised that Ellen's absence might be noticed. Bury was hanged on 24 April by executioner James Berry.
      William Bury was 5 feet 3.5 inches tall and weighed just under 10 stone, he was described as good-looking, with sharp features, a dark complexion, dark hair, sometimes sporting a full beard with side whiskers and he had a fair (?) moustache, and quite respectable in appearance. Claims that Bury could have been the Ripper began to appear in newspapers shortly after Bury's arrest, and the Dundee police notified the detectives investigating the Whitechapel Murders of the possible connection. Inspector Frederick Abberline interviewed the witnesses in Bow and Whitechapel connected to Bury, including William's former employer James Martin and landlords Elizabeth Haynes and William Smith, and apparently Scotland Yard sent two detectives north to interview Bury himself in Dundee, though no record of the interview survives. Dispite all this, it seems that in the end they did not consider Bury a realistic suspect for the murders in Whitechapel.

Elizabeth Jackson

Victim Profile:
Crime: attacked & murdered c. late May 1889.
Crime Scene:
Crime Description:
Weapon/s used:
Mementos taken:
Suspect Description:

Victim Profile:
Crime: Attacked & murdered after 10.30pm Thursday, 23 April 1891.
Crime Scene: interior - in a room at the East River Hotel, Manhattan, New York, USA.
Crime Description:
Weapon/s used:
Mementos taken:
Suspect Description:

Victim Profile:
Crime: Attacked 1891-1892?
Crime Scene: interior -
Crime Description:
Weapon/s used:
Mementos taken:

Victim Profile:
Crime: Attacked & murdered in the early morning, a short time after midnight, on Saturday 1st September 1894.
Crime Scene: interior - 542 East Sixth Street, New York, USA.
Crime Description: stabbed and attempted cutting of throat
Weapon/s used:
Mementos taken:

Victim Profile:
Crime: Subjected to violent attacks - succumbed to murder by poisoning 25 March 1897.
Crime Scene: interior -
Crime Description:
Weapon/s used: Poison
Mementos taken:

Victim Profile:
Crime: Subjected to violent attacks - succumbed to murder by poisoning 14 February 1901.
Crime Scene: interior -
Crime Description:
Weapon/s used: Poison
Mementos taken:

Victim Profile:
Crime: attacked and murdered 27 May 1901.
Crime Scene: interior -
Crime Description:
Weapon/s used:
Mementos taken:
Suspect Description:

Victim Profile:
Crime: subjected to violent attacks - succumbed to murder by poisoning 22 October 1902.
Crime Scene: interior -
Crime Description:
Weapon/s used: Poison
Mementos taken:

Victim Profile:
Crime: attacked and murdered on the night of 19/20 December 1903.
Crime Scene: interior - a room at Kelly's Hotel, 11 James Slip- on the corner of Water Street, New York, USA.
Crime Description: attacked and murdered - victim was strangled first, subsequent injuries comprised of two deep wounds to her throat, a gash three inches deep extending from armpit to armpit, a large vertical wound in her abdomen and minor mutilations targeting the genitalia.
Weapon/s used: a knife
Mementos taken:

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