Tuesday, June 14, 2016

THE PERFECT JACK THE RIPPER SUSPECT by Richard Patterson


Who is Jack the Ripper? It is a question that has held a long fascination. The identity to the perpetrator, of a series of gruesome murders, targeting female prostitutes in London’s East End in 1888, is one of the great mysteries. The police had several suspects, including murderers, and insane butchers, but none could be proved. Some of the more recent theories include that the murders involved some sort of cover up involving a royal conspiracy. In fact, almost every figure from the Victorian age has been named as a suspect at one time or another. They include the portrait artist Walter Sickert and Lord Randolph Churchill, the father of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Liverpool cotton Magnate, James Maybrick has been named and even author of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ Lewis Carroll have been put forward as the elusive Jack the Ripper. All these theories are intriguing. However, the links between these suspects and those horrible sexual lust murders of at least five women in the parish of Spitalfields are tenuous at best. One would think that all the theories involving suspects who were barristers, doctors, actors, writers, and artists, that the reading public would have had enough but the appeal in trying to solve this very cold case and unravel this secret seems to be growing. A novel and imaginative approach is to imagine the perfect suspect. A suspect whose life’s circumstances and connections to the murders would make anyone, from a learned historian, to the amateur sleuth, sit up and take notice.

To give an example, what about location? Researchers, for most of the suspects listed, have had a hard time placing them anywhere near Spitalfields and even in London. My perfect suspect would have not just been able to reach Spitalfields to commit these ghastly crimes but they would have lived there. I would place my suspect living near enough to the murders so that they could commit them in a moments notice but still at a safe enough distance that they could escape, to hide, without fear of being discovered. Choosing such a place, within the maze of streets, alleyways and courtyards that made up this London ghetto takes some thought.



Dorset Street
A great location would be Providence Row night refuge. This was a homeless shelter, situated at the other end of Dorset Street, and the street that the final Ripper victim, Mary Kelly was killed. The refuge was about 80 meters from where her body was found. What makes this place ideal is that it was run by Catholic nuns and was seen as a model shelter. It’s residents needed references to get in and because it was situated in the heart of Spitalfields, surrounded by dozens of illegal brothels, and overcrowded tenements, overrun by every sort of criminal, the chances that the police would search these premises is next to none. Another great thing, about the Row, was that it was probably unique in having an open door policy at night. This meant that a resident could leave anytime, after dark, and return with no questions asked. It would be perfect for the suspect as a base of operations for his nocturnal murderous exploits.


Victorian Gladstone Bag and equipment


But what about the suspect himself? Many people back then and people now, believe that the Ripper must have had some sort of medical ability. An attacker, who easily removed their internal organs, quickly overcame all the women. It would a tricky job, in the dark, which is why people think he must have had some knowledge of anatomy. My perfect suspect would have some. In fact, because I can be generous, I will not just make him someone who trained as a doctor, I will have a student of surgery. I will give him several years training at a very fine institution; a medical college that promoted practical work on cadavers over theory. I will let him keep the tools of his trade. I will say my suspect had a dissecting scalpel and I will make sure it is sharp enough to shave with.

Having the location of the suspect and his ability figured out, I should think about his motivation. It should be a strong motive and sets him on a course of destruction. First, though I need to have him be able go unnoticed. Maybe I could make him a police officer? No, on second thought, scrap that. An officer could not freely be at the scene of all the murders. It would be bound to raise questions. I could make him a foreigner who is visiting the area, but that won’t do either. I need him to know the streets well and the language. To be fair, for these most English of crimes, I will make him an Englishman, and I have it that he is a vagrant. That way he will have an intimate knowledge of the streets, having wandered them and slept on them. He would also go unnoticed amongst his many thousands of homeless companions.

Getting back to his motive, I will have that he was in a relationship with a prostitute just beforehand. She will have been one who he trusted. One who showed care and affection to him, but I will have it that, without warning, she betrays and abandons him, leaving him heartbroken. My suspect will already by a troubled man, who has had at least one mental breakdown before hand and suffering from some traumatic incident in his childhood. The prostitute who has made him bitter could by why he is in Spitalfields. He is wandering the streets to try to find her. See, that makes it, at least in his eyes a tragic romance, and everyone likes a love story.

Because I am limited only to my imagination, I will make him a very literate man. A rare thing in the city of London at the end of the 19th century. That way he can write down what he was thinking and we can read it. Imagine being able to read the confessions, first hand, of Jack the Ripper himself? I will bless him with a flair for the dramatic. I will have it that he even writes dreadful things that seem to describe the murders themselves. His writings will be no-holds-barred. He writes poems, for example with scary titles, like ‘The Nightmare of the Witch Babies’ in which he describes hunting down and disemboweling prostitutes. To add a touch of horror, I will have him describe his joy at ripping into the victim’s uterus just so he can find if they have a featus and kill that too. Just to spice things up a bit, I will make it that he has a secret drug habit, one that lets his imagination go full throttle. Opium will do best. All the great writers back then were on the stuff. With his opium at hand and some talent, he would write lines, something suitable poetic and old fashioned, like the following.

‘Swiftly he followed her
Ha! Ha!

Eagerly he followed her.
Ho! Ho!;’
‘Lo, she corrupted!
Ho! Ho!’
‘And its paunch was rent
Like a brasten [bursting] drum;
And the blubbered fat
From its belly doth come
It was a stream ran bloodily under the wall.
O Stream, you cannot run too red!
Under the wall.
With a sickening ooze –
Hell made it so!
Two witch-babies,
ho! ho! ho!’


I will have him write about how he came to decide to kill these women. I will give him military airs, as if he thinks he is like some great knight or soldier, who thinks it his duty to kill Prostitutes. I will have him grow to despise this profession and write that they are worse than any disease he witnesses in his medical training. He will write horrible things about them, but since he fancies himself a writer, I will make his prose suitably intelligent and elegant. Something like the following would be just about right.

 'These girls whose Practice is a putrid ulceration of love, venting foul and purulent discharge- for their very utterance is a hideous blasphemy against the sacrosanctity [sacred ways] of lover's language.’

 When he writes of his decision to slay them he will say of himself,

 ‘He proceeds without hesitation and without remorse, "more than an executioner might feel," in a career of bloodshed, … he foresees the necessity for further murders on his part; this belief that he can commit the crime and yet escape its infamy, the necessity of engaging boldly in bloodshed. His natural disposition is that of a soldier, bold, decided, instant in action, accustomed to go straight and openly to his object. Moral scruples cannot restrain him; he has completely set them aside, has resolved to jump the life to come.  The murder is done, and he ceases to waver. …He faces all the sequel of his crime as a commander, once having decided to give battle, accepts and meets all the chances of the battle. Thenceforward he sets his face towards crime as he was accustomed to set it towards fight;’’

 He will be boundless in writing. He will write about killing them in his poems, essays and plays. Without seeming to sound absurd, I will even have him write all about it in short story, where his ‘hero’ talks about how he psyched himself for the kill. Being a 19th century kind of guy, when spiritualism was all the craze, I will have his story be suitably dark and gothic,

 ‘No; the first step includes all sequent steps; when I did my first evil, I did also this evil; years ago had this shaft been launched, though it was but now curving to its mark; years ago had I smitten her, though she was but now staggering to her fall …When at length, after long wandering, I retraced my steps, I had not resolved, I. had recognized that I could resolve no longer… I swear I struck not the first blow, Some violence seized my hand, and I drove the poniard down. Whereat she cried; and I, frenzied, dreading detection, dreading, above all, her wakening, struck again...There was a buzzing in my brain as if a bell had ceased to toll. How long had it ceased to toll? I know not. Has any bell been tolling? I know not...Or—was it the cathedral bell?... Silence now, at least; abysmal silence; except the sound (or is the sound in me?), the sound of dripping blood; except that the flame upon the altar sputters, and hisses.’

 I am almost done with my perfect suspect, but the problem is he is too good. It would seem foolish if the police could not eventually find this man. He needs some sort of alibi, a way to cover his tracks. I will make it that people think he was gentle. I will say he was looked like a religious man, an almost holy man, as if he could have been a priest. Lastly, I will have him taken from the streets and far away right after the last murder. A naive editor could rescue him, from homelessness? An editor who sends him to some remote monastery in the hopes he can be rehabilitated from his drug habit and become a writer. He could live out the rest of his days, in seclusion and under his editor’s watchful eye. He will live just long enough to gain a reputation as a literary figure, and odd genius and then die quickly and be buried at a small funeral. 

Finally, as icing to the cake, and to do justice to such a well-known crime, I will make it that many years after his death he achieves fame. His name will be widely known long after the crimes and when most people who were involved in trying to catch the Ripper are long dead. To provide some added sinister irony I will assign great people like Gandhi, Martin Luther King Junior, and J.R.R Tolkien who will praise him and I will make his poetry a thing to study at prestigious universities today.

So kind reader, there you have it.




It would make a great story; an amazing story. There is only one small problem with this suspect. One that I cannot fix, that nobody will able to fix, even with all the imagination in the world. This suspect happens to be real and what I have told you, his background where he was, his skills, his scalpel, what he wrote, his rise to fame. It all happened. His name was Francis Joseph Thompson.





Francis Joseph Thompson as a young man



Richard Patterson at the birth place of Francis Joseph Thompson in Preston, Lancs.





Richard Patterson
Born in Melbourne in 1970, Richard Patterson independently determined that Thompson may be the Ripper in 1997.  Patterson's continued research has made him a guest speaker at the 2005, UK Jack the Ripper Conference, held in Brighton. Has has been invited to speak again on his book and his latest findings at the 2016  Conference to be held in London. He has had articles published on the theory in newspapers, magazines and journals. He authored the Francis Thompson page on the Ripper Casebook, the world's most visited Ripper website. His research into this suspect has made news headlines around the world. Media interest includes, The UK Express, The Lancashire Evening Post, The UK Daily Mail, The UK Huffington Post, The Christian Science Monitor Magazine, The New York Daily News, The UK Sun, The UK Daily Star, The Examiner.com, The UK North West Tonight News & Sydney’s 2UE Radio Station, The Echo, and The Northern Star. Patterson's research relies on press reports, police documents, letters, biographies, uncut-volumes, and the first hand examination of historical and artifacts relating to the case. These include the Ripper’s infamous ‘Dear Boss’ letter of which Patterson personally handled, at London’s Kew Archives. He also visited the Burns Library at Boston College in the US, where Patterson read Thompson’s notebooks of 1888, and many other original documents including Thompson's private letters.His self published, 2016, book, 'Francis Thompson - A Ripper Suspect'  has now been signed to the publisher's Austin & Macualey. There is much more for a reader to examine including article and images and film on the theory at the website to his book and theory at: http://www.francisjthompson.com/



Further info on Francis Joseph Thompson here: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Thompson



Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Jack the Ripper Tour



Happy Days Fish and Chip Shop
Property rented out to movie companies
Last weekend my husband took me away to London for a Jack the Ripper Tour arranged by Edwards Coaches. It was an anniversary present and a great one at that! Other women get flowers and chocolates but I got a slasher tour. Just kidding I got the flowers and chocs too. It was honestly the best present he could have given to me as going on that tour brought the area to life for me. The tour lasted for two hours and was well worth it as the guide took us around the streets and alleyways that the victims and Jack the Ripper himself would have used. I actually asked if some of the cobbles were the very ones they had walked on and I was assured that they were!
One place we were shown was the Happy Days Fish and Chip shop at Goulston Street, which was the site where Catherine Eddows bloodied apron was found. Apparently the police had hold of it for six weeks and then it conveniently disappeared! Although there was no DNA back then, imagine if they'd kept it, later on it could have been analysed! But apparently lots of evidence went missing back then as our guide told us they were just left lying around and not always labelled.

A nearby street
Another building we passed was this eerie building on the left that was light up inside and full of old furniture. Apparently, it's used by movie companies for programmes like Ripper Street and would be very expensive to purchase even though it looks run down! No one lives there, it's just rented out.

The street intersecting with that one was extremely spooky I found, it looked very olde worlde, yet properties there would cost a fortune!

The Ten Bells pub next door to Spitalfield's Church was of interest to me as it was said that some of the Ripper's victims would have drank there, maybe even the Ripper himself!
The Ten Bells pub

Wikipedia says: "The Ten Bells is a public house at the corner of Commercial Street and Fournier Street in Spitalfieds in the East End of  London. It is sometimes cited as being notable for its association with two victims of Jack the Ripper; Annie Chapman and Mary Kelly." I was most interested in seeing Miller's Court where Mary once lived but it's no longer there, now it's a building site with a huge crane stuck in the middle!

The pub is just a short walk from that area so I could well imagine Mary having a few gins at the Ten Bells, maybe picking up a client and staggering back to her humble abode, which is most probably how she met her grizzly demise!

Of all the victims I find Mary Jane Kelly, the most intriguing of all!


A crane now stands on the site of Miller's Court

I suppose I imagined the walk would meander along deathly quiet streets, swirling with fog, but of course it wasn't like that at all. It's a very busy area indeed and especially as it was a Saturday night as people passed us dressed up for a night out and on some parts of the tour you could hear the 'Boom Boom' of music vibrating from pubs and clubs out onto pavements beneath our feet, though some parts like near the expensive houses, the streets were quieter which added to the ambiance. A good imagination is needed for this tour to get the full effect!

Also I imagined there would be just the one tour going on, quite naively! There were several going on at the same time with various guides and we were almost bumping in to one another as we criss-crossed the streets, not to mention almost colliding with several other members of the public.

Spitalfields Church is very close to the Ten Bells pub. According to this website:


Spitafields Church
http://ccspits.org/history/ "Christ Church was built between the years 1714 and 1729 as part of the church building programme initiated by the Fifty New Churches act of 1711, backed by Queen Anne, which was implemented by four different parliamentary commissions. At the time, there were fears that ‘godless thousands’ outside the City of London had no adequate church provision, and that non-conformists – including large numbers of French Huguenot silk weavers – were moving into Spitalfields and bringing their non-conformist worshipping ways with them."

Another Ripper Tour near ours
It seemed strange to think that the 'unfortunates' as they were known back then, i.e. prostitutes, were frequenting a pub so near to that the church where the moralists of that time would have attended. Would the prostitutes have gone there to worship too? Although the guide told us that it was St Botolph’s Church near Mitre Street that they encircled to ply their trade.      

I would say all in all, the Jack the Ripper tour we attended was very good and we got our money's worth from it. The guide told me something I hadn't heard before and that was [he got it from good authority] that the 'intestines over the left shoulder' thing that the Ripper did was connected to the Masons. It seemed to be a symbolic thing. He also showed us various photographs of the victims which were quite gruesome. Some of the women appeared to be middle-aged with Mary Kelly being the youngest at around 25 years of age.

So, I suppose it begs the questions did any of the women know their murderer? Had they encountered him beforehand, maybe say at the Ten Bells pub? Why was Mary Kelly's murder far more brutal than the others? It was almost as though 'Jack' wanted to hack off their identity and make them less of a woman by removing their uteruses. And strangely enough, why did Doctor John Rees Gabe [a qualified gynaecologist], attend Mary Kelly's murder scene along with an obstetrician?

The questions swirl around and around in my mind...

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

They seek him here, they seek him there...

After searching for several days, I finally received a little breakthrough last night. I found a newspaper report for the death of John Gabe the builder [and I think architect] from Merthyr Tydfil who lived in Thomas Street near St. Tydfil's Workhouse/Infirmary.


Funeral reports can provide so much information about who people are, and sometimes, where they are living. I discovered that this John Gabe is definitely the father of Doctor John Bernard Gabe who left Merthyr for Swansea. John Gabe who passed away, is the brother of Rees Gabe the publican, so that makes him Doctor John Rees Gabe's uncle. [Dr. John Rees Gabe was one of the physicians who was first on the scene of the Mary Jane Kelly murder at Miller's Court.]

So I scanned the report for any further information, wondering if Doctor John Rees Gabe would have attended his uncle's funeral even though he was living in London at the time. And he did! The report mentions a Dr Gabe from London who was in the third carriage of the funeral procession. Also mentioned is Joseph Gabe from Cefn [not to be confused with the other Joseph Gabe from Llandeilo]. Joseph Gabe was listed on the 1881 Census as being Rees Gabe's son. I had suspected that maybe he was John Rees himself [as John Rees wasn't listed as they were about the same age.] As I've discovered that twins were born in 1853, I now wonder if John Rees and Joseph were twins.

To make it easier to read I've copied the transcript from the newspaper article here:


FUNERAL OF MR. JOHN CABE. On Monday afternoon the remains of the late Mr. John Gabe, builder, of Thomas-street, were conveyed to Cefn Cemetery. A large number of gentlemen of the town assembled at the house, and displayed the esteem in which they held the departed by walking before the procession. There were several private carriages and mourning coaches. The first was occupied by Dr. Gabe, from Morriston, son; Mr. Rees Gabe, Cefn; Mr. Joseph Gabe, Llandeilo, brothers; Mr. Percy Gabe, Barry, grandson. Second coach Mr. Bernard Colman, grandson; Mr. Frank Woodman, Mr. Heny Davies, son in law; and the Rev. Sinclair Evans. Third carriage Dr. Gabe, London; Mr. Rees Gabe, Treharris; Mr. Joseph Gabe, Cefn; Mr. Harry Gabe, Ystalyfera; Mr. Wm. James Thomas, Merthyr. The Rev. John Thomas, Zoar, officiated at the house and also at the chapel, along with the Rev. J. G. James, Market Square. The Rev. Jacob Jones, conducted the service at the graveside. The undertaker was Mr. Richard Lloyd, Georgetown. The widow, Mrs. John Gabe, and the family have received a vast number of letters of sympathy from various sources, for which they are extremely grateful. PULPIT REFERENCE. On Sunday morning, at Market-Square Chapel, the Rev. J. G. James referred to the death of Mr. John Gabe, and said Today it is our sad duty to be obliged to take note of the death of two more old Merthyr residents who have passed away during the past week, thus destroying by degrees those links that bind us to the Merthyr of the past with all its blessed and happy associations. The first is Mr. John Gabe, who for so many years bore an honoured name in our midst, a man of marked personality, he did good honest work in the town, and was associated for many years with the work of Welsh Congregationalism leaving behind him a family true to the interests of Nonconformity. Our prayers ought to ascend for his venerable partner who has been associated with his life for 58 years.

Extracted from Merthyr Times and Dowlais Times and Aberdare Echo: 19th March, 1897





Monday, May 2, 2016

Article from The Aberdare Times 17th, November 1888





I found this article in The Aberdare Times November 17th, November 1888. There may be some mistakes in the article due to the way it's translated from the photographed copy. This article was published 8 days after the death of Mary Jane Kelly, who was brutalised by Jack the Ripper.

LONDON MURDER HORRORS, ANOTHER HIDEOUS CRIME. -In the forenoon of Friday of last week, the inhabi- tants of the East-end of London were again thrown into a state of consternation by the discovery that another horrible murder had been perpetrated in their midst, the revolting character of which far exceeded any of the five others which have been committed in the neighbourhood since August last year. The victim is again a woman, and her assailant committed his demoniacal work under the woman's own roof, in, it is belived, , broad daylight. Notwithstanding the comparative publicity which must have attended his movements, the murderer managed to effect his escape without leaving behind him trace more tangible than he did six weeks ago, when Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes were butchered in Berner-street and Mitre-square respectively. Dorset-street, Spital- fields, the scene of the latest outrage, is the heart of a somewhat notorious neighbourhood. It is composed largely of lodging-houses, which are frequented by persons of the lowest station in life, amongst then", being thieves and some of the most degraded women. It was here that Annie Chapman, who was murdered in Hanbury-street, on the 8th of September, lived, the scene of the present crime being a court directly opposite the house to which that un- fortunate woman was in the habit of resorting. From Mitre-square, the scene of one of the murders of Sep- tember 30, Hanbury-street is scarcely a stone's throw. The victim of Friday's crime is a young woman named Mary Jane Kelly, aged "6, who had for some time lived with a man called Barnet, known also as Danny. Barnet worked sometimes at Billings- gate as a porter, and sometimes as a drover or a hawker of oranges in the streets. They occupied a room in a house in Miller-court, Dorset-street, a turning out of Commercial-street, Spitalfields. There are eight or ten small houses in the court, which is entered by a low archway and a narrow passage from Dorset-street, and forms a cul-de-sac. A small general shop in Dorset-street adjoins the entrance to the court, tenanted by Mrs. M'Carthy, who also owns the houses in the court. Kelly appears to have tenanted a top room in one of Mrs. M'Carthy's houses. She had a little boy, aged about six or seven years, living with her, and latterly her circumstances had been so reduced that she is reported to have stated to a companion that she would make away with herself, as she could not bear to see her boy starving. There are conflicting statements as to when the woman was last seen alive, but that upon which most reliance appears to be placed is that of a young woman, an associate of the deceased, who states that at about half-past ten o'clock on the Thursday night she met the murdered woman at the corner of Dorset-street. Kelly informed her that she had no money, and it was then she said that if she could not get any she would never go out any more, but would do away with herself. Soon after they parted, and a man who is described as respectably dressed came up and spoke to the murdered woman Kelly and offered her some money. The man accom- panied the woman to her lodgings, which are on the second floor, the little boy being sent to a neighbour's house. Nothing more was seen of the woman. On Friday morning, it is stated, the little boy was sent back into the house, and the report goes that he was sent out subsequently on an errand by the man who was in the house with his mother. Confirmation of this statement is, it is true, difficult to obtain, and it remains in doubt whether any one really saw the unfortunate woman on the morning of the horrible discovery, although a tailor named Lewis says he saw Kelly come out about eight o'clock, and go back. Another statement is to the effect that Kelly was seen in a public-house at the corner of Dorset-street and Com- mercial-street about ten o'clock on Friday morning, and that she there met Barnet, and had a glass of beer with him. Just before eleven Mrs. M'Carthy with her son went to pay her customary visit for the purpose of collecting the day's rent. Young M'Carthy appears to have first sent a man named Bower to the house, which, though entered from the court, is really a part of Xo. 2G, Dorset-street. Bower failed to obtain an answer to his knocking, and look- ing through the window saw to his horror the woman lying on the bed in a state of nudity, horribly muti- lated. He called M'Carthy, who also looked through the window, and seeing that the body was cut about almost beyond recognition h3 hurried away with Bower and ran to Commercial-street Police-station, where they informed the police. Inspector Beck and Sergeant Betham, 31 H, who were in charge of about forty constables who had been held in readiness in anticipation of a possible Socialist disturbance at- tending the Lord Mayor's Show, at once proceeded to the scene of the murder, running to the house as quickly as they could. By this time the news had spread so rapidly that over a thousand persons were gathered in tho street, and these were rapidly cleared away from the court and the side of Dorset- street adjoining, while the inspector entered the house. The house in which the murder was committed is entered by two doors situate on the right-hand side of the passage, and has several rooms. The door first reached from the street leads to the upper rooms; the second opens directly into one room, which is situated on the ground floor. It was in this room that the murder was committed. The fireplace faces the door, and a bed stands behind the door when it is placed open. W hen an entrance had been effected a terrible sight presented itself to the police officers. The body of the woman, perfectly nude, was stretched out on the little bed, the clothes on which were satu- rated with blood. Theunfortunatewomanhadbeencut and hacked by the assassin's knife in a manner which was revolting beyond all description. The fiendish assailant was not conh,¡t with taking the life of his victim by severing the head from the body, but he had exercised an infernal ingenuity in despoiling the corpse of its human semblance. Both ears and the nose had been cut off, and the flesh of the cheeks and forehead peeled off; the breasts were cut away, evidently with a sharp knife, and placed on the table near the bed. The abdomen had been ripped open and disemboweller, portions of the entrails lying about tho bed, the liver being placed between the legs. Both thighs had been denuded of flesh, laying bare the bones, and the excised portions laid on the table. Some of the internal parts of the body had been taken away, while, in addition, one arm was almost severed from the trunk, and one hand thrust inside the empty cavity of the abdo- men. Medical assistance was immediately sum- moned, and a description of the discovery tele- graphed to all the metropohtan police-stations in the terse sentence: "The woman is simply cut to picÅ�s." Within a very short time half a dozen cabs arrived in Dorset-street from Whitehall, conveying detectives from tho Criminal Investigation Department, among them being Inspectors Abberline and Reid. Never before had so many men been despatched to the scene of a murder from Whitehall. The sceno in the narrow courtway, leading to the house was one of extraordinary excitement. The whole space was closely packed with detective officers, and quite a small army of plain-clothes constables was located in Dorset-street within an astonishingly short space of time. Dr. Phillips, the divisional surgeon of police, soon arrived, and was followed by Dr. Bond, of West- minster, divisional surgeon, of the A Division, and Dr. J. R. Gabe, of Mecklenburg-square, and two or three other surgeons. They made a preliminary ex- amination of the body, and sent for a photographer, who took several photographs of the remains. Mean- while the excitement in the neighbourhood was spreading, until the dwellers in the immediate locality became worked up into a perfect frenzy. Women rushed about the streets telling their neighbours the news, and giving utterance in angry voices to expres- S oris of rage and indignation. Notwithstanding the stolid reticence of all the police engaged at the scene, the main facts of the crime So"n became common knowledge, and, spreading far and wide, drew a gr< at concourse of people to the thoroughfare from which the court runs. Great efforts were made at first to keep the side of Dorset street clear in the vicinity of Miller court, in the expectation that bloodhounds might have to be employed but though it is understood that a telegram asking for them was sent to Sir Charles Warren, they were not sent. Barnet was sent for, and he at once identified tho body as that of Kelly, or "Cringer," as she was called owing to the colour of her hair. Barnet made a statement to the police, the purport of which did not ccms out. Sir Charles Warren did not visit the scene of the murder, but during the afternoon Colonel Monsell, chief constable of the district, and Chief-constables Howard and Roberts went down and inspected the interior of the house. All the constables and detectives available were distributed throughout the district, and a house- to-house visitation was commenced. All who knew the deceased woman were interrogated as to the per- sons last seen in her company, without, however, eliciting any immediate clue. At four o'clock in the afternoon the body was re- moved from Dorset-street to Shoreditch Mortuary, which stands at the back of Shoreditch Church. The mutilated remains were placed in a coarse coffin, which had apparently been used on many previous occasions for the conveyance ot the dead, and which was partially covered with a coarse canvas cloth. The straps of tho coffin were sealed. The coffin was conveved in a one-horse ordinary furniture van, and was escorted by several constables under Sergeant Betham. A largo crowd followed. At the mortuary another throng was waiting to see the coffin transferred to the building. The photo- grapher who had been called in to photograph the room and the body removed his camera from the premises at half-past four, and shortly afterwards a detective officer carried from the house a pail, with which ho left in a four-wheel cab. The pail was covered with a newspaper, and was stated to contain portions of the woman's body. It was taken to the house of Dr. Phillips, 2, Spital-squaro. The windows of the room where the crime was com- mitted were boarded up and a padlock put on the door. The streets were patrolled by the police all th3 evening, and no one was allowed to loiter near the place. "At night the neighbourhood was a scene of restless excitement and activity, the streets being filled'with thousands of idlers, attracted doubtless by morbid curiosity. What is believed to be an important fact has transpired, which, if truf- puts a frejh com- plexion Oil the theory of tho murders. It appears.that the catUe boats bringing live freights ( to I.cn3on arc in the ha'r/.t of coaling I into the Thames oa Ihuisdays or Friday?, and leave again for the Continont on Sundays or Mondays. It has already been a matter of comment that the recent revolting crimes have been committed at the end of the week, and an opinion has been formed among some of the detectives that the murderer is a. drover or a butcher employed on one of these boats, of which there are many, and that he periodically appears and disappears with one of the steamers. Tins theory is held to be of much importance by those engaged in this investigation, who believe that the murderer does not reside in the locality, or even in this country at all. It is pointed out that at the inquests on the previous victims, the coroners had expressed the opinion that the knowledge of physio- logy possessed by a butcher would have been sufficient to enable him to find and cut out the parts of tho body which in several cases were abstracted. The non-appearance of the bloodhounds on the scene of the latest murder is accounted for by the fact that during recent trials in Surrey tho animals bolted, and, it is understood, have not been recovered. The excitement in the neighbourhood of Dorset-street on Friday night was intense. The police experienced great difficulty in preserving order, and one constable, who is alleged to have struck an onlooker, was so mobbed and hooted that he had to beat a retreat to Commercial-street Police-station, whither he was followed by a large crowd who were only kept at bay by th*1 presence of about half-a-dozen stalwart con. stables who stood at the door, and prevented any one from entering. POLICE PROCLAMATIONS. â�� PARDON OFFERED TO ACCOMPLICES. The Scotland-yard authorities have issued the fol- lowing proclamation:â�� «' Murder.â��Pardon.â��Whereas, on November 8th or nth, in Miller-court, Dorset-street, Spitalfields, Mary Janet Kelly was murdered by some person or persons unknown, the Secretary of State will advise the grant of her Majesty's gracious pardon to any ac- complice not being a person who contrived or actually committed the murder, who shall give such information and evidence as shall lead to the dis- covery and conviction of the person or persons who committed the murder.â��(Signed) CHARLES WARRKX, the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, Metro- politan Police Office, 4, Whitehall-place, Nov. 10th, 1888." A correspondent forwards copies of descriptions of certain men who were last seen in the company of the woman who was murdered in Berner-street and of the woman who was mutilated in Mitre-square. These authentic descriptions, we have reason to know, have been secretly circulated by the authorities of Scotland-yard since Oct. 2G, but the complete details have never been made public. Th s reticence is one of the mysteries of police administration, and it is difficult to find an explanation to account for the fact that this important information has been confi- dentially communicated to police-officers throughout the kingdom, but has been withheld from the people who have had the best opportunities of seeing and of, therefore, recognising the assassin. The point where the police appear to have been at most pains to sup- press is the significant one that the unknown mur- derer has the appearance of a sailor." The notice is headed: Apprehensions sought. Murder. Metro- politan Polico Distjict and it proceeds The woodcut sketches, purporting to resemble the persons last seen with the murdered woman, which have appeared in various newspapers, were not authorised by police. The following are the de- scriptions of the persons seen At 12.35 a.m., 30th September, with Elizabeth Stride, found murdered at one am., same date, in Berner-streetâ��A man, aged 28, height 5ft. 8in., com- plexion dark, small dark moustache; dress, black ciagonial coat, hard felt hat, collar and tie respect- able appearance; carried a parcel wrapped up in a newspaper. At 12.45 a.m., 30th, with same woman,in Berner- street, a ir.an, age about 30, height 5ft. 5in., com- plexion fair, dark hair, small brown moustache, full face, broad shoulders; dress, dark jacket and trousers, black cap with peak. Information to be forwarded to the Metropolitan Police Office, Great Scotland-yard, London, S.W. At 1.35 a. m., 30th Sept., with Catherine Eddows, in Church-passage, leading to Mitre-square, where she was found murdered at 1.45 a.m., same date, a man, age c0, height 5ft. 7 or 8in., complexion fair, mous- tache fair, medium build; dress, pepper-and-salt colour loose jacket, grey cloth cap, with peak of the same material, reddish neckerchief tied in knot; appearance of a sailor. Information respecting this man to be forwarded to Inspector M'William, 26, Old Jewry, London, E.C.' INQUEST AND VERDICT. On Monday morning, at the Shoreditch Town Hall, Dr. Macdonald, coroner for North-East Middlesex, opened the inquiry into the circumstances attending the death of Mary Jeanette Kelly, aged 24, who was murdered and mutilated early on Friday morning in the room which she rented in Miller-court, Dorset- street, Spitalfields. Considerable excitement was manifested in the neighbourhood of the Town Hall large crowds assembled, and watched with interest the arrival of the coroner and the jurymen. A jury having been sworn, Joseph Barnett said he had been a fish porter, and was now a labourer. lie had been living in Lewes street, Bis-hopsgate, but since Saturday at his sister's house at 21, Fortpool-street, Gray's-inn- road. He had lived with Marie Jeanette Kellyâ�� Kellv was her maiden nameâ��one year and eight months. He had seen the body, and idoutified her by the ears and eyes. They had lived in 13 room, Miller-court, for over eight months. He left her on the 30th of last month because she had a woman staying in their room, whom she bad taken in out of compassion. That was the only reason for leaving her, and being out of work had nothing to do with it. He left her on the Tuesday between five and six p.m. He last saw her alive between 7.30 and 7.45 on the night she was supposed to have been murdered. He called on her to see how she was. Th" witness stayed a quarter of an hour. They parted on friendly terms. He told her that having no work he had no money to give her, and was sorry he had not. He had found Mary Kelly to be genf ra'ly sober, but she had been drunk sevrral times. On many occasions he talked with Kelly about her relations. She told him she was born in Limerick, and when very young went to Wales. About four years ago she came to London, Her father was John Kelly, a gaffe. at some ironworks in Carnarvonshire or Carmarthenshire. She had one sister who travelled with materials from one market. place to another. She said she had six brothers at home, and one in the army. She stated that she was married, when about 16, in Wales, to a collier of the name of Davies. Her husband afterwards was killed in a colliery explosion. After her husband's death she went to Cardiff with, or to see, a cousin, and lived a bad life there for a long time. When she came to London she lived with a marame in the West-end. A gentleman asked her to go to France; she went, but soon returned, and lived in RatclilY-highway with a man opposite the Commercial Gasworks. She then lived in Pennington-street with Joseph Flemming, a mason's plasterer, who afterwards resided in the Bethnal-green- road. The witness first met Kelly in Commercial- street, and they had drink together. They afterwards took lodgings at a place in George-street, Commer- cial-street, not far from where the George-yard murder was committed. On several occasions Kelly used to ask the witmss to read everything in the newspapers about the murders, and seemed interested to know whether the culprit was apprehended. She never expressed fear of any particular man. Thomas Bowyer, 27, Dorset-street, Spitalfields, stated that he was a servant to Mr. M'Carthy, and served in his chandler's shop. At a quarter to eleven on Friday morr-mg he was ordered by his employer to go to Mary Jane's room, No. 13, to get the rent which was in arrears. He knocked at the door, but received no answer. He knocked anain, and, as there was still no reply, went round the corner of the house, where there was a broken window. He put his hand through the aperture, pulled the curtain aside. looked in and saw two lumps of flesh lying on a table close by the bed. The second time he looked he saw a body on the bed and blood on the floor. Very quietly the witness then went ba.ck to his employer and told him what he had seen. They immediately went to the police-station, but on the way Mr. M'Carthy looked in at the window of No. 13. The witness l ad often seen Mary Kelly 11)8 last witness. lie saw the woman drunk onlY once. Mr. M'Carthy's shop is at the corner of the court. John M'Carthy, grocer and lodging-house keeper, residing at 27, Dorset-street, deposed to sending the last witness to call for the rent. He came back in five minutes and stated what he had seen on looking in at the window. The witnesa satisfied himself that his man's statement was correct, hod then went for the police. Inspector Beck, who was on duty, came at once to the court. Wary ^ad lived in the court with Barnett for 10 months. Tho witness did not concern himself to know whether they were man and wife. The two bad a row occasionally, and that is how the window was broken. Evirj thing in the room was the witness s property. Thereat of tho room was 4s. Gd., and the deceased was aldut 2Ds. in arrears. The witness frequently saw the woman the worse for drink, When sober she was an exceptionally quiet woman, and he could tell when she had been drinking, because she became noisy and sang songs.. Mary Ann Cox said she lived at No. 5 room in the court. She had known Mary Kelly about nine months. On Thursday night, about a quarter to twelve, the witness met her in the court very intoxi- cated. A short, stout man, shabbily dressed, was with her. He had a "longjsh dark coat on, and carried a. pot of ale in his hand. He wore a round hat, had a blotchy face, and full, carroty moustache, with a shaven chin. She followed them into the court,, and whmi Kelly was go,ng^ iuto her house witness said, Good night, Mary,' hut the man slammed the door in her face. However, she heard Mary Kelly say Good. night; I'm going to have a song," and then sing, A violet I plucked from Mother's Grave." At one a.m. the witness came homo to warm her hands, and Kelly was still singing. At three o'clock the witness came home again, and then all was still, the light being out in Kelly's room. The witness was worried about her rent, and did not go to sleep. She heard some one go down the court at a quarter-past six, but that would be top lata for the men in the court who worked ia the market. She did not know who it was, but she heard a man's footsteps. I he man the witnfE-S saw with Kelly was about 35 years of age. The man's boots must have been old, for although the place was very silent at that time he made no noise when walk- ing up the court with the woman. By the jury: The witness would not know the man again if she saw him. Elizabeth Prater, a married woman who had been deserted by her husband five years since, stated that she lived in No. 20 room, just above the gateway in Miller-court. Mary Kelly lived below her. The wit- ness returned to her room close upon one a.m. on Friday. From the stairs on the way to her own room witness did not notice a light in Kelly's apart- ments, although through the beading of the wall she had often seen a glimmer. The witness slept in her clothes all night, but previously barricaded her door. She slept very soundly the whole night. At about four am. her kitten, which often got on to the bed when the room was cold, came and rubbed her face and woke her. As the witness, who had been drink- ing, turned over to slap the cat, she heard a faint cry Tike someone waking out of a nightmare, saying, Oh, murder." About 5.30 a.m. the witness got up and went to the public-house to get some rum. Men were then harnessing horses in Dorset-street, which was the usual practice. There was no singing in Kelly's room at 1.30 a.m. Caroline Maxwell, of 14, Dorset-street, wife of a lodging-house deputy, said she knew Kelly as a young woman who never associated with anyone. tihe saw her standing at the entrance to the court on Friday morning about eight o'clock. The witness had just come out of the lodging-house, which was immediately opposite Miller-court. It being an un- usual thing to see her up at that time, the witness said,"Why, what brings you up so early?" Kelly replied, Oh, Carry, I do feel so bad." The witness asked her if she would have a drink, but she declined, saying that she had just had half a pint of ale, but could not retain it. By the motion of her bead it must have been the Britannia beershop at the corner, where she had had the drink. The witness then left her, went into Bishopsgate to get her husband's breakfast, and on returning saw Kelly standing out- side the Britannia talking to a man. That was about 8.45 a.m. The witness was standing at her door about 25 yards off, and so could give no definite description of the man. He was a short man, dressed in dark clothes, and wearing a sort of plaid coat Sarah Lewis, of 24, Great Pearl-street, a laundress, 3aid 8h6 knew Mrs. Keyler, in Miller-court. On Friday morning at half-past two o'clock she was at the room of her friend at No. 2, immediately opposite the room of the murdered woman. When she went into the court she saw a man standing near the lodging-house door opposite. He was wearing a wideawake hat, and was not very tall, but was a stout- looking man. He was looking up the court, and seemed to be waiting for someone. She also saw another man and woman coming along, the latter having her hat off, and being the worse for drink. When the witness got to Mrs. Keyler's she fell asleep in a chair, and awoke in about an hour. She sat awake until shortly before four o'clock, when she heard a female shout or scream in a loud voice. The sound came from the direction of Mary Kelly's room, but the witness took no notice of it. On Wed- nesday night last, at eight o'clock, the witness and another woman were going along the Bethnal-green- road, when a gentleman passed them and then turned round and followed them. He asked them to follow him he did not care which one. He had a black shiny bag, and the witness's friend, not liking the look of him, said, Come on; let's go." The man, who was short and pale-faced, then put down his bag, and said, What are you frightened of ? Do you think I have got anything in my bag?" He after- wards unbuttoned his coat as if to get something from his pocket. The two women then ran away. The man, who was about 40 years of age, wore a high, round hat and a long coat. On Friday morning, while on the way to Miller-court, about 2.30, the witness met tho same man with a woman in Com- merce-street, near the Britannia beershop. He had not his overcoat on then, but still carried the black baO". The witness recognised the man at once, and helooked at her. Tho witness would know the man again. Dr. George Phillips, surgeon to the H Division of the Metropolitan Police, residing at 2, Spital-aquare, stated that he was called by the police on Friday morning about eleven o'clock to Miller-court. Ho found room 13 locked and so looked through the broken pane of glass, and satisfied himself that the mutilated corpse lying on the bed was not in need of any attention from him. He also came to the con- clusion that there was no one else in the room. Having ascertained that it was advisable that no entrance should be effected at that time, he remained until about 1.30 p.m., when the door was burst open. On the door being opened it knocked against a table svhich was by the side of the bedstead. The latter was close against the wooden paitition. Tho muti- iated remains of a female were lying two-thirds over towards tho edge of the bedstead nearest the door. The body had been removed subsequent to the injury which caused death from the side of the bed nearest the partition. The large quantity of blood under the bedstead, and the saturated condition of the palliasse, pillow, and sheet at the top corner of the bedstead nearest the partition, led witness to the conclusion that the severance of the right carotid artery, which was the immediate cause or death, was inflicted while the deceased was lying on the right side of the bedstead, with her head and neck in the top right-hand corner before alluded to. Julia Venturney, No. 1 room, Miller-court, stated that she had known Mrs. Kelly for some time. She had told the witness that she was very fond of another man besides the one she lived with. He used to come and see her and give her money. The wit- ness heard no noises on Thursday night. Maria Harvey, who lives in Dorset-street, stated that she knew Kelly, and slept with her on Monday and Tuesday nights last. She was in the house on Thursday when Barnett came in. The witness left some clothes with Kelly, including a man's black overcoat, some under-linen, and a black satin bonnet. The witness was a great friend of Kelly; she had never heard her say she was afraid of any man. Inspector Beck, H. Divison, deposed to being sum- moned by M'Carthy and Boyer to the room in Miller- court. He did not know whether the woman was known to the police. Inspector Abberline, from Scotland-yard, stated that he reached the court about 11.30 a.m. on Friday last. He did not force the door, as he had received an intimation that some bloodhounds which had been sent for were coming, and Dr. Philips said that if the door was not opened it would be a better test of their scent. Later on Superintendent Arnold arrived and informed the witness that the order for the bloodhounds had been countermanded. Then the door was forced. The witness corroborated the evidence of Dr. Philips as to the position in which the body was found. In the room there were traces of a large fire having been kept up in the grate, so much so that the spout of the kettle was melted off. The ashes had been examined, but nothing of importance was found. A quantity of women's clothes had been burned, and the only reason the witness could ascribe for this was that it was done to afford the murderer sufficient light to perform his ghastly work. It was not true, as supposed, that the key of the door was taken by the murderer. That had been missing for some time according to the man Barnett, who also stated that a clay pipe found in the room belonged to him. The Coroner then said if a coroner's jury found out the cause of death that was all they had to do. They had nothing to do with arresting any culprit. If the jury were satisfied that the woman met her death as described by the doctor then there was an end to the matter. The foreman said tho jury were of opinion that they had heard sufficient evidence to bring in a ver- diet of wilful murder against some person or persons Unknown. A verdict to that effect was accordingly returned, and the inquiry terminated.

Is this the same Doctor John Gabe from Merthyr?

The Lancet March 13th 1920
It's getting very confusing as the Dr. J. Rees Gabe in the article above [the one who attended the death scene of Mary Jane Kelly] and who I've discovered definitely came from Merthyr, doesn't always seem to coincide with the information I've found about Doctor John Gabe who worked at the Infirmary St. Tydfil's Hospital. Let's look at the evidence:

Reasons they might be the same person:

1. They're both doctors called John Gabe from Merthyr Tydfil.

2. Both have been described as being Medical Officers.

3. Both were involved in Vaccination programmes.

Yet, would John Rees Gabe who settled at number 16 Mecklenburg Square London have had the time to work back and forth between London and Merthyr Tydfil?

The answer could be that the Doctor John Gabe who worked at St. Tydfil's Hospital might be one of a twin. I found this newspaper snippet and the year the twins were born would fit in well with the Doctor John Rees Gabe in London. He was 68 when he died on in March 1920 so he could have been born in 1853. I've also found definite evidence that a Rees Gabe was John Rees Gabe's father. This Rees Gabe mentioned in the birth section of the newspaper, might have been a leather cutter before he became a publican.

So were there twins born in 1853 in Merthyr Tydfil, who both became doctors? Or was there just one who became a doctor? Although on a later census I could only find a boy by the name of Joseph Gabe who would fit the age mentioned, no mention of a twin. Maybe one twin died. But on the other hand, I have found evidence that the Doctor John Gabe in Merthyr had a brother who he worked with one night, this was mentioned in an inquiry.

I've also found a Thomas Gabe who was a doctor in Merthyr [could he be John's twin brother?] and of course a John Bernard Gabe another doctor, who moved to Swansea. Considering there weren't many Gabes in Merthyr Tydfil at the time, it seems odd that so many of them should become doctors.

Friday, April 29, 2016

Following on from Mary Kelly's death...

Following on from the last Ripper murder of Mary Jane Kelly, I notice almost immediately there appeared to be 'Copy Cats' in operation. These were either people who were taunting the police by promising to act soon, even pretending they were Jack the Ripper or they were just basically having a laugh.

I found this short piece in an old edition of the South Wales Echo online. It was published just ten days after Mary's death. Now I don't know if it means Albert Bachert was leading the police a merry dance by pretending to know who the murderer was or where he lived or even if he wrote those words.
November 19th, 1888 South Wales Echo

What I've noticed though is that almost immediately after the first murder there were people claiming they were him or they knew him, this went on for years and years, with newspapers sporting headlines like, "The French Ripper", "The German Ripper", etc. There was even claim the Ripper was in Argentina.

Other newspaper articles had headlines like 'Tracking Jack the Ripper'. Stories about the fact the Ripper was on the run, or that there was a copy cat in operation, sold newspapers. Maybe even journalists fabricated stories to get good copy. There is even a theory that there is no Jack the Ripper, the story was invented by a journalist.

December 4th, 1988 South Wales Echo

Left is a letter taunting Mr. Saunders the chief magistrate.

"Dear Pal, I am still at liberty. The last job in Whitechapel was not bad; but I mean to surprise them on the next. Shall joint it. Ha, ha, ha! After that shall try on the lazy louchers who live on the unfortunates. We have just enrolled several for the job. I am in the country now for the benefit of my health. I met the super here (Wellingboro') the other day, and like him immense. He looks like a yard of pump-water starched. Shall try a job here next. So look out for news from Jack the Ripper."

Interestingly, the word 'Unfortunates' used in the letter was often employed during Victorian times to describe a prostitute. So the letter is claiming there is more than one man involved in the murders, 'We have just enrolled several for the job...' Or does the author of the letter mean that the several enrolled are the people he intends murdering? As in those who live on the unfortunates?

I looked up the word 'loucher' which I have never heard before and this came up:

louche

luːʃ/
adjective
comparative adjective: loucher
  1. disreputable or sordid in a rakish or appealing way.
    "the louche world of the theatre"



So was the author of the letter speaking about pimps? Theatre Goers? [After all the theatre and dance hall world was said to be frequented by whores and wealthy men.] Or was he speaking about men who used the Unfortunates for their own lustful desires? It could even have been a woman who wrote that letter.

All of this made me wonder when people finally stopped looking over their shoulder or taking anonymous letters seriously? It would surely have stopped after a particular point when the Ripper himself had no possibility of still being alive.

Thursday, April 28, 2016

Who's the real Mary Kelly?


Mary Jane Kelly, who was believed to have been the Ripper's final victim, was known under a variety of names. Sometimes she's referred to as Marie Jeanette Kelly, this is thought to be because she turned up in London and became friendly with a French lady who introduced her into the world of high class prostitution in the West End, where she became a courtesan, granting favours for wealthy men. There are passages of writing that refer to her as 'riding around in her own carriage' and 'being escorted to Paris', where no doubt, she did business. Although she was said to dislike it out there and returned to London.

Although Mary was thought to be Irish, she was apparently Welsh by birth and was fluent in the Welsh language. Some Ripperologists believe Mary once lived in Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales, which would tie in with her being married young to a collier with the surname, Davies. There were plenty of coal pits in Merthyr at that time, so that could fit. He was said to have been killed in a pit accident, so, Mary was widowed at the tender age of sixteen. Her father was said to work in an ironworks and there were three of those in Merthyr: Cyfarthfa, Dowlais and Plymouth.

Bob Hinton who wrote the book 'From Hell', found evidence of a sixteen-year-old Mary Jane Davies living at the Brunswick Hotel, Merthyr Tydfil. She's listed on the 1881 Census as 'Widowed', which would seem to fit too.



The Brunswick as it is today
There was talk of Mary going into the 'infirmary' after her husband's death and moving to Cardiff to be with a cousin. It seems to be that people assume it's the infirmary at Cardiff that she was interned into for some time, but I wonder if she was living in Merthyr as Bob Hinton suggests, was it the St. Tydfil's Infirmary Merthyr Tydfil she was interned at? Particularly as that infirmary was just up the road from the Brunswick Inn and there's evidence of a Doctor J. Gabe working there during that time period as a Medical Officer. That was information I discovered myself whilst studying online Welsh newspapers.
13 Miller's Court

Doctor Gabe was one of the first doctors on the scene at 13 Miller's Court [where Mary was later found brutally murdered after a particularly savage attack on November the 9th, 1888.] Could Gabe and Kelly have known one another whilst both lived in Merthyr Tydfil? After all, they seemed to have arrived in London around the same time. Is it too much of a coincidence that Gabe was present at the murder scene when he was a registered gynaecologist who also worked for the N.S.P.C.C.? Why was an obstetrician present too? Was Mary pregnant and it was hushed up for some reason? In fact there were 6 doctors present at the scene, which is more than all the other cases had present.

Other names Mary was known as were 'Fair Emma', 'Ginger' and 'Black Mary'. She was around twenty-five-years-old and said to be living in poverty at the time of her death. This ties in with her leaving her job at the West End and moving to the East End of London to work the streets. Reports from the time estimated that she was around 5 ft 7 inches tall [1.70 m] which would seem quite tall for a lady back then. Her hair colour seems uncertain as sometimes she's said to have had blonde hair or red hair, though 'Black Mary' seems to suggest she was a brunette. Her eye colour was said to be blue. The Daily Telegraph of 10 November 1888 described her as 'tall, slim, fair, of fresh complexion, and of attractive appearance'.

I've also read reports that John Langan, a suspect in the Ripper murders, was mentioned in the Home Office files of 12 October 1888. A letter had been received from E. W. Bon-ham, the British consul in Boulogne, expressing the belief that the Ripper might be Langan. There is no record of why Bonham thought so, and Langan was interviewed and cleared of suspicion. Langan was reported as staying with a 'Mary Davies' and there's mention of him staying at The Brunswick Hotel in Merthyr. Could Mary and Langan have known one another in Merthyr? Coincidentally, both had spent time in France.

Is it more than coincidence that Langan and Gabe might have crossed paths with Mary in Merthyr?

Part 2 Coming soon!