Complete History of Jack the Ripper (86 page)

1
Leonard Matters,
Mystery of Jack the Ripper
(London, 1929), p. 61; Stewart,
Jack the Ripper
, pp. 56–7; Robin Odell,
Jack the Ripper in Fact and Fiction
(London, revised edition, 1966), p. 31; McCormick,
Identity of Jack the Ripper
(1959), p. 41; Peter Underwood,
Jack the Ripper: One Hundred Years of Mystery
(London, 1987), p. 8.

2
Stewart,
Jack the Ripper
, pp. 19, 58.

3
Deposition of Amelia Palmer, 10 September 1888,
DN
11 September.

4
McCormick,
Identity of Jack the Ripper
(1959), p. 37.

5
Star
8 September 1888.

6
Victor Neuburg,
Gone for a Soldier
(London, 1989), pp. 25–6; Edward Spiers,
The Army and Society 1815–1914
(London, 1980), ch. 2.

7
Begg,
Jack the Ripper
, p. 53, citing
Yorkshire Post
11 September 1888.

8
Deposition of Timothy Donovan, 10 September 1888,
DN
11 September.

9
Terence Sharkey,
Jack the Ripper: 100 Years of Investigation
(London, 1987), p. 28.

10
Deposition of Timothy Donovan, 13 September 1888,
DN
and
DT
14 September.

11
Allen’s report is known only from Stewart,
Jack the Ripper
, p. 55. The 8 September 1888 issue of
PMG
consulted by the present writer did not carry the item but it is possible that it was given in another edition. For the farthings,
DT
10 September 1888. For Reid and Smith, deposition of Inspector Reid, 18 July 1889, at Alice McKenzie inquest,
DT
19 July 1889, and Sir Henry Smith,
From Constable to Commissioner
(London, 1910), p. 148.

12
Matters,
Mystery of Jack the Ripper
, p. 64; Stewart,
Jack the Ripper
, pp. 55, 215; McCormick,
Identity of Jack the Ripper
(1959), p. 35.

13
Harrison,
Jack the Ripper
, p. 39; Begg, Fido & Skinner,
Jack the Ripper A to Z
, p. 49.

14
Knight,
Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution
, pp. 168–9, 171–2.

15
Report of Inspector Chandler, 8 September 1888, MEPO 3/140, ff. 9–10; deposition of James Kent, 12 September 1888,
DT
and
DN
13 September; depositions of Inspector Chandler and Dr Phillips, 13 September 1888,
DT
,
DN
and
T
14 September; report of Inspector Abberline, 19 September 1888, MEPO 3/140, f. 252.

16
Knight,
Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution
, pp. 166–71; Fairclough,
Ripper and the Royals
, pp. 55, 58–9.

17
McCormick,
Identity of Jack the Ripper
, pp. 39, 49, 50.

18
Star
12 and 13 September 1888;
T
,
DT
and
DN
13 September 1888.

19
DT
10 September 1888;
T
11 September 1888.

20
Cullen,
Autumn of Terror
, p. 59.

21
DN
11 September 1888.

22
DT
10 September 1888.

23
Deposition of Amelia Richardson, 12 September 1888,
DT
13 September.

24
DT
10 September 1888.

25
Report of Chief Inspector Swanson, 19 October 1888, HO 144/221/A49301C/8a.

1
Star
, 8 September 1888;
DT
, 10 September 1888.

2
ELO
, 15 September 1888.

3
DN
, 11 September 1888.

4
Dew,
I Caught Crippen
, pp. 117–122.

5
Star
, 8 September 1888. The identity of ‘Squibby’ has not yet been established. Possibilities, culled from the records of the police courts, include George Squibb, a young carman charged at Worship Street with cutting and wounding a woman in Commercial Road and with violently assaulting two policemen in September 1886; William Squibb, charged at Thames Police Court in February 1888 with the theft of a watch; and Charles Squibb, who threatened to blind a policeman when arrested for attempted theft in August 1888.

6
ELO
, 15 September 1888.

7
The Jewish Chronicle
, 14 September 1888;
DN
, 10 September 1888;
Star
, 11 September 1888;
ELA
, 22 September 1888.

8
Montagu’s note of authorization, 10 September 1888; Bruce, 10 September 1888, to Under Secretary of State; Leigh-Pemberton, 13 September 1888, to Warren; Montagu, 18 September 1888, to Warren; Warren, 19 September 1888, to Montagu. All these documents will be found at HO 144/220/A49301B/2 and MEPO 3/141, ff. 170–6.

9
ELO
, 22 September 1888.

10
ELO
, 15 September 1888.

11
ELO
, 22 September 1888;
ELA
, 22 and 29 September 1888.

12
B. Harris, 16 September 1888, to Matthews, and Leigh-Pemberton, 17 September 1888, to Harris, HO 144/220/A49301B/3; Home Office minute on letter of Mile End Vigilance Committee, 24 September 1888, to Matthews, HO 144/221/A49301C/1.

13
Lusk’s petition, 27 September 1888, to Queen Victoria, and Leigh-Pemberton, 6 October 1888, to Lusk, HO 144/220/A49301B/5; George Lusk and Joseph Aarons, 29 September 1888, to
DT
,
DT
1 October 1888.

14
Star
, 8 and 10 September 1888.

15
DT
, 12 September 1888.

16
‘A Night in Whitechapel,’
Star
, 11 September 1888.

17
ELO
, 22 September 1888;
DT
, 17, 20 and 21 September 1888;
Star
, 19 and 20 September 1888.

18
Star
, 8 September 1888;
T
, 10 September 1888;
DT
, 12 September 1888;
ELO
and
ELA
, 15 September 1888; Montagu Williams,
Round London: Down East and Up West
(London, 1892); Cullen,
Autumn of Terror
, p. 54; Underwood,
Jack the Ripper
, p. 171.

19
T
, 18 September 1888.

20
Winslow publicized his views in
T
, 12 September 1888, and
The Lancet
, 22 September 1888, p. 603. There was little agreement within the medical profession on such matters. For other contemporary views, see
The Lancet
, 15 September 1888, pp. 533–4, and 22 September 1888, p. 603; George H. Savage, ‘Homicidal Mania’,
The Fortnightly Review
, New Series, Vol. XLIV, July–December 1888, pp. 448–463.

21
DT
, 14 September 1888;
DN
, 20 September 1888.

22
Coroner Baxter’s summing-up, 26 September 1888,
DT
, 27 September.

23
T
, 27 September 1888.

24
James Risdon Bennett, 27 September 1888, to
T
, in
T
, 28 September; see also Central News interview with Bennett, 1 October 1888,
Evening News
, 1 October.

25
DT
, 29 September 1888.

26
The British Medical Journal
, 6 October 1888.

27
ELA
, 15 September 1888;
DT
, 12 and 19 September 1888;
T
, 18 and 24 September 1888.

28
DN
, 11 September 1888;
Star
, 8 and 10 September 1888;
DT
, 24 September 1888; Home Office memo., 19 September 1888, to Matthews, HO 144/221/A49301C/8.

29
Star
, 8 September 1888; J. H. Ashforth, 12 September 1888, to Warren, HO 144/221/A49301E/4; deposition of Dr Phillips, 19 September 1888,
DT
20 September.

30
‘Brain Pictures – A Photo-Physiological Discovery,’
British Journal of
Photography
, Vol. XXXV, No. 1450, 17 February 1888, p. 105;
Star
13 September 1888; deposition of Dr Phillips, 19 September 1888,
DT
, 20 September; Matthews, 5 October 1888, to Warren, HO 144/221/A49301C/8; Dew,
I Caught Crippen
, p. 148; Kelly,
Jack the Ripper: A Bibliography and Review of the Literature
(1973), p. 20.

31
For background on reward question, see Sir Leon Radzinowicz,
A History of English Criminal Law
(London, 1948–86), espec. II, pp. 57–111; CET, ‘Memoranda on the Question of the Offer of Rewards by Government in Criminal Cases,’ 6 and 19 October 1888, HO 144/220/A49301B/19.

32
For comment at Nichols inquest,
DT
, 18 September 1888, and at Chapman inquest,
DT
, 14 and 20 September 1888.

33
Star
, 14 September 1888;
DT
, 12, 19 and 24 September 1888.

34
Home Office minute, 11 September 1888, HO 144/220/A49301B/2.

35
Star
, 10 and 12 September 1888;
DT
and
T
, 11 September 1888.

1
DN
11 September 1888; Farson,
Jack the Ripper
(1973), p. 25.

2
DT
11 September 1888; Dew,
I Caught Crippen
, p. 110; Cullen,
Autumn of Terror
, p. 61.

3
Report of Chief Inspector Swanson, 19 October 1888, HO 144/221/A49301C/8a; deposition of John Pizer, 12 September 1888,
DN
,
DT
and
T
13 September.

4
T
and
DT
12 September 1888.

5
DN
13 September 1888;
ELO
15 September 1888; depositions of John Pizer and Sergeant Thick, 12 September 1888,
DN
,
DT
and
T
13 September;
ELA
15 September 1888.

John Pizer, the son of Israel and August Pizer, died at the London Hospital in 1897 from gastro-enteritis. His death certificate makes him 47 years old at time of death and therefore 38 at the time of the Chapman murder. In the Thames Magistrates’ Court registers his age is given as 36 in both 1887 and 1888. In September 1888 press reports ascribe ages of 33, 35 and 36 to him.

On Thursday, 11 October 1888, Pizer successfully prosecuted Emily Patzwold at Thames Magistrates’ Court for calling him ‘Old Leather Apron’ and assaulting him; see
DN
5 October and
DT
12 October. For Pizer’s libel actions,
ELA
13 October 1888 and Lincoln Springfield,
Some Piquant People
, pp. 45–7.

6
Report of Inspector Abberline, 19 September 1888, MEPO 3/140, ff. 248–9.

7
For statements of Pizer’s relatives,
Star
10 September 1888,
DT
11 and 12 September 1888; for his court appearances,
T
8 July 1887, and Thames Magistrates’ Court Registers, GLRO, PS/TH/Al/9 and 12.

8
DT
12 September 1888;
Star
11 September 1888. This incident was probably the basis for the
Star
’s claim, on 6 September, that Leather Apron had temporarily fallen into the hands of two J Division constables the previous Sunday. See ch. 4.

9
Numerous press reports relate to Piggott during the week but see, especially,
T
11–12 and 14–15 September 1888;
DT
and
Star
11 September 1888. Also, Whitechapel Workhouse Infirmary, Admission & Discharge Book, 1888–9, GLRO, StBG/Wh/123/20.

Piggott was no stranger to the infirmary. He had been admitted there from 19 Brick Lane on 8 June 1888 for alcoholism and discharged on 30 July. Infirmary records describe him as a ship’s cook. Press reports aver that he was the son of an insurance agent in Gravesend and once prospered as a publican, giving £8000 to go into a house at Hoxton in 1880 or 1881. He died in 1901.

10
For Ludwig’s activities, depositions of John Johnson, Alexander Finlay and PC 221H, Thames Magistrates’ Court, 18 September 1888,
DT
and
T
19 September; statement of Alexander Finlay, 18 September 1888,
DT
19 September; Thames Magistrates’ Court Register, 18 and 25 September 1888, GLRO, PS/TH/Al/11.

11
See, especially,
DT
19 September 1888, which carries statements by C. A. Partridge and Mr Richter, and
DN
20 September 1888, which prints a statement of the landlord of a hotel in Finsbury in which Ludwig sometimes stayed.

12
Ludwig is sometimes referred to in contemporary records as Wetzel. He eventually accounted for his whereabouts on the nights of the previous murders and, having spent two weeks on remand, was discharged on 2 October 1888. Just a fortnight later he was reported to have been seen acting strangely and flourishing a knife in the neighbourhood. See,
Star
2 and 17 October. He often appears in the subsequent registers of Thames Magistrates’ Court.

13
Cullen,
Autumn of Terror
, p. 199.

14
Warren, 19 September 1888, to Ruggles-Brise, HO 144/221/A49301C/8.

15
Philip Sugden, ‘Puckridge: A Cautionary Tale,’
Ripperana
, No. 3, January 1993, pp. 55–62.

16
Admissions Register, Metropolitan Licensed Houses, 1886–1900, PRO, MH 94/6.

17
Register of births, marriages & deaths, St Catherine’s House; 1841 census, PRO, HO 107/1093/2; Holborn Workhouse, City Road, Admission & Discharge Book, April-September 1900, GLRO, HO.BG. 541/71.

18
Report of Inspector Abberline, 14 September 1888, MEPO 3/140, f. 17; report of Chief Inspector Swanson, 19 October 1888, HO 144/221/A49301C/8a; student registers, London Hospital Medical College, 22 April 1879, RLHAM, MC/S/1/6; report of Inspector Abberline, 1
November 1888, MEPO 3/140, f. 206; admissions register, provincial licensed houses, 1880–1900, PRO, MH 94/11; Begg,
Jack the Ripper
, pp. 66–9, 188–9; Begg, Fido & Skinner,
Jack the Ripper A to Z
, pp. 244–5.

19
Smith,
From Constable to Commissioner
, pp. 147–8.

20
Index Register of Students 1741–1914, London Hospital Medical College, RLHAM, MC/S/1/1; rate books, Rupert St, St James Piccadilly, 1887–90, WCL, D358, D362, D366; 1881 and 1891 census returns, PRO.

21
The 1881 census records Henry Orford’s household at 39 Rupert Street. From it we know that he had three sons. Alfred, like his father, was a carman. The other two – Harry and Charles – were still at school. They would have been twenty-eight, twenty-three and twenty-one respectively in 1888. Rate books and Post Office directories prove that by then Henry had moved to 40b Rupert Street. He was still there in 1891, living with his wife and two unmarried daughters, one a clerk, the other an actress.

22
Report of Inspector Abberline, 18 September 1888, MEPO 3/140, f. 25; for Warren, see above n. 14;
Star
17 September 1888.

23
At the time of the Whitechapel murders it was possible to determine whether blood was mammalian but not specifically whether it was human.

24
On 4 February 1890 Isenschmid was discharged from Grove Hall to Banstead Asylum, where he was held, apparently, until late 1890. Within a month of his release from there he began to abuse his wife and children and on 12 October 1891 was brought to St Mary’s Infirmary, St John’s Road, in such a maniacal state that it took the combined efforts of four policemen to hold him. Three days later he was committed to Colney Hatch and he was held there until September 1892. Isenschmid was returned repeatedly to Colney Hatch for treatment and died there in March 1910. Cause of death was registered as ‘recurrent mania over 1 year and 5 months lobar pneumonia and exhaustion 4 days.’ According to the death certificate he was sixty-three when he died. Colney Hatch records make him forty-three in 1887 and hence sixty-six in 1910. Police reports refer to him incorrectly as ‘Joseph’ Isenschmid.

The police reports are at MEPO 3/140. See those by Inspector J. Styles of Y Division, 11 September 1888, ff. 12–13; Acting Superintendent West, 13 September 1888, f. 14; Sergeant Thick, 17 and 19 September 1888, ff. 21–3, 26–8; Inspector Abberline, 18 and 19 September 1888, ff. 24–5, 254–6; Inspector Helson, 19 September 1888, ff. 29–31.

For biographical data on Isenschmid, Registers of births, marriages & deaths, St Catherine’s House; Lunacy Commission, Admissions Register, Metropolitan Licensed Houses, 1886–1900, PRO, MH 94/6;
Colney Hatch Asylum, male patient casebooks, GLRO, H12/CH/B13/36, 40, 42; Colney Hatch Asylum, male admissions register, 1888–1906, GLRO, H12/CH/B2/2; statement of Mary Isenschmid, 18 September 1888,
Star
18 September.

25
DN
27 September 1888.