McCarthy's wife warned to silence?

[Chris Scott]

This little comment caught my interest.
It is from the Liverpool Mercury of 10 November 1888:

[Ben]

Interesting, Chris.

I believe this detail appeared in other papers too. It would doubtless have spooked the killer if ever he read the article.

Cheers,
Ben

[Hellrider]

might be a kind of "psychological warfare" by the police then

[Tom_Wescott]

Remember that Mrs. McCarthy received a 'Jack the Ripper' letter. I wonder if the two items are related. She and other people attached may indeed have been cautioned by the police not to tell what they know to the press, in particular relating to what was found (or not found) in the room and what they may have learned about the investigation. From how the press report above was written, it seems they jumped to the assumption she held personal knowledge about the murder and from there concluded she must have seen the killer himself.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[Chava]

Was she on the premises on the night Kelly died? I know McCarthy himself was there, but I didn't think she was.

[Sam Flynn]

Was she on the premises on the night Kelly died? I know McCarthy himself was there, but I didn't think she was.

I don't think we know for certain, Chava. Judging by the newspaper report referred to at the start of this thread, it seems that she was there that morning. I certainly can't recall anything that would suggest that she wasn't.

[Tom_Wescott]

Wouldn't she have been running their shop? She mentioned having sold Kelly a candle recently.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[caz]

Hi All,

I think this is mere journalistic licence, the words 'might easily' and 'apparently' giving the game away.

Frustrated reporters, getting the brush off with an "I don't know" from someone like Mrs McCarthy, from whom they may have been hoping to get some juicy gossip at the very least, 'might easily' have built this up into "her reluctance to talk to us is unaccountable unless the police have sworn her to silence because she saw the murderer".

Irresponsible actually, because if the ripper digested it and believed she must have seen him coming out of the room, it could have put her in danger. She was easy to find.

Love,

Caz
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