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The insane medical student - a police theory from 1894

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  • The insane medical student - a police theory from 1894

    The following press story was posted by Phil Carter late last year (http://forum.casebook.org/showpost.p...94&postcount=9), but I thought it deserved its own thread.

    It solves a puzzle I've been interested in for a number of years, since John Ruffels sent me two reports from an Australian newspaper, the Koroit Sentinel, from 1900 and 1901. Those reports were virtually identical to one which Chris Scott later found in an American newspaper from early 1895:

    In connection with young Saunderson's insane crime and the Kensington stabbings the authorities have been extremely alarmed lest another Jack the Ripper scare should seize upon the popular mind. This led them recently to make the important announcement that they have reason to believe that the author of the Jack the Ripper crimes has been several years in his grave.

    At first I wondered whether this might refer to Druitt. Later I wondered whether it might relate to the Pall Mall Gazette's report in May 1895 - that "The theory entitled to most respect, because it was presumably based upon the best knowledge, was that of Chief Inspector Swanson, the officer who was associated with the investigation of all the murders, and Mr. Swanson believed the crimes to have been the work of a man who is now dead." - and to the statement in the Swanson Marginalia that Kozminski died soon after being committed to Colney Hatch.

    The interesting thing is that apparently it refers not to Druitt or to Kozminski, but to another suspect entirely.

    Further details appear in three articles from New Zealand newspapers indexed in Google's News Archive Search database - in the Timaru Herald of 1 February 1895 (http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi...D18950201.2.10), the Taranaki Herald of 4 February 1895 (http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi...H18950204.2.17) and the Tuapeka Times of 6 February 1895 (http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi...T18950206.2.27). These three articles are virtually identical. Phil posted the version from the Taranaki Herald. Below is that from the Timaru Herald, which includes some introductory sentences expressing scepticism about the story.

    ... Towards the end of last year another murder of the same class was committed at Kensington, the alleged perpetrator being a young man named Saunderson, who has now been pronounced insane. Many people in London believed him to be "Jack the Ripper," and some of the newspapers took that view. It appears, however, that they were wrong; that is to say, if we may credit the following paragraph from the last letter of the London correspondent of the Lyttelton Times. What seems to cast some doubt upon his story is the great difficulty which the friends of the medical student referred to in the paragraph would have experienced in hushing the matter up and hurrying the man into a private asylum. It also appears strange that when, as alleged, the facts all came to the knowledge of the London police a year ago, they did not let the public know through the newspapers that "Jack the Ripper" had at length been got rid of by death. Here is what the correspondent says:-

    "The Kensington murder having, in a small way, revived the 'Jack the Ripper' scare, the authorities have thought it well to acknowledge - what many have long suspected - viz., that the mysterious hero of the Whitechapel horrors is dead. The Sun, you will recollect, made a rare to-do over the supposed discovery of this assassin some months back, but the police quietly pooh-poohed its wonderful yarn. The Sun's maniac undoubtedly posed as the 'one and original Ripper,' who, like the Christy Minstrels, had 'never performed out of London,' and his admiring relatives warmly supported his claim. The police, however, pointed out that there were self-confessed Rippers in every asylum in Great Britain. The character is a favourite one even yet with madmen, as Saunderson's case shows. When, however, the statements of these self-confessed 'Jacks' were examined they invariably went to pieces, and the Sun's allegations proved no exception to the general rule. They looked plausible enough in print, but half the testimony proved unreliable and the rest was obviously invented. The real Jack, it seems, belonged, as many suspected all along, to the medical profession, or rather was a student. His friends at last discovered the horrible truth, and had him confined in a private asylum. When he died a year ago the evidence in their possession was submitted to Scotland Yard, and convinced them they had at last found the genuine 'Ripper.'"

    [Timaru Herald, 1 February 1895]

    The version in the Tuapeka Times differs from that in the Taranaki Herald only in details of punctuation, except that it includes the attribution "FROM THE EVENING STAR'S CORRESPONDENT. LONDON, December 14", confirming that the story originated late the previous year. Apparently this doesn't refer to the London "Star" - at least, I was unable to find a version of the story in the Star of 14 December or thereabouts.

  • #2
    Here is perhaps another version of the same story from five years later - though in this case the author of the article thinks the culprit is still alive.

    Wanganui Herald, 13 January 1899
    [http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi...H18990113.2.12 ]

    THE CRIME WAVE.

    EVERY now and again the world is horrified by the discovery of hideous crimes in different and often widely-separated countries. Those committed in the heart of London some years ago by the mysterious "Jack the Ripper" are still unavenged. It is said the perpetrator was, as suspected at the time, an insane medical student, and that he is now the inmate of a lunatic asylum in England. Whether this latter is true or not we cannot say, but the probabilities are that if he is, there is no proof of his having committed the numerous atrocities which so frequently horrified people in London at their perpetration. If there were, he would doubtless have been arraigned on the charge of murder, and the evidence in support thereof made public, even if the jury had to return a verdict declaring the prisoner insane, and, therefore, a fit subject for restraint, during her Majesty's pleasure, in a lunatic asylum for criminals.

    [The article continues to mention the Deeming and Butler atrocities and a recent triple murder at Gatton in Queensland.]

    Comment


    • #3
      Hello Chris,

      Thank you for posting this. I think we were both onto the thing about the same time... you were probably there before I was I would imagine.

      The interesting things here for me is the date of the "dying" of the suspect..

      "......His friends at last discovered the horrible truth, and had him confined in a private asylum. When he died a year ago the evidence in their possession was submitted to Scotland Yard, and convinced them they had at last found the genuine 'Ripper....'"

      Now that article was dated 1.2.1895, so 1894, someone dies, presumably in an asylum.

      ...and the fact that Swanson and the marginalia are now under question, as it seems clear from this that Kosminski might not be the man Swanson meant after all... in which case... that part of the marginalia ....

      best wishes

      Phil
      Chelsea FC. TRUE BLUE. 💙


      Justice for the 96 = achieved
      Accountability? ....

      Comment


      • #4
        Phil

        Unfortunately I don't think we can conclude much from this about who Swanson's theory might have concerned. There seem to have been so many theories buzzing around that we can't conclude "Swanson couldn't have meant Kozminski" just because a few months earlier the press were told "it was a medical student".

        What I think is worth bearing in mind is that if this report did originate as early as December 1894, then the supposed delivery of the crucial evidence "a year ago" would probably have predated the Macnaghten Memorandum (February 1894). Yet this "insane medical student" was not among Macnaghten's chosen candidates. That seems to demonstrate that even if this theory did really emanate from Scotland Yard, it was far from being one that all of Scotland Yard subscribed to.

        Comment


        • #5
          Chris,

          True, I was just looking at the time line re the marginalia, but of course see you point about Swanson.

          And re the predating of Macnaughten's chosen candidates, others at Scotland Yard may well have ascribed veracity to this suspect, even if Macnaghten didnt.

          The medical student reference is intruiging in Macnaghten's mind though. Like you, I thought first of Druitt, then Kosminsky.

          best wishes

          Phil
          Chelsea FC. TRUE BLUE. 💙


          Justice for the 96 = achieved
          Accountability? ....

          Comment


          • #6
            Hi Chris,

            could it be the "Evening Standard" ?

            Amitiés,
            David

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by DVV View Post
              could it be the "Evening Standard" ?
              At a guess, it's probably the Evening Star of Dunedin:
              http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evening_Star_(Dunedin)

              Unfortunately, that's held by the British Library only from 1903 onwards, so a collaborator from New Zealand would probably be needed to follow the paper-chase further.

              Comment


              • #8
                In which case I would suggest Bailey.
                Truly a nice guy, although he doesn't post enough and doesn't care about rugby.

                Amitiés,
                David

                Comment


                • #9
                  As much as the press was prone to publish hearsay and get facts mixed up, don't you think it's possible that this story is a combination of Kosminski and Druitt?

                  I have seen Druitt referred to as a doctor, and since he was a teacher, could easily be mistaken by the press as a student, or "medical student". and supposedly, according to McNaghton, his family ("friends") suspected him. Kosminski was also apparently suspected or protected by family and/or friends and was committed to an asylum.

                  seems likely that this is just another case of the press getting their facts mixed up.

                  how easy/hard would it be to check the asylum records of the time to find out if a medical student was admitted and later died?

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by DVV View Post
                    In which case I would suggest Bailey.
                    Truly a nice guy, although he doesn't post enough and doesn't care about rugby.
                    Thanks for the suggestion. I hadn't actually thought of trying to press-gang someone into it, but I'l drop him a private message to see if it would interest him.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Pontius2000 View Post
                      As much as the press was prone to publish hearsay and get facts mixed up, don't you think it's possible that this story is a combination of Kosminski and Druitt?

                      I have seen Druitt referred to as a doctor, and since he was a teacher, could easily be mistaken by the press as a student, or "medical student". and supposedly, according to McNaghton, his family ("friends") suspected him. Kosminski was also apparently suspected or protected by family and/or friends and was committed to an asylum.
                      I suppose anything's possible, but as neither Druitt nor Kozminski was a medical student, or was committed to a private asylum, or died around 1893, it doesn't seem very likely to me.

                      Originally posted by Pontius2000 View Post
                      how easy/hard would it be to check the asylum records of the time to find out if a medical student was admitted and later died?
                      I can't think of any easy way of doing this.

                      As far as I know the existing census indexes are searchable by either relationship to head of household or occupation but not both, so it wouldn't be possible to search for "inmates" who were also "medical students", for example. And, in any case, occupations often weren't included in census returns for asylums.

                      Equally, as far as I know there are no central records of people committed to asylums which specify their occupations, and I would think many - probably most - private asylum records have not survived.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Hi Chris,

                        I don't know whether he can help you or not, but he really is a courteous and pleasant person.

                        Amitiés,
                        David

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Other "private asylum" stories

                          Regarding other possible connections, it's interesting to compare the language of these reports with that of the 1892 Daily Telegraph article that I posted the other day - http://forum.casebook.org/showthread.php?t=3904 - and also with the report of Robert Sagar's opinion after his death.

                          1892:
                          "The Whitechapel murderer, in their belief, is at the present moment confined in a private lunatic asylum, to which he was removed as soon as his madness, no longer amenable to control, was apparent to his friends."

                          1894:
                          "His friends at last discovered the horrible truth, and had him confined in a private asylum."

                          Sagar:
                          "It was Mr Sagar's view that the murders were committed by an insane man employed at Butcher's Row, Aldgate, who was subsequently placed by his friends in a private asylum."

                          It is difficult to reconcile the description of the 1894 suspect as a medical student with the statement that Sagar's suspect was employed in Butcher's Row, though. And the implication of the 1894 reports seems to be that the evidence of the suspect's guilt emerged only after his death around 1893, which casts doubt on whether he could be the same man who was suspected early the previous year, and stated then to be still alive.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Forbes Winslow

                            During the late 1890s the indefatigable Forbes Winslow seems to have adopted some elements of the 1894 story when retailing his claim to have identified the Ripper in 1889.

                            In a report of an interview with Winslow in the New York Times of 1 September 1895, his suspect - whose original business was to raise money for the Toronto Trust [or Truss?] Society, and who had originally disappeared without trace - has become "a medical student, of good family", who was subsequently "removed to a lunatic asylum" (referred to at the head of the article as a "county lunatic asylum"). In this version, the man is still alive, but Winslow insists that his guilt has been officially recognised:
                            "These facts are all known to the English authorities, and it is conceeded [sic] that the man now in the asylum is 'Jack the Ripper.' It was deemed desirable, however, to hush the matter up. The details were too horrible to be made the subject of a public trial, and there was no doubht [sic] of the man's hopeless insanity."


                            According to later reports of Winslow's theory in New Zealand newspapers in 1898 the suspect "died some months since", and by that time the asylum is identified as Broadmoor.
                            (Marlborough Express, 3 June 1898:

                            Timaru Herald, 7 June 1898:
                            http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi...D18980607.2.26)

                            Later still, Winslow dropped this aspect of the story, flatly contradicting his earlier pronouncements:
                            "'It has been stated that 'Jack the Ripper' was confined in a Government lunatic asylum. But in that case he would have been brought to trial. A criminal, though mad, must take his place in the dock."
                            (Grey River Argus, 14 July 1905
                            http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi...RA19050714.2.2)

                            By the time he came to write his memoirs in 1910, Winslow seems to have decided to have his cake and eat it. The story of his own suspect reverts to something close to its original form, but he claims that the insane medical student was a man the police mistook for that suspect:
                            "Several months after the publication of my discoveries a young man was arrested for attempted suicide, and when examined by the police surgeon was proved to be hopelessly insane. He was committed to a Government asylum.
                            ...
                            a theory started that the mysterious lodger, Jack the Ripper, and the unfortunate inmate of the asylum were one and the same man. This man was found to come of a well-to-do and respectable family, and evinced considerable ability in his college career. His speciality was anatomy, and he studied so hard that his mind, never very strong, gave way under the strain. Always of a religious turn of mind, he became afflicted with religious mania. But it was found that he was not Jack the Ripper."



                            Perhaps Winslow has incorporated something of Druitt's story here as well, with his reference to a young man being arrested for attempted suicide.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Abberline

                              It's possible that some of Abberline's comments, published in the Pall Mall Gazette in 1903, refer to this theory.

                              In the first Pall Mall Gazette article, of 24 March 1903, Abberline is quoted as saying:
                              "... you must understand that we have never believed all those stories about Jack the Ripper being dead, or that he was a lunatic, or anything of that kind."


                              That could indeed refer to Druitt and Kozminski respectively. But in the second article, a week later, there is a specific denial that the murderer was known to have died in a lunatic asylum:
                              ""I know," continued the well-known detective, "that it has been stated in several quarters that 'Jack the Ripper' was a man who died in a lunatic asylum a few years ago, but there is nothing at all of a tangible nature to support such a theory."


                              The report goes on to say that Abberline's attention was drawn to a statement in a well known Sunday paper. This refers to an article by George Sims in the Referee of 29 March 1903. Sims had written, obviously with reference to Druitt:
                              "It is perfectly well known at Scotland Yard who "Jack" was, and the reasons for the police conclusions were given in the report to the Home Office, which was considered by the authorities to be final and conclusive.
                              ...
                              The genuine "Jack" was a doctor. His body was found in the Thames on December 31, 1888."



                              To add to the confusion, in the Pall Mall Gazette this becomes "... it was made out that the author was a young medical student who was found drowned in the Thames" and Abberline is quoted as referring to this suspect initially as "a young doctor" and then as "the student".

                              Comment

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