A London surgeon's suicide

[David Orsam]

From Derby Daily Telegraph, Friday 14 June 1889:

SUICIDE OF A SURGEON

At Abberffraw, a village about ten miles from Holyhead, on Wednesday evening, Dr Thomas, one of the surgeons of the Metropolitan Hospital, committed suicide by taking a quantity of prussic acid. The deceased, who was on a visit to his parents, appeared to be in his usual health and spirits; but he suddenly left his father's shop, and proceeding to one of the bedrooms, partook of the poison. He was discovered shortly afterwards by his father, who immediately summoned assistance, but all efforts to restore the deceased proved fruitless.

[David Orsam]

From the Llandudno Register and Herald, Friday 21 June 1889:

SUICIDE OF A DOCTOR AT ABBERFFRAW

On Tuesday night, 11th inst., Dr. William Evans Thomas, aged 33, late of 190, Green-street, Victoria Park, London, returned home in company of his father, Mr. Henry Parry Thomas, chemist and postmaster, Abberffraw. He was not very well and slept that night with his father. Mr. Thomas, senior, thought it advisable to watch him. While his father was talking to Mr Wm. Jones, Ty Croes, in the shop, the deceased was seen going behind the counter with his pipe in his hand, and after taking something from the drawer, he left. His father followed him in a few minutes, and failing to find his son downstairs, he went into his (the father's) bedroom and there he found him lying on the bed dead. He had taken an ounce bottle of prussic acid from the shop, and had swallowed about half its contents. An inquest was held on Thursday by Mr. R. Jones Roberts, county coroner, and the jury, of whom Mr. J.R. Jones, Bodfeirig, was foreman, returned a verdict of suicide during temporary insanity. Much sympathy is felt for the father and relatives of the deceased.

[miss marple]

Well, after reading The Whitechapel forum and old casebook Thomas gets better as a suspect. He has more going for him than many other suspects. I wonder why he has been ignored. So to recap on what is known:

William Evans Thomas born Anglesea 1856, father a chemist.
Medical training, licensed apothocary Dublin. 1880 and licensed Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh 1881

1884 Has surgery at 190 Green St near Victoria Park in the East End, Apparently has aristocratic clients including Lord Astor [ to be verified]

Is mentioned in papers as having a connection with Metropolitian Hospital, which is based in Commercial St Spitalfields 1876/86 . Then in Kingsland rd Hackney.[ to be verified]

Apparently would frequently return to Wales after a murder as verified by Anglesea archives

Suffered a breakdown and depression after death of Mary Kelly. His father came to London to take him back to Wales on the occasion he committed suicide in June 1889 by stealing prussic acid from his father's shop.

I think he is a strong candidate. Surgeon, local to area, absences after murders, right age range 33, depression , suicide.

Whats not to like?

Miss Marple

[PaulB]

Just a quick passing observation, but the A To Z has carried an entry for Dr William Evan(s) Thomas since its 1995 edition, 21 years ago. I may be prejudiced, but the A to Z is a worthwhile reference source.

[Trevor Marriott]

Well, after reading The Whitechapel forum and old casebook Thomas gets better as a suspect. He has more going for him than many other suspects. I wonder why he has been ignored. So to recap on what is known:

William Evans Thomas born Anglesea 1856, father a chemist.
Medical training, licensed apothocary Dublin. 1880 and licensed Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh 1881

1884 Has surgery at 190 Green St near Victoria Park in the East End, Apparently has aristocratic clients including Lord Astor [ to be verified]

Is mentioned in papers as having a connection with Metropolitian Hospital, which is based in Commercial St Spitalfields 1876/86 . Then in Kingsland rd Hackney.[ to be verified]

Apparently would frequently return to Wales after a murder as verified by Anglesea archives

Suffered a breakdown and depression after death of Mary Kelly. His father came to London to take him back to Wales on the occasion he committed suicide in June 1889 by stealing prussic acid from his father's shop.

I think he is a strong candidate. Surgeon, local to area, absences after murders, right age range 33, depression , suicide.

Whats not to like?

Miss Marple

So what makes him a suspect ?

https://www.trevormarriott.co.uk

[Fisherman]

Well, after reading The Whitechapel forum and old casebook Thomas gets better as a suspect. He has more going for him than many other suspects. I wonder why he has been ignored. So to recap on what is known:

William Evans Thomas born Anglesea 1856, father a chemist.
Medical training, licensed apothocary Dublin. 1880 and licensed Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh 1881

1884 Has surgery at 190 Green St near Victoria Park in the East End, Apparently has aristocratic clients including Lord Astor [ to be verified]

Is mentioned in papers as having a connection with Metropolitian Hospital, which is based in Commercial St Spitalfields 1876/86 . Then in Kingsland rd Hackney.[ to be verified]

Apparently would frequently return to Wales after a murder as verified by Anglesea archives

Suffered a breakdown and depression after death of Mary Kelly. His father came to London to take him back to Wales on the occasion he committed suicide in June 1889 by stealing prussic acid from his father's shop.

I think he is a strong candidate. Surgeon, local to area, absences after murders, right age range 33, depression , suicide.

Whats not to like?

Miss Marple

Well, well, miss Marple - you have found yourself a suspect! And not only that - he is supposedly a strong candidate too!

This would of course be an excellent opportunity for me to remind you of how extremely unforgiving you have been against me for pointing a finger at Lechmere - you found it revolting and deeply unethical, as I recall things.

And now here you are, naming a man as a strong candidate, even asking us "whatīs not to like"?

I will not seize the opportunity to mock you, though. You shall have my view, and I will ask you a few pertinent questions which I hope you will answer.

I am confident that the Ripper and the torso killer are one and the same. Therefore, the Kelly murder, removed seven months in time, is not the one I would look upon as the act that made Thomas do away with himself, but instead Elizabeth Jackson, in the very month of June 1889!

However, the Pinchin Street torso could not have been Thomas. And it is very unlikely that the 1873 torso of Battersea was his - he was 17 at the time. And I firmly believe these murders belong to the same man.

The one thing that looks most interesting to me - who think we may rule out that the killer had surgical expertise - is the returning to Wales after each killing. What I would like to know is that if it occurred on each of the four Ripper killing nights, or if it was more sporadic. How close in time to the killings was it? Did he otherwise not visit his father regularly?

And would it not be compatible with a frail pshyche that was giving way to seek refuge at his fatherīs place? We know that he chose that venue for his death, so it would seem he may have sought his fathers home out to soothe his nerves, something that ultimately failed. The two spent the sonīs last night in life together in the same sleeping room, apparently, which makes it sound terribly tragic to me.

That is my view. I am glad - as always - when somebody with competence and enthusiasm sets out to look deeper into a character I myself would not have the time to research. Welcome to the weird world of suspectology!

[Simon Wood]

Hi Trevor,

Get real.

Since when has it been necessary to have evidence with which to brand someone as a Ripper suspect?

Regards,

Simon

[miss marple]

Fisherman,
He is not my suspect, I did not discover him, some work has been done, and I think it is easier to eliminate suspects than find them guilty. I think he is a strong suspect because of the reasons stated in my previous post. He is worth a look when you consider the pages of drivel trying to convict post impressionist artists and the royal family .

Thomas is at least in with a shout and worthy of deeper examination.

Anybody in Wales fancy looking at the Anglesea archives?


Miss Marple

[Fisherman]

Fisherman,
He is not my suspect, I did not discover him, some work has been done, and I think it is easier to eliminate suspects than find them guilty. I think he is a strong suspect because of the reasons stated in my previous post. He is worth a look when you consider the pages of drivel trying to convict post impressionist artists and the royal family .

Thomas is at least in with a shout and worthy of deeper examination.

Anybody in Wales fancy looking at the Anglesea archives?


Miss Marple

In that respect, Lechmere is not "my" suspect either - I was not the first one to point to him. And I think HE is a very strong suspect, just like you do about Thomas.
You see, we are not different in this respect. So you cannot be absolved from having pointed a finger at a man with no evidence pointing to him, as far as I can tell - but I am not criticizing you for it.
Indeed, if I could eliminate Lechmere, I would. But I canīt. Nobody else can eliminate him either. That, however, is nothing that should make us think he must be guilty - many suspects cannot be eliminated, so I have to disagree with you to a very significant extent about the simplicity of eliminating suspects.

Do you have any answers to the questions I put to you regarding Thomas? Or are you awaiting information from the Anglesea archives?

[miss marple]

In the 1881 Census William Evans Thomas M. D was living in 20 Spital St as medical assistant to Ebenezer Moore, General Practitioner.

He died a bachelor, killing himself on the 12th of June 1889 leaving Ģ228.1.2d in his will. Probate was granted to his father next of kin, Henry Parry Thomas. His address 190 Green St Bethnal Green.

Miss Marple

I Have not had time to check out the Anglesea archives. Fisherman do you have to drag Lechmere into everything?

[Pcdunn]

Hi, Miss Marple.

I'm intrigued by the part of the article that stated his father "felt it best to watch" his son, which may suggest they knew something of his depression-- perhaps he'd attempted suicide before?

[Fisherman]

Fisherman do you have to drag Lechmere into everything?

Nobody else will do it for me.

I am merely pointing out that the fact that you accused me of being unethical for pointing to Lechmere as a very good Ripper suspect is something that finds an interesting backdrop in how you now point to Thomas as a very good Ripper suspect, even asking "whatīs not to like".

You see, the fact that you were not the first one to notice him changes nothing in this respect - it is not as if that means that you suddenly have not brought him to the fore.

So far from wishing to discuss Lechmere, I am commenting on moral. Or more exactly double moral.

Itīs a little something to store in my back pocket until the next time the discussion is brought up again, thatīs all.

Back to Thomas now.

[John G]

Well, well, miss Marple - you have found yourself a suspect! And not only that - he is supposedly a strong candidate too!

This would of course be an excellent opportunity for me to remind you of how extremely unforgiving you have been against me for pointing a finger at Lechmere - you found it revolting and deeply unethical, as I recall things.

And now here you are, naming a man as a strong candidate, even asking us "whatīs not to like"?

I will not seize the opportunity to mock you, though. You shall have my view, and I will ask you a few pertinent questions which I hope you will answer.

I am confident that the Ripper and the torso killer are one and the same. Therefore, the Kelly murder, removed seven months in time, is not the one I would look upon as the act that made Thomas do away with himself, but instead Elizabeth Jackson, in the very month of June 1889!

However, the Pinchin Street torso could not have been Thomas. And it is very unlikely that the 1873 torso of Battersea was his - he was 17 at the time. And I firmly believe these murders belong to the same man.

The one thing that looks most interesting to me - who think we may rule out that the killer had surgical expertise - is the returning to Wales after each killing. What I would like to know is that if it occurred on each of the four Ripper killing nights, or if it was more sporadic. How close in time to the killings was it? Did he otherwise not visit his father regularly?

And would it not be compatible with a frail pshyche that was giving way to seek refuge at his fatherīs place? We know that he chose that venue for his death, so it would seem he may have sought his fathers home out to soothe his nerves, something that ultimately failed. The two spent the sonīs last night in life together in the same sleeping room, apparently, which makes it sound terribly tragic to me.

That is my view. I am glad - as always - when somebody with competence and enthusiasm sets out to look deeper into a character I myself would not have the time to research. Welcome to the weird world of suspectology!

We really must have another discussion, Fish, about JtR and the Torso perpetrator(s). I don't agree with your concussion, but I must admit you present a very detailed, and well-though out, argument.

[Fisherman]

We really must have another discussion, Fish, about JtR and the Torso perpetrator(s). I don't agree with your concussion, but I must admit you present a very detailed, and well-though out, argument.

Concussion...?

I was hoping it added up to more.

Yes, John, we will discuss this matter further. i am in the process of gathering material, and I am ridiculously optimistic about being able to make the connection in the future. Itīs a truly fantastic story, once the puzzle is laid. But for another thread and another day!

[John G]

Concussion...?

I was hoping it added up to more.

Yes, John, we will discuss this matter further. i am in the process of gathering material, and I am ridiculously optimistic about being able to make the connection in the future. Itīs a truly fantastic story, once the puzzle is laid. But for another thread and another day!

A well-spotted grammatical error/ typo! Would be really interested in reading your conclusions, Fish. I find it a fascinating subject, even though it can lead, on occasion, to shall we say a fairly lively debate!