Similar Crimes

[Natasha]

Hi All

I know there was mention on here about John Gill, and how the police thought there was a connection, so I thought it may be of interest to add the following reports of crimes that may have some connection to the ripper (forgive me if they have been mentioned before):

13 April 1889

REVOLTING CRIME. A Central News telegram from Berlin says :—" A revolting crime has been perpetrated in a suburb of Hamburg. On Sunday night the dead body of a little boy, named Steinfatt, 10 years old, was found mutilated in a shocking manner. The throat bad been deeply cut, death having apparently resulted from the wound. The abdomen was ripped up and the bowels were protruding, whilst a portion of the lower part of the body had been cut off and is missing. The murder is as mysterious as those of East London. No suspicion attaches to any known person."

13 October 1888

A NEWCASTLE SENSATION. Considerable excitement was caused in Newcastle- on-Tyne on Saturday afternoon by the news, which spread very rapidly, that a woman had had her throat cut by a man in one of the lower parts of the city. People's minds are full of the London atrocities, and they have been terrified recently by several silly and absurd letters that have been sent to local news- papers and police-stations about the signature of Jack the Ripper." The vagueness of the report led to all sorts of sensational stories, but all agreed in stating that a murder had been perpetrated. On inquiry, however, the affair turned out to be less serious than was at first generally believed. It appears that a single woman named Margaret Cooper, 30 years of age, resided in Black Marlborough- street. She had for some time lived with a man named Benjamin Dunhill, but they parted, it is said, a week ago. On Saturday afternoon, about two o'clock, Dunhill sought an interview with the woman, and half-an-hour later on he was seen to jump out of the window of the room which she occupied on the ground floor, and to move rapidly away. A neighbour, fearing that something was wrong, tried the door and found it locked, and after a few minutes it was broken open. When an entrance had been effected, the woman Cooper was found lying on the floor, with blood streaming from a wound in her throat. A doctor was sent for, and on arriving he found that no fewer than five wounds had been inflicted on the face and neck of the woman, the most dangerous being a wound on the left side of the neck, four inches long, and penetrating to the back of the throat, just missing the main artery. The others were of minor character. The woman had lost a great deal of blood, and was removed to the infirmary. She is in a dangerous condition, her recovery being very doubtful. A small table-knife, covered with blood, was picked up from the floor. The police made immediate search for the man Dun- hill, and about nine o'clock he was apprehended in a public-house not far from the place where the woman lived.

[Natasha]

Newspaper issued on 8th September 1888

ANOTHER WHITECHAPEL HORROR. A Gang of Murderers at Work. Another desperate assault, which stopped "only just short of murder, was committed upon a woman in Whitechapel on Saturday night. The victim was leaving the Foresters' Music-hall Cambridge Heath road, where she bad been spending the evening with a sea captain, when she was accosted by a well-dressed man, who asked her to accompany him She invited him to go to her apartments, and he acquiesced, requesting her meantime to walk a short distance with him, as he wanted to meet a friend. he had reached a point near to the the scene of the murder of woman Nicholls when the man violently seized his companion by the throat and dragged her down a court. He was immediately joined by a gang of women and bullies who stripped the unfortunate woman, and robbed her of her necklace, earrings, brooch, and purse. She was then brutally assaulted, and upon attempting to shout for aid, one of the gang laid a large knife across her throat, remarking, We will serve you as we did the others." She was eventually released. The police have been informed of the occurrence, and are prosecuting inquiries into the matter, it being regarded as a probable clue to the previous tragedies.

[Rosella]

I've read somewhere, can't remember where right now, that the whole Forester's Music Hall robbery story was made up by an enterprising journalist, who later confessed to having an over-active imagination!

[Natasha]

I know this report has been mentioned within the press section on here, but I thought this is particularly interesting in regards to the Jewish superstition mentioned within this report

Newspaper Issued: 13 October 1888

AN AUSTRIAN CRIME. The Vienna correspondent of the Times recalls a crime of an exactly similar kind to the Whitechapel atrocities which preoccupied the public in Austria for nearly three years. A Galician Jew, named Ritter, was accused in 1884 of having murdered and mutilated a Christian woman in a village near Cracow. The mutilation was like that perpetrated on the body of the woman Chapman, and at the trial numbers of witnesses deposed that among certain fanatical Jews there existed a superstition to the effect that if a Jew became intimate with a Christian woman he would atone for his offence by slaying and mutilating the object of his passion. Sundry passages of the Talmud were quoted which, according to the witnesses, expressly sanctioned this form of atonement. The trial caused an immense sensation, and Ritter, being found guilty, was sentenced to death. The judges of the Court of Appeal, however, feeling that the man was the victim of popular error and anti-Semetic prejudice, ordered a new trial upon some technicality. Again a jury pronounced against Ritter, and once more the Court of Appeal found a flaw in the proceedings. A third trial took place, and for the third time Ritter was condemned to be hanged, but upon this the Court of Appeal quashed the sentence altogether, and Ritter was released after being in prison thirty-seven months. There is no doubt that the man was innocent; but the evidence touching the superstitions prevailing among some of the ignorant and degraded of his co-religionists remains on record and was never wholly disproved.

[Natasha]

Possible connection?

Newspaper issued in 1885

CRIME IN PARIS. The Times correspondent telegraphs from Paris The most sensational subject now occupying the minds of Parisians is the murder of the woman, Helena Stein, who was lately found lying strangled, and covered with coagulated blood in her bed- room in the Rue Bergere. The murdered woman belonged to the class of unfortunates, and her life was taken by some individual on the night of the 16th of July. Her body remained for nearly a week in the room after the murder, the porter of the house being under the impression that the woman had been arrested by the police, and sent for a few days to the female prison of St. Lazare. On this account he refrained from troubling himself to knock at the door of the room. But, owing to the unusual absence of his lodger, he determined the other day to enter the place. He then found Stein lying dead on the floor of her bed room, a piece of cloth knotted tightly around her neck, her face an almost unrecognisable mass of corruption, and her tongue protruding from her mouth. On her body and by her side were large molecules of clotted blood. That plunder had been the principal object of the terrible deed was evident from the disordered state of the woman's apartment, every drawer having been opened and every box searched for possible booty. Up to the present time no clue has been offered as to the identity of the murderer, whose whereabouts are still as unknown to the police as those of the person or persons who made away with the woman Fellerath and the girl Jouin some time ago. A young man, said to be respectable, and employed in a business house on the Boulevards, was often seen in company with the deceased; but when interrogated as to the crime he stated that Stein had so completely deceived him that he did not know she was an unfortunate. The police, however, obtained some information which may possibly help to bring the murderer to justice, although that is rather doubtful in view of the consummate skill with which the murderers of the other women already referred to have contrived to escape, despite the vigilance exercised by the authorities. It appears that on the night of the murder Helena Stein was seen to enter a cafe in the Faubourg Montmartre, accompanied by a tall and muscular individual, who looked like a well-to-do farmer. About one o'clock in the morning the pair left the café, and before the establishment closed at two o'clock the supposed farmer returned bareheaded to look for a parcel which he had left behind him, where he had been sitting with Stein. The porter of the house remembers that Stein returned home on the night of the 16th, but he does not say whether she was alone or not. She gave her name, according to custom, in passing the porter's lodge, and the witness did not trouble any more about her until he burst open her door, and found her lying dead. The theory of the murder constructed by the police is that the man who returned home with Stein on the night of the 16th waited until she was about to get into bed, and then stunned her by a formidable blow in the face, which caused hemorrhage. He next choked her with his hands, and, in order to complete his work more effectively, tore off the sleeve of his shirt and knotted it tightly around the throat of his victim. He then packed up whatever linen he found in the rooms and took it away in a small black box. A cabman has been found who deposed that he was called by a man in the Rue Bergere in the early morning after the murder is supposed to have been committed. The man carried a black box, and was convoyed in the cab to the Northern Railway Station. The police are accordingly on the track of an Alsatian from Miilhausen, who was frequently seen in Paris with (Stein, the woman herself being also from that town). Detectives have also been sent to Brussels after a suspected individual, but it is strongly supposed here that the murderer is one of the shameless loafers of the Faubourg Montmartre, who consort with fallen women, and that he is still hiding in Paris. This opinion is strengthened by the fact that one of the peculiar caps worn by such individuals was found near the corpse of the murdered woman. To defy suspicion the murderer may have disguised himself as a farmer.

[Natasha]

Newspaper issued: 13th December 1884

THE SUPPOSED MUTILATION OF A WOMAN. On Monday, at the St. Giles Coroner's Court, London, Dr. Danford'Thomas, the coroner for Central Middlesex, concluded the inquest upon the mutilated remains of a human body found some six weeks since in Fitzroy-square, and other places. The medical evidence at the first day of the inquiry was to the effect that the various parts were portions of the body of a woman, whose age was probably 25 or over. The parts had been separated by some blunt instrument, and not for the purposes of dissection. Several pieces were missing, and it was suggested that these might perhaps be those which were found a month earlier in Mornington crescent, and buried by order of the coroner. The coroner said that since the last occasion on which they met Dr. Winter Blyth had made an analysis of the powder with which the remains were covered, and Drs. Jakins and Lloyd bad consulted, with the result that it was quite clear that the two sets of remains had nothing to do with each other. Inspector John Langrish, Criminal Investigation Department, Bow-street, in examination said that he bad bad charge of this case, and had been prosecuting inquiries, but had failed to obtain any further information. Several persons bad been reported as missing, but they had all been traced and found alive. Up to the present time he had not been able to prove the identity of the body. Men had been placed to keep observation oa various parts of the district, but no further remains had been discovered. In reply to a juryman, the inspector said that when any houses were reported to them as suspicious, observation was kept on them, and within a short period two persons had been convicted on charges, of abortion. The Coroner: The police have no power to enter any houses of ill-fame unless they are-called in. A juryman It is very much to be regretted. Dr. Winter Blyth, medical officer and analyist for Marylebone, said that he had examined some portions of a body sent to him, and found it covered with chloride of lime, or common bleaching powder. This would have a deodorising effect, and also a preservative action. No analysis had been made to detect poison. He thought the value of such an analysis now would be only small, but a mineral poison like arsenic might be traced in the muscular tissues. Alkaloids would only be found in the internal organs, which were missing.-Dr. Samuel Lloyd, the divisional surgeon of the district, said that he had made a further examination of the remains and found the ears were pierced for earrings. He had been in consultation with Dr. Jenkins, who had examined some remains found in Mornington crescent in September, and the conclusion he had come to was that the remains must have been those of two different bodies. In the pieces of a human body on which they were holding the inquiry there were some signs of skill in the dis- articulation of the joints, the ,removal of ,fhe internal organs, and the" Reparation of the lower part of the body. A theory for the removal of the internal organs was that it might be either to attempt to hid^ the sex, or to disguise the actual cause of death." It was quite impossible to state what that actual cause was. Dr. Jakins, Osnaburg street, said that on Sept. 25 he was sent for to Albany-street Police-station to examine some remains, which proved to be a left arm, forearm and hand, and two feet, all of which had been properly dissected. They had undoubtedly been used for anatomical purposes. There was no chloride of lime on them. The Coroner said that he himself saw the remains, and on finding that they had undoubtedly been used anatomically, he, in the exercise of his discretion, gave orders for their burial. Dr. Lloyd, recalled, in reply to the Jury, said that he was utterly unable from the appearance of the remains to assign any cause of death. The way in which the joints had been disarticulated showed that whoever did it knew where to find them properly. He did not think that they were placed in the positions they were found by medical students for the purpose of creating a scare. 1_- The Coroner pointed out that under the present regulations at hospitals and other public institutions it was practically impossible for students, even if they felt so inclined, to carry away portions of a body and strew them about in this manner, without it being detected. There being no further evidence, the Jury consulted in private for half an hour, and eventually returned the following verdict: The Jury having viewed the remains of a woman, whose age is believed to be from twenty-five to forty years of age, the said remains having been found in various places in the parishes cf St. Giles and St. Pancras, are strongly of opinion, that although the medical witnesses are unable to assign the cause of death, owing to the advanced state of decomposition and the absence of the viscera and other internal organs; from the character of the evidence generally, death did not arise from natural causes, but they believe an abortion had been, previous to death, either attempted or 'completed, and that some person or persons are thereby chargeable with the cause of death. Further, the jury call the special attention of the Home Secretary to the case, and suggest that a substantial reward be offered with a view to procuring evidence with regard to the identity of the deceased, and to the circumstances attending her death. This concluded the inquiry, but some strong observations were addressed by the jury to the coroner with regard to the inconvenience of the newly-constructed court.

[Ginger]

...the mutilated remains of a human body found some six weeks since in Fitzroy-square, and other places.

There's a sentence that got my attention!

[Tom_Wescott]

The parts had been separated by some blunt instrument,

This is interesting. What exactly constituted a 'blunt instrument' in Victorian London? The weapon which murdered Emma Smith was described the same way, but a walking stick (which it was presumed to be) could hardly be used to cut up a human body.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

P.S. Natasha, unless it's not possible to do so, please try and include the name of the paper you're quoting along with the date.

[Rosella]

Isn't blunt dissection a specific technique used during surgery, using blunt objects as distinct from sharp where scissors etc are used?

If the woman died as a result of a botched abortion her body may have been dissected by a person who had a background in medicine.

[Natasha]

This is interesting. What exactly constituted a 'blunt instrument' in Victorian London? The weapon which murdered Emma Smith was described the same way, but a walking stick (which it was presumed to be) could hardly be used to cut up a human body.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

P.S. Natasha, unless it's not possible to do so, please try and include the name of the paper you're quoting along with the date.

Hi Tom

Perhaps something was fashioned into a weapon. Something that would appear inconspicuous.

The paper was the Aberdare Times, issued 13 December 1884.

[Natasha]

To add further

Also if the cuts appeared jagged perhaps this would explain the blunt instrument wording, as opposed to the use of something sharp that would perhaps make an injury appear more neater.

[Natasha]

Newspaper issued: 13th December 1884

THE SUPPOSED MUTILATION OF A WOMAN. On Monday, at the St. Giles Coroner's Court, London, Dr. Danford'Thomas, the coroner for Central Middlesex, concluded the inquest upon the mutilated remains of a human body found some six weeks since in Fitzroy-square, and other places. The medical evidence at the first day of the inquiry was to the effect that the various parts were portions of the body of a woman, whose age was probably 25 or over. The parts had been separated by some blunt instrument, and not for the purposes of dissection. Several pieces were missing, and it was suggested that these might perhaps be those which were found a month earlier in Mornington crescent, and buried by order of the coroner. The coroner said that since the last occasion on which they met Dr. Winter Blyth had made an analysis of the powder with which the remains were covered, and Drs. Jakins and Lloyd bad consulted, with the result that it was quite clear that the two sets of remains had nothing to do with each other. Inspector John Langrish, Criminal Investigation Department, Bow-street, in examination said that he bad bad charge of this case, and had been prosecuting inquiries, but had failed to obtain any further information. Several persons bad been reported as missing, but they had all been traced and found alive. Up to the present time he had not been able to prove the identity of the body. Men had been placed to keep observation oa various parts of the district, but no further remains had been discovered. In reply to a juryman, the inspector said that when any houses were reported to them as suspicious, observation was kept on them, and within a short period two persons had been convicted on charges, of abortion. The Coroner: The police have no power to enter any houses of ill-fame unless they are-called in. A juryman It is very much to be regretted. Dr. Winter Blyth, medical officer and analyist for Marylebone, said that he had examined some portions of a body sent to him, and found it covered with chloride of lime, or common bleaching powder. This would have a deodorising effect, and also a preservative action. No analysis had been made to detect poison. He thought the value of such an analysis now would be only small, but a mineral poison like arsenic might be traced in the muscular tissues. Alkaloids would only be found in the internal organs, which were missing.-Dr. Samuel Lloyd, the divisional surgeon of the district, said that he had made a further examination of the remains and found the ears were pierced for earrings. He had been in consultation with Dr. Jenkins, who had examined some remains found in Mornington crescent in September, and the conclusion he had come to was that the remains must have been those of two different bodies. In the pieces of a human body on which they were holding the inquiry there were some signs of skill in the dis- articulation of the joints, the ,removal of ,fhe internal organs, and the" Reparation of the lower part of the body. A theory for the removal of the internal organs was that it might be either to attempt to hid^ the sex, or to disguise the actual cause of death." It was quite impossible to state what that actual cause was. Dr. Jakins, Osnaburg street, said that on Sept. 25 he was sent for to Albany-street Police-station to examine some remains, which proved to be a left arm, forearm and hand, and two feet, all of which had been properly dissected. They had undoubtedly been used for anatomical purposes. There was no chloride of lime on them. The Coroner said that he himself saw the remains, and on finding that they had undoubtedly been used anatomically, he, in the exercise of his discretion, gave orders for their burial. Dr. Lloyd, recalled, in reply to the Jury, said that he was utterly unable from the appearance of the remains to assign any cause of death. The way in which the joints had been disarticulated showed that whoever did it knew where to find them properly. He did not think that they were placed in the positions they were found by medical students for the purpose of creating a scare. 1_- The Coroner pointed out that under the present regulations at hospitals and other public institutions it was practically impossible for students, even if they felt so inclined, to carry away portions of a body and strew them about in this manner, without it being detected. There being no further evidence, the Jury consulted in private for half an hour, and eventually returned the following verdict: The Jury having viewed the remains of a woman, whose age is believed to be from twenty-five to forty years of age, the said remains having been found in various places in the parishes cf St. Giles and St. Pancras, are strongly of opinion, that although the medical witnesses are unable to assign the cause of death, owing to the advanced state of decomposition and the absence of the viscera and other internal organs; from the character of the evidence generally, death did not arise from natural causes, but they believe an abortion had been, previous to death, either attempted or 'completed, and that some person or persons are thereby chargeable with the cause of death. Further, the jury call the special attention of the Home Secretary to the case, and suggest that a substantial reward be offered with a view to procuring evidence with regard to the identity of the deceased, and to the circumstances attending her death. This concluded the inquiry, but some strong observations were addressed by the jury to the coroner with regard to the inconvenience of the newly-constructed court.

Aberystwyth Observer 8th November 1884

HORRIBLE MURDER AND MUTILATION IN LONDON. The divisional surgeon of police (Dr. Lloyd), and the other medical gentlemen associated with him, have finished their post mortem examination of the human head found by the dustmen in Alfred-mews, and also some of the other portions picked up in Bedford square and Fitzroy-square respectively and they have communicated to the police authorities that the appearances all point to the supposition of murder, and that the most extraordinary precautions have been taken for the purpose of destroying identification. The police state that the medical examination shows that the eyes have been taken out of the head. The form of the mouth has been disfigured by a large cut through the cheek, and the nose with part of the cartilage has been cut off. They incline to the opinion that the mutilation took place soon after death from the general appearance of all the parts and the uniform characteristics of them. They also believe that the body was cut up into rather small parts, and that the parts were packed in something small soon after life was extinct, for all the pieces are flattened as though they had been laid one upon the other and compressed down in a quantity of carbolic acid. Inspector Langrish and Detective-sergeant Rowan have been instituting inquiries in the districts where the remains have been found, but without any satisfactory result at present.

[Natasha]

Evening Express 27th June 1893

HORRIBLE MURDER IN LONDON. A WOMAN'S THROAT CUT. SIMILARITY TO THE RIPPER SCARE. AN ARREST. Another mysterious murder with its usual accompaniment the escape of the murderer has to be added to the growing total of Metropolitan tragedies. In some respects, indeed, the news which sent a thrill of horror through Rotherhithe early on Sunday morning resembles those fiendish crimes that have made Whitechapel a byword and reproach to the annals of criminal history. The victim is a woman living apart from her husband the time of the murder was the early hours of the morning; and the wound was the same ghastly gash which characterised the Ripper atrocities. to the spot near the Rotherhithe New-road, where the murder was committed, is a public-house called the Sir Garnet Wolseley, at the bad: of which are two streets known as Westlake street and Silverlock street. A few minutes after the public-house had closed on Saturday night three screams were heard. DISCOVERY OF THE CRIME. One account says no heed was taken of them, as they were regarded merely as the outcome of a street disturbance. Another report describes them as piercing," and states that so loud were they that the inhabitants of the neighbouring houses rushed out greatly alarmed, and at once commenced a search of the locality. One of the searchers noticed a dark object lying outside No. 51, Silverlock street, and, on going towards it, discovered a woman lying prostrate in a pool of blood. On the arrival of a constable with a bull's-eye lantern a horrible sight was revealed. It was seen that the woman's head was as nearly as possible severed from the trunk, while her clothing was saturated with blood, streams of which were dearly visible on the pavement. The woman was at once recognised as a character well known in the locality, going by the name of Jenny Hicks. She is supposed to be about 45 years of age. When found she was clutching a latchkey in her right hand, while wedged between the fingers was a sixpenny piece and a cork. Her purse was empty. Further police assistance having arrived,, an ambulance was sent for, and the body was then removed to Rotherhithe Mortuary, where it has since been identified as that of Mrs. Jane Thompson. The deceased is stated to be well known to the police as an unfortunate living in the Debenbam road, and has for years frequented the vicinity of the South Bermondsey Railway Station. The cut in the victim's throat appears to have been!inflicted with a very strong and sharp knife, such as is carried by sailors, while a remarkable feature in connection with the tragedy is the fact that the cut is from right to left, a peculiarity which it ma.y be recollected characterised the great majority of the wounds inflicted by Jack the Ripper." THE MURDERER SUPPOSED TO BE A SEAMAN. No attempt had, however, been made to mutilate the remains. No arrest had been made up to late on Sunday night,and the police are naturally reticent on the subject. Chief-inspector O'Dee and Detective inspector Moore, who have the case in hand, have been making careful inquiries, but the result of their investigations has not yet transpired. The instrument which is sup- posed has been used and the close proximity to the Surrey Commercial Docks, gives some colour to the suggestion that the crime had been committed by a seafaring man. Acting on this theory, the police caused a watch to be kept on the gates of the docks as early as three o'clock a.m. Passers-by were closely observed and nobody was allowed to pass in or out of the docks without explaining his business. About nine o'clock a.m. Chief inspector O'Hanaran, of the dock, accompanied by two local detective sergeants, commenced a thorough search of the entire docks. Every vessel was boarded, and the crews closely examined. Special inquiries were made as to any of the crew who might have been absent, but the result of these cannot, of course, be made known at present. In the neighbourhood it is not believed that the murder was the work of a stranger, and in support of this view it is pointed out that the very short space of time which elapsed between the screams being heard and the discovery of the body would only allow of someone who was closely conversant with the locality making good his escape. WHEN LAST SEEN ALIVE. The idea that this is another addition to the Whitechapel series of crimes is seriously discussed in some quarters, but such a theory is greatly discounted by the spot selected, which is totally dissimilar to any of the arches, courts, passages, and winding narrow streets in which crimes of that class have hither- to been committed, while the absence of any mutilation still further weakens the suggestion. According to a later report it has been ascertained that at ten minutes to twelve on Saturday night the deceased was seen drinking with a man and woman in a public-house in the vicinity known as the Jolly Gardeners." The three left together and went to the house of the deceased, but only remained there a few minutes. She was afterwards seen alone with the man. The police are said to be in possession of a description of this individual, who is stated to be a sailor. ANOTHER ACCOUNT. Still another account states that the tragedy was discovered about half-past twelve o'clock by a pedestrian passing along Silverlock street, and he at once made the discovery known to a con- stable of the M Division. He returned to the spot, and, finding that the woman's throat was cut, had the body conveyed to the local mortuary, where Dr. Jaynes, the divisional police surgeon, found that the wound extended from ear to ear, and death must have ensued very quickly after it was inflicted. No weapon in the shape of a knife or razor has been discovered. On Sunday evening it was ascertained that the deceased was last seen alive with a man within five or ten minutes before the discovery of the corpse. There are no signs of a struggle at the spot, and it seems as if the murderer seized the victim by the hair, pulled her head back, and gave one fiendish cut. The wound commences on the right-hand side of the chin, and the veins have all been severed The cut was a clean one, and the woman must have died almost immediately. The woman's husband identified the remains at the mortuary. She is described as a very violent woman, and on this.account the husband was forced to leave her three months after they wore married. AN ARREST. The Central News states that an Italian sea. man was arrested on Monday night in Surrey Commercial Docks on suspicion of having murdered the woman Jenny Hicks in Silverlock street, Rotherhithe, on Sunday.

[Natasha]

EVENING EXPRESS: 4th DECEMBER 1894

THE KENSINGTON MURDER AND MYSTERIES. An Important Witness been Found and Sensational Developments are now Expected. At a late hour on Monday night a Press Association representative ascertained that the adjourned inquest at Kensington Town hall today (Tuesday) on the woman Augusta Dawes, who was murdered in Holland Park terrace, Kensington, promises an important and sensational development. In an interview with a resident in the vicinity of the crime, the reporter was informed that the murder was actually witnessed by a gentleman who had been an innocent observer of the tragic event. The gentleman in question, who is an artist of foreign extraction, on Saturday acquainted the Police of his dreadful secret. It would appear that this gentleman heard the voices of the deceased and her murderer in Holland Park terrace, and he watched in concealment at a distance of less than twenty yards. According to the statement, he saw the murderer place his left arm round the shoulders of the deceased. The assassin then raised his knee, and with force embedded his knee in the woman's stomach, at the same time cutting her throat. His victim uttered, so it is stated, some such remark as "Oh! my God," and sunk to the ground, the assassin kneeling at the same moment. It is quite consistent, it is stated, with the possibilities that the assassin contemplated further mutilation, but was startled by the exclamations of the witness. In an instant the murderer was on his feet and deftly sprinting away from the scene of his brutal action. The chase was determined but brief. Passing through the bye-ways, the artist kept his man in view until Kensington High street was reached. The course taken, as indicated, was apparently west ward for at Farmer's Library all trace of the murderer was lost, so we are informed. It is significant fact in connection with assertion, however, that it was in the rear of Farmer's Library that the police in their search found the knife with which it is supposed the crime was committed. We understand that the pursuer of the murderer has given a good description of the latter, who is stated to be about thirty years of age. It will be apparent that the that the sudden interruption of the murderer by the artist was sufficient reason for the former leaving behind him in his terror the cherry walking stick which was found. As yet no arrests have been made but the officers are pursuing investigation with great zeal. The London police have fond no clue to the author of the outrages upon women in Kensington. They incline to the belief that she is a woman Possessed of a strong antipathy towards her own sex, but they do not consider that she had a hand in the recent murder of the woman Dawes, or Dudley.

The bit in bold above, could be another explanation for how the ripper got his victims on the ground. Perhaps this would explain why there was no loud screaming etc from the victims.

[Natasha]

JTR Connection?

Monmouthshire Merlin
28th Oct 1881

DREADFUL MURDER IN NORFOLK. A Swaffham correspondent of the Press Association telegraphs that a dreadful murder was committed, on the 21st instant, at Saham, a village in West Norfolk, the victim being a little girl, aged nine years, who had her throat cut nearly from ear to ear while going home from school. A ticket-of leave man named Henry Stebbings has been apprehended on suspicion.