From Hell (Lusk) Letter likely Fake

[Hatchett]

Hi,

Unless the hoaxer counted on people going out of their way to believe it.

Best wishes.

[The Good Michael]

Unless the hoaxer counted on people going out of their way to believe it.

I didn't quite understand that. If the hoaxer counted on people just accepting a hoax, why would he/she go to the trouble of matching diseased organ with diseased organ? Why not just take any old kidney because the letter sells the package anyway?

Mike

[GUT]

The piece of kidney can be debated as the reports from different medicos vary somewhat. One said that both the Lusk kidney and the remaining piece in the body had Bright's disease. Openshaw confirmed that the kidney belonged to a woman of about 45 years old and who was an alcoholic, as did the piece left in the body. Smith said that the kidney was put in spirits within a few hours after its removal, so that it couldn't have come from a hospital as they would have used a charging fluid called formalin. Later, Brown seemed to contradict himself. He did add, however, the condition of the right kidney. The symptoms he listed point to Bright's disease as well. So, if we have a hoax, it was done by someone who saw the medical report which is possible, but then had to go out and find a kidney to match, which is also possible except that any medical place would have used formalin to charge the organ...or one is lead to believe.

There is a lot here that has to be considered in making this a hoax.

Cheers,

Mike

IF it was a hoax it was either a damn good one or they got incredibly lucky.

[Abby Normal]

Also, not sure if this has been stated before, but in terms of Dear boss and saucy jack letters, the main hoax culprits put forth of Bulling and Moore from the Central News agency-there handwriting does not match, so there's a check mark against that journalist hoaxer theory.

[Fisherman]

Out of curiosity - how many examples are there of cases involving murder or serial murder, where the public has mailed "fake" body parts to the police in order to create an impression that they were from the killer?

Is this something that belongs to the practical joke tradition of Britain, or are there parallel examples from elsewhere?

All the best,
Fisherman

[The Good Michael]

Also, not sure if this has been stated before, but in terms of Dear boss and saucy jack letters, the main hoax culprits put forth of Bulling and Moore from the Central News agency-there handwriting does not match, so there's a check mark against that journalist hoaxer theory.

The thing, it could have been a hoax. Yet what I hear from police officials who believe, seems to be a rumor that's been passed around rather than anything substantive that proves it. Also, why just the one victim and a diseased kidney? If Tumblety (as some believe) had a collection of uteri, it would seem to me that they would be as easy as producing a diseased kidney. I do not rule out hoax by any means, but Lusk was scared $hitless by the thing and the match seems a good one...the match to the other kidney and the renal (whatever) piece the left kidney was attached to.

Mike

[Abby Normal]

Out of curiosity - how many examples are there of cases involving murder or serial murder, where the public has mailed "fake" body parts to the police in order to create an impression that they were from the killer?

Is this something that belongs to the practical joke tradition of Britain, or are there parallel examples from elsewhere?

All the best,
Fisherman

Hi fish
That's a great question, never thought about that angle. Off the top of my head I would say never.

[Abby Normal]

The thing, it could have been a hoax. Yet what I hear from police officials who believe, seems to be a rumor that's been passed around rather than anything substantive that proves it. Also, why just the one victim and a diseased kidney? If Tumblety (as some believe) had a collection of uteri, it would seem to me that they would be as easy as producing a diseased kidney. I do not rule out hoax by any means, but Lusk was scared $hitless by the thing and the match seems a good one...the match to the other kidney and the renal (whatever) piece the left kidney was attached to.

Mike

Hi mike
Right. In terms of the from hell letter and kidney, the rumor there was that it was a hoax from a medical student because you know, students are known for their pranks and it would be easy for medical student to get a hold of one.

I don't rule out hoax either but I lean toward it (say 60%) being from the killer.
The kidney just seems to be too much a match to eddowes.

Plus the letter rings true to me also. Especially since the writer did not sign it jack the ripper, like so many of the letters that appeared after Dear boss.

I have Letters from Hell and have read all the letters in it and to me the majority are such poor and obvious hoaxes. Other than the dear boss and from hell (and GSG for that matter) the only other one that stands out as possibly authentic is the 1896 "..winters coming" letter.

[Fisherman]

Hi fish
That's a great question, never thought about that angle. Off the top of my head I would say never.

Hmm. No, I can´t think of any such case either. Maybe somebody else can?

By the way, don' t mistake my quiery for any conviction that the Lusk letter was genuine - I am just genuinely curious.

The best,
Fisherman

[Harry D]

I have Letters from Hell and have read all the letters in it and to me the majority are such poor and obvious hoaxes. Other than the dear boss and from hell (and GSG for that matter) the only other one that stands out as possibly authentic is the 1896 "..winters coming" letter.

Hello Abby,

What is it about the "Winters coming..." letter that strikes you as credible?


Thanks.

[Abby Normal]

Hello Abby,

What is it about the "Winters coming..." letter that strikes you as credible?


Thanks.

The handwriting, tone, structure and details/content of the letter strike me as authentic and similar to dear boss. The writer also references the GSG almost verbatim. The police took it seriously at the time, so much so that they compared it to dear boss, but ultimately decided it was a hoax.


I think it's also the last item in the police WCM file.

[The Good Michael]

The handwriting, tone, structure and details/content of the letter strike me as authentic and similar to dear boss. The writer also references the GSG almost verbatim. The police took it seriously at the time, so much so that they compared it to dear boss, but ultimately decided it was a hoax.



I think it's also the last item in the police WCM file.

This is also the year that James Kelly came back to England and the police were supposed to meet him and didn't show, so he ran off again. Stayed there for a few years, according to him.

Mike

[GUT]

The handwriting, tone, structure and details/content of the letter strike me as authentic and similar to dear boss. The writer also references the GSG almost verbatim. The police took it seriously at the time, so much so that they compared it to dear boss, but ultimately decided it was a hoax.


I think it's also the last item in the police WCM file.

Mmmmm they compared it to "Dear Boss" which almost nobody accepts as genuine .

[pinkmoon]

This is the only letter that I think might be genuine who would be able to get hold of a human kidney?who would fork out the money to buy a human kidney?Why wasn't it addressed to "dear boss" and why wasn't it signed "jack the ripper"?Why send it to Mr lusk and not central news agency?

[Stewart P Evans]

Lusk

This is the only letter that I think might be genuine who would be able to get hold of a human kidney?who would fork out the money to buy a human kidney?Why wasn't it addressed to "dear boss" and why wasn't it signed "jack the ripper"?Why send it to Mr lusk and not central news agency?

"It might turn out after all, to be the act of a Medical Student who would have no difficulty in obtaining the organ in question." - Inspector James McWilliam, City Police, 27 October 1888.

"...George Lusk was my grandfather. At the time of the murders he was a builder and well-known in the Whitechapel district, hence his Chairmanship of the Vigilance Committee. He lived at the time in Alderney Road which is not far from the London Hospital; I believe he either did some work in the hospital or for some of the staff and in later years he believed that the kidney was sent to him as a practical joke by someone in the London Hospital! This theory of his may of course have been a way of consoling himself for the fright he had when the parcel containing the kidney came to him through the post, he sought police protection for some days after." - Leonard Archer, 16 April 1966.