The GSG - Did Jack write it? POLL

[The Cenci]

I think many views here are held on whether you think the murder was a criminal mastermind, keen to thumb his nose at the world or a local savage who got lucky.

I'd love it to be the former. It adds to the mystique if he's actually talking to the community but I doubt it. Millers Court was his chance and he ignored it.

[Batman]

I think many views here are held on whether you think the murder was a criminal mastermind, keen to thumb his nose at the world or a local savage who got lucky.

I'd love it to be the former. It adds to the mystique if he's actually talking to the community but I doubt it. Millers Court was his chance and he ignored it.

Welcome.

Coincides are interesting. Although more than one in something so rare is ...

[Wickerman]

Can anyone demonstrate the investigators where confused over its origin? This to my knowledge has never been shown, meaning rejecting the graffiti is a modern interpretation, not a contemporary one, right?

We have no opinion from the police that they believed it to be written by the killer.

The first time this graffiti became public knowledge was on 11th Oct. at the inquest, and even then there was no speculation that the killer wrote it, neither by police or the Coroner.

All that was noted by PC Long was that the piece of apron was found beneath this graffiti, that was the extent of its importance.

When the Coroner asked if it looked fresh, implying his speculation that it may be related to the apron, Long gave an honest reply - "I could not form an opinion".
So then Halse said it looked fresh, which means what exactly? - 2 hours old or 2 days?
That was the extent of the interest.

So, what would happen if one tenant went to the police and said, "that writing was not there on Saturday".
Or, conversely, "that writing was there on Saturday".

What are the police going to say, "we never said it was", or, "we never said it wasn't".

Any tenants may have stepped forward and told the police, but how would that change anything?
The police were not committed to the writing being by the killer anyway. The importance of the graffiti was only that the apron was found beneath it.

[Abby Normal]

the police at the time obviously thought it could be a clue-then and later when reminiscing. the confusion at the time was not over whether it might be a clue or not from the killer, but whether it indicated a jew or gentile writer/killer.

[Wickerman]

What 'obvious' clue was derived from it?

[Harry D]

If the GSG wasn't written by JTR, why didn't the real author come forward?

[pinkmoon]

If the GSG wasn't written by JTR, why didn't the real author come forward?

Because people might think he was jack the ripper.

[Harry D]

Because people might think he was jack the ripper.

Gee, why didn't I think of that?

[Bridewell]

If the police thought this message was genuine then they would have waited a short while and had it photographed .

They should have done so whether they thought that or not.

[Bridewell]

Surely Long's beat would have revealed to him the difference between common graffiti in the area and something that stood as being fresh and likely connected.

Long was an 'A' Division officer seconded to 'H' Division. The night of the so-called 'double event' was, I believe, his first night on 'H' Division so he would not have had time to form an awareness of what was common and uncommon in the area.

[GUT]

If the GSG wasn't written by JTR, why didn't the real author come forward?

But we can say the same about so many things in the case BS man Ashtran Man Blotchy, why didn't any of them come forward.

[Batman]

Contemporary facts from the case demonstrate irrevocably that the Whitechapel murder investigators considered the GSG to be an attack on the jews. Chief Inspector Swanson's report, 6 November 1888, HO 144/221/A49301C, quoted in Evans and Skinner, The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Sourcebook, pp. 185–188

They where under no illusions about its purpose.

We have someone on the beat saying it wasnt there.

We have evidence neighbours where investigated over it.

Plus we have anti-Semitic overtones in the Lipski insult and Lawende et al seeing JtR.

So to say its a coincidence is a modern view.

[Abby Normal]

What 'obvious' clue was derived from it?

I didn't say that, but to answer your question-None, since they wiped it off.

A less obvious clue, eventhough they wiped it, was that the killer was gentile, trying to throw suspicion on jews- several high ranking police thought as much.

Is it yet another coincidence that GSG graffiti is so similar in content and the confusion it caused to the shout of Lipski at the earlier murder of Stride?


One "obvious" use if they had preserved in a photo was they could have compared it to other handwriting from the letters. or handwriting from suspects.

Detective 101, really wick.

[Batman]

The crazed Jew hypothesis, with all its potential candidates, has to leave one absolutely gobsmacked when it comes to the very few strands of evidence this case has, which don't just point away from a Jew, but towards a rampant anti-Semitic person.

I am under no doubt that if Schwartz was told plainly to 'F*** off' and if JtR wrote 'the cops are the men who will not be blamed for nothing' on Goulston Street, we wouldn't be having a conversation about Stride's canonicity or if the killer did the graffiti.

They only get dropped in modern times because the crazed Jew hypothesis is popular. Its fitting the evidence to a suspect and not the suspect to the evidence. The worst possible conclusion one could make.

Basically JtR as an anti-Semitic person with a deep hatred of women is evidence for the suspect we should be looking for and as stated if the graffiti was kept, we would have his handwriting.

[Wickerman]

Contemporary facts from the case demonstrate irrevocably that the Whitechapel murder investigators considered the GSG to be an attack on the jews.

Contemporary facts? - that's a bit vague.
As we are all very familiar with the known 'facts', which specific ones are you referring to?

Chief Inspector Swanson's report, 6 November 1888, HO 144/221/A49301C, quoted in Evans and Skinner, The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Sourcebook, pp. 185–188

They where under no illusions about its purpose.

We have someone on the beat saying it wasnt there.

We have evidence neighbours where investigated over it.

Plus we have anti-Semitic overtones in the Lipski insult and Lawende et al seeing JtR.

So to say its a coincidence is a modern view.

I'm surprised you brought that 6 Nov. report up due to the fact Swanson described it as "blurred chalk writing"

That appears to contradict the words of Det. Halse at the inquest. So here we have Swanson offering a detail that suggests the writing was not fresh.
Do you want to accept Swanson's words or not?