Anderson in NY Times, March 20, 1910

[DVV]

Hi David,

To use an archaeological metaphor we have done the heavy digging and pegged out our site. Now we are on our hands and knees with soft brushes, carefully preserving as much detail as possible.

All I can tell you at the moment is that it's a very exciting find.

Regards,

Simon

Thanks for the metaphor, Simon.
Archeology brings me straight to Aksum.
Once you've been there, you can die in peace.

Not to say I'm not excited by the find !

Amitiés,
David

[Chris]

If my memory serves me well, which it often doesn't, there were approx. 17 such murderous attacks in every year from 1886 through 1889 with no blips on the statistics to indicate the sudden arrival of a 'serial killer' anywhere.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but the numbers for murders given in that thread (including the canonical victims and Tabram) seem to be:
1887: 13
1888: 16
1889: 4

For murders labelled "outdoors", the numbers seem to be:
1887: 0
1888: 9
1889: 1

[Stephen Thomas]

Here ya go—

http://www.casebook.org/forum/messages/4920/19767.html

Ah, Phil Hill. Where is he now?

[Simon Wood]

Hi AP,

Here's a little something for you from The Star, 10th September 1888—

UNDISCOVERED CRIMES.
A List of Some London Murders which Have Gone Unavenged.

It was the boast of Mr. Howard Vincent, at the time he was head of the Criminal Investigation Department, that London is the safest city in the world; and so it would seem to be - for the assassin. The undiscovered murders of recent years make a long list.

Passing over the murder of Mrs. Squires and her daughter in their shop at Hoxton in broad daylight; the killing of Jane Maria Clousen in Kidbrook-lane, near Eltham; the murder of the housekeeper to Bevingtons, of Cannon-street, we come to, perhaps, the best remembered and most sensational of the mysterious crimes of the past.

On the morning of Christmas-day, 1872, Harriet Buswell was discovered with her throat cut. She was a ballet-girl, employed at the Alhambra, and had been accompanied to her home, 12, Great Coram-street, by a "gentleman," supposed to have been a German, who on the way purchased some apples, one of which was left in the room, and bore the impression of his teeth. This half-eaten apple was the sole clue to the murderer, who was never found. A German clergyman named Hessel was arrested at Ramsgate on suspicion three weeks after the murder, but a protracted magisterial investigation resulted in his complete acquittal.

Mrs. Samuel was brutally done to death at her house in Burton-crescent, and a few doors further up Annie Yeats was murdered under precisely similar circumstances to those attending the death of Harriet Buswell.

Miss Hacker was found dead in a coal-cellar in the house of one Sebastian Bashendorff, in Euston-square, and Hannah Dobbs was tried, but acquitted. An almost identical case happened in Harley-street. In this case the victim was unknown.

Another unknown woman was discovered lying in Burdett-road, Bow, murdered.

Mrs. Reville, a butcher's wife, of Slough, was found sitting in a chair with her throat cut, but no one was apprehended.

Then there was the murder of an unfortunate in her home near Pye-street, Westminster. A rough fellow was known to have gone home with her, and he left an old and dirty neckerchief behind, but he was never found.

Mrs. Samuel was killed with impunity in the Kentish Town Dairy.

The murderer of Miss Clark, who was found at the foot of the stairs in her house, George-street, Marylebone, has gone unpunished.

Besides these there are the cases in which the victims have been men. A grocer's assistant was stabbed to death in the Walworth-road by a man who was stealing a pound of tea from a cart. The act was committed in the sight of a number of people, but the man got away, and to this day has not been captured.

Mr. Tower, returning from midnight service on New Year's eve was found in the Stoke Newington reservoir. The police failing to get the faintest clue adopted the theory of suicide, but could get nothing to substantiate it.

On 29 March 1884, E. J. Perkins, a clerk in a City office at 2, Arthur-street West, was murdered and from Saturday till Monday his body lay in a cellar in the basement of the building.

Lieutenant Roper was shot at the top of the barrack stairs at Chatham, and, though Percy Lefroy Mapleton, who was hanged for the murder of Mr. Gould on the Brighton Railway, accused himself of the murder, it was proved that he could have had no connection with the lieutenant's death.

Urban Napoleon Stanger, the baker, of Whitechapel, who vanished so mysteriously, we pass over.

The list, though incomplete, is ghastly enough.

Regards,

Simon

[Simon Wood]

Hi All,

This is worth a visit. An article on unsolved murders starting on Page 515 by our old friend Lincoln Springfield. It's reminiscent of the Star article, so he may have written both.

http://books.google.com/books?id=HvIRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA518&lpg=PA518&dq=Urban+Napoleon+Stanger&source=bl&ots=1e4qQt0sN1&sig=WT7hG9JoMDlGeTSNmhtnryuQUuY&hl=en&ei=Ar4_S_2-MJHuswPis4TEBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CA8Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=&f=false

Regards,

Simon

[perrymason]

The past few pages have had some interesting teasers, and I think its possible once youre comfortable with the conclusion that much of what we have been offered is in fact disinformation and that it intends to mislead....many possibilities could be explored.

For me it would be difficult to explain the first 2 victims in rational terms with answers that dont include a "Jack". It gets easier to imagine excluding him as it goes along from there.

I tend to lean towards a C2, and a single unconnected murder, and 2 murders that are connected, but not to a Jack the Ripper.

Cutting into women wasn't Jack's exclusive activity....context is all that is needed I think.

Best regards all.

[Natalie Severn]

Simon,
Thankyou for posting these.It is certainly interesting to read these accounts of murders from the same time but that we have heard little or nothing of.
But it seems to me these were mostly fairly straightforward types of killings, murders or suicides and not for example frenzied attacks involving 39 stab wounds or else partially decapitated women with their guts strewn about their mutilated corpses.There is a marked difference between these killings and those that were ascribed to the Ripper surely?
Best
Norma

[Cap'n Jack]

Thanks for the link, Simon.
Chris, I think it important to stress, as I stressed then, that one should take into account murderous attacks which failed in their entirety due to the intervention of a third party. We have to merely imagine that Diemschutz drove his pony and trap into the yard at Berner's Street a few minutes before he actually did, and I think you will understand what I mean.
We have to take intent and purpose as seriously as accomplishment, which is what the law does as well.

[Chris]

Chris, I think it important to stress, as I stressed then, that one should take into account murderous attacks which failed in their entirety due to the intervention of a third party.

The problem there is that (as you said on the other thread) the details for "attempted murders" are incomplete, so it's dangerous to try to base any statistical argument on the numbers.

But from what you posted, for attacks in total we have:
1887: 31
1888: 31
1889: 19

And for "outdoors" attacks:
1887: 10
1888: 13
1889: 5

[Trevor Marriott]

Its good to see common sense creeping into some of the postings on here now.

We should look at it perhaps in a different light.

Firstly forget the name Jack The Ripper because for the past 120 years all of the whitechapel murders have been attributed to him. It is only a name, concentrate on the murders i.e canonical 5 in the first instance.

Stride - killed by unknown who did not murder anyone else.

Kelly " " " " " " " "

Eddowes Chapman Nicholls -same killer. ? (now serial killer status)

So in effect there could have been 3 killers all responsible for different murders none of them acting in concert with each other.

Now cast the net far and wide with regard to other murders which are vrey similar to Eddowes Chapman Nicholls.

Tabram, Mckenzie,Coles plus others in UK

The point is that as we know serial killers for a variety of reasons do take long gaps between killings. So it is wrong to totally dismiss any other similar murders before these or after them as not having been committed by the same killer who killed Eddowes Chapman and Nicholls.

The other relevant point is that when you look at these other murders as i have done in great depth. The thing that sticks out is that there were similar murders which as you i have fully documented, both in The Uk and elsewhere but stangely enough none where organs were removed.

So folks its make your mind up time for those who subscribe to the theory the killer removed the organs, then there are no other murders that can be linked to the killer.

For those like me who subscribe to the theory that the killer did not remove the organs then there is a firm beleif that the killer had killed before and after The Whitechapel killings

"The truth is still out there"

[Simon Wood]

Hi Michael,

Disinformation indeed.

Think about Polly Nichols being hailed by the police as the third victim of a murderous maniac when, earlier, Martha Tabram had not been considered a second or, for that matter, Emma Smith a first. Then consider Leather Apron as a poorly-conceived beta version of JtR.

Go from there.

Hi Norma,

Good to hear from you. I have always valued your input.

You said, "There is a marked difference between these killings and those that were ascribed to the Ripper surely?"

Absolutely right. Whilst unsolved murders appear to have been fairly commonplace, the supposed "Ripper" murders all screamed "Look at me! Look at me!" This wasn't the work of some psycho with a "down on whores". Thanks in part to the grandstanding Wynne Baxter who stretched three inquests over two months, these murders diverted the attention of two police forces, Britain and the rest of the world.

Hopefully we will soon understand why.

Regards to you both,

Simon

[Natalie Severn]

Thankyou Simon,
First to return your kind remark-I have always valued your input too!
I am looking forward no end to your discovery Simon!
All the Best

Norma

[perrymason]

Hi Norma,

..... these murders diverted the attention of two police forces, Britain and the rest of the world.

Hopefully we will soon understand why.

Simon

Hi Simon,

Just thought Id add that yes, the 2 police forces seemed completely preoccupied with the Ripper crimes. One wonders if HO or SB had similar important issues on their own plates...or if those planets ever collided.

Cheers Simon, all the best.

[Cap'n Jack]

'The other relevant point is that when you look at these other murders as i have done in great depth. '

Big of you, Trev, you just read my posts and rest is history eh?
You still getting three and half Le Grand for a dinner speech or you having your back to a wall for twopence?

[Simon Wood]

Hi All,

Almost a week after Anderson returned from "Switzerland" his father died in Ireland.

The Times, 15th October 1888—



Does anyone know exactly how much longer Anderson was away from the "Ripper" investigation in order to attend to family matters?

Regards,

Simon