Tips

[sleekviper]

Well Hunter, kinda, sorta the reason. I spelled the name incorrectly to a witness of another event, and the search engine brought me here. Same time period, gruesome event, so I stumbled in, and stayed.

[Hunter]

I'm not sure about a letter being more frightening than the actual deeds, but its a safe bet that 'that letter' along with the trade name is the reason why we're here.

[caz]

Er, not sure about that, Lynn.

If the victims had been a trifle more scared they might not have ended up butchered.

The only ones to 'create' the Whitechapel butcher(s) were the parents who conceived him (them). I doubt it was ever their intention that he (they) would grow up to scare the living daylights out of people with his (their) all too terrifyingly real brand of brutality.

Butchered women turning up on the streets of my town would scare this woman infinitely more than paper and red ink ever could. What is there to flower up?

Love,

Caz
X

[lynn cates]

scare

Hello Caz.

"And the thing is, up until the trade name was given, there had not been much 'trade' to speak of."

Indeed!

If someone's intention were to create a bogeyman to scare the begeez out of people, s/he certainly succeeded.

Cheers.
LC

[caz]

Thanks Lynn.

And the thing is, up until the trade name was given, there had not been much 'trade' to speak of. Tabram was not what anyone could describe as 'ripped' (more like death by a thousand stabs), while Nichols merely showed the early promise of a ripping apprentice. So Chapman was the first and only recognisable ripping job to date.

Yet here was this saucy prophet, already claiming to be Jack the Ripper, and preparing to do a rip-roaring trade before the week was out.

Not bad for an era when nobody else was remotely prepared for what they were about to receive. They were still wondering what had hit them while the letter writer was in no doubt about what was coming next.

Love,

Caz
X

[lynn cates]

food for thought

Hello Caz.

"But I'd still like to know what the chap who gave us the trade name knew beforehand, or was expecting. Did he have an ear to the ground at the time of writing?"

Wow, this is food for thought! Good point.

Cheers.
LC

[caz]

What we're certain they did know was the notice of the 'Dear Boss' letter that very day (Sept. 29) from the Central News Agency. While they eventually seemed to consider it a hoax, this may not have been the case at that time. As was previously mentioned, this was a Saturday night coupled with the letter writer's promise that they would 'soon hear' from him. No matter what hindsight tells us, they would have been foolish at that time to not take that into account.

Indeed so, Hunter.

"I was not codding...when I gave you the tip."

This author may have thought he was codding when writing his 'last' letter to Central News, but his tip turned out to be anything but tosh.

These days anyone who does take this into account is considered quite the foolish fool.

But I'd still like to know what the chap who gave us the trade name knew beforehand, or was expecting. Did he have an ear to the ground at the time of writing? Or was that Eddowes, a few days later, when part of hers decided to fall off, probably as a result of hearing about Stride's careless encounter with the boot scraper?

Love,

Caz
X

[lynn cates]

duty

Hello Hunter.

"There is no evidence that DC Halse did anything more than give the required testimony that he was asked for."

Indeed. He answered the questions put to him and in the proper, prescribed manner.

But that is not my point. I am not trying to ascertain how he discharged his duty. I wish, instead, to discover:

1. Was there private info lodged at Old Jewry that caused a heightened alert for detectives?

2. What drew him outside the city to the exact spot where the apron and graffito would later appear?

In the latter case, is it at all possible that the 2 who were detained saw someone lurking in the area and passed the info along to Halse? Note that, at the various inquests, some information was announced as being withheld given that the description was sensitive and might tip off the suspect.

I think you will agree that the conveyor of the bloody apron piece was somewhere between the time it was retrieved in Mitre sq (subsequent to 1:45) and the time it was deposited (presumably between roughly 2:20 and 2:50). Since Halse was exploring the eastern boundary of the city and the western part of Spitalfields, perhaps he saw/heard something suspicious but not damning. Obviously, this does not entail any kind of misconduct on Halse's--or anyone else's--part.

Cheers.
LC

[Hunter]

There is no evidence that DC Halse did anything more than give the required testimony that he was asked for. I've served on 3 different juries in the past ten years and every time a policeman was called to witness he was required to report his reason for being at a certain location to establish his viability and help produce a timeline.

Here are the opening statements of the 3 police constables called before the Stride inquest as recorded by the Daily Telegraph and available here on Casebook:


Constable Henry Lamb, 252 H division, examined by the coroner, said:" Last Sunday morning, shortly before one o'clock, I was on duty in Commercial-road, between Christian-street and Batty-street..."

Constable Joseph Drage, 282 H Division:" On Monday morning at half-past twelve o'clock I was on fixed point duty opposite Brady-street, Whitechapel-road..."

William Smith, 452 H Division: "On Saturday last I went on duty at ten p.m. My beat was past Berner- street, and would take me twenty-five minutes or half an hour to go round. I was in Berner-street about half-past twelve or twenty-five minutes to one o'clock, and having gone round my beat, was at the Commercial-road corner of Berner-street again at one o'clock..."

[Observer]

One gets the impression, reading Halse's missive, that something was afoot.
LC

About 12 inches I'd say. Halse was merely giving the press, and the public what they wanted to hear, namely, that on the night of the murder the police were doing everything in their powers to apprehend the murderer.

[lynn cates]

acting on a 'unch

Hello Monty. A hunch? I like it. I daresay researchers do that frequently. I do it constantly.

After all, it was successful for Harry "Snapper" Organs. Why not again?

Cheers.
LC

[Monty]

Now you're talking! A tip?

Or a hunch, a evaluated guess.

They were allowed to think you know.

Monty

[lynn cates]

respondeo quod

Hello Monty.

"Do you not think that would have been reported Lynn?"

Possibly. I suppose it depends on how concrete or abstract it was.

"The boundary is irrelevant if the Constable thinks a crime has been or is about to take place."

Quite true. And no doubt one had taken place. But there was a good deal of territory in the west part of Spitalfields. Why there, particularly?

Which brings me to your, " . . . or is about to take place." Now you're talking! A tip?

Cheers.
LC

[Monty]

But it's still odd that Goulston st was not their eastern boundary, but rather, a good bit beyond. Perhaps the 2 chaps Halse detained saw something suspicious there?

Do you not think that would have been reported Lynn?

The boundary is irrelevant if the Constable thinks a crime has been or is about to take place.

Monty

[lynn cates]

good explanation

Hello Hunter. With your suggestion about possible tips and the letter received--hoax or not--you are singing my song. One gets the impression, reading Halse's missive, that something was afoot. A tip, as you suggest, would provide a good explanation.

But it's still odd that Goulston st was not their eastern boundary, but rather, a good bit beyond. Perhaps the 2 chaps Halse detained saw something suspicious there?

Cheers.
LC