How easy was it to disappear?

[YankeeSergeant]

Although I've seen pictures of Whitechapel and Spitalfields, I have yet to visit. So, forgive me if this seems like a stupid question, but how easy was it to disappear in Whitechapel or Spitalfields? From the pictures I've seen, the accounts I've read in books, articles and here on the boards it seems to me it would be fairly easy. I'm in edits on a novel I'm writing about Jack the Ripper and Just want to be sure all my ducks are in a row. Thanks in advance.

[AlanG]

How the killer got away from the Eddowes murder scene I simply have no idea. Did the killer miss the bobby beat by minutes or simply blend into the crowd.

[AlanG]

I am sure others will have their opinion on that fact though!

[YankeeSergeant]

Eddowes

See, that is part of my dilemma. I think he likely should have been caught at either the Stride or Eddowes killing. Jackie was one lucky boy

[AlanG]

Well depending on who you converse with, it has been argued that the ripper was actually caught at the bucks row crime scene (Cross)

Others would debunk this argument.

I try to think what the most logical explanation could be. I finally get an idea in my mind then read an argument that completely throws me again!

[Hakeswill]

A bigger problem from your perspective is that though it was unlikely that the murderer could have got away unseen and not apprehended at the two crime scenes, he clearly did exactly that. You have to make the implausible sound feasible.

Berner Street seemed to be bu almost buzzing with activity around the time, given the claims of various witnesses. It's even more startling when you realise how physically close some of these people were to events. Matthew Packer for instance was literally yards away (his 'evidence' non-withstanding). As to ecape from Berner Street, assuming he didn't head north towards (still a possibility), the junction at the south of the street ran south, east and west. It wouldn't be difficult to get too far away in a relatively short time, even without the presence of alleys and courts. Lighting quality qould have played a factor in easily spotting people, as would willingness of people to look out of a door or window in response to a commotion. From the variations on Schwarz's testimony (i.e. an assault occuring yards away from a beer house and opposite domestic dwellings it wouldn't be unreasonable to suggest people weren't twitching tehir curtains at every noise or we may have other witnesses to the events.

For the Mitre Square attack, I've alays been suspicious of PC Harvey's account. If you assume that his reports were not entirely accurate (he was dismissed in 1889 for a conduct issue) then the timings of Lawende, Watkins and the attack become more plausible. The square and the surrounding streets are much tighter than you might suppose from reading the reports, so yes, the killer was extraordinarily fortunate not to be detected. That's why I personally feel that some of the reports from the night were either confused or deliberately obfuscated. Harvey seems the most likely source of error.

[AlanG]

I would read 'the bank holiday murders'. It's a really good thought provoking book. There is also a fairly recent podcast. Perhaps for your novel you could link in some elements of that to lend realism. Also try and link into that an internal police conspiracy and I can imagine a very exciting novel. Though I couldn't write it myself haha

Good luck with it though whatever you decide to do

[Wickerman]

For the Mitre Square attack, I've alays been suspicious of PC Harvey's account. If you assume that his reports were not entirely accurate (he was dismissed in 1889 for a conduct issue) then the timings of Lawende, Watkins and the attack become more plausible. The square and the surrounding streets are much tighter than you might suppose from reading the reports, so yes, the killer was extraordinarily fortunate not to be detected. That's why I personally feel that some of the reports from the night were either confused or deliberately obfuscated. Harvey seems the most likely source of error.

Placing blame on a constable is a tough sell, we like to think they were honest, hard working, dedicated, even if underpaid, so pointing the finger at one doesn't get much support. It tends to go against the grain, even though we know some constables did not live up to the impeccable image we have created.

Others have suggested that Watkins may have been taking an unscheduled tea break with the nightwatchman instead of religiously pounding the beat that night.

If timing is the issue for you, the better way to go might be to acknowledge an observation made by Swanson, that the witness Lawende, "identified the clothes only, of the murdered woman Eddowes, which is a serious drawback to the value of the description of the man."

The implication being, that the woman may not have been Eddowes afterall, that the killer may have been in Mitre Square already by 1:30 am, or immediately after Watkins left. So that helps to solve your timing issue. And, it is a more acceptable theory seeing that Lawende was never given the opportunity to identify Eddowes in the mortuary.
Maybe the woman he saw was not Eddowes.

[Errata]

When you talk about disappearing, are you talking about the ability to get out of England and become a tailor in Chicago named John Tanaka never to get caught kind of disappear?

[GUT]

Or do you mean wave a magic wand, say abracadabra and poof you're gone,

[somerset]

Hullo, Sarge.

Do you think Jack was hiding in plain sight on the nights of the murders, catching a tram or simply walking along Commercial and Whitechapel Roads, or do you see him stalking anywhere but there, meeting his victims solely in the alleys and backstreets where they were found? Or perhaps both on different nights?

[kensei]

I remember there was a quote about the Ripper's ability to disappear that said he seemed to just "drop through a trapdoor in the earth," and there is one theory that that might be exactly what he did- used sewers or underground rail tunnels to make his escapes. I'm not saying that's what I believe but it might be good to include in a novel.

[Amanda]

I think you need to consider whether Jack actually disappeared, blended in to the crowd or perhaps was there all along, watching from the alleyways.
Amanda

[John G]

I think he probably just blended into the crowd. Also, Whitechapel was an extremely small but overcrowded district. As I understand it, it was a labyrinth of passageways and narrow courts; it was also very poorly lit at night.

Nonetheless, the killer certainly took risks. Mitre Square was regularly patrolled by two police officers. Dutfield's Yard was cloaked in near pitch black darkness, but it was adjacent to a busy club- and Mrs Diemshutz was apparently just a few yards away sitting in the ground floor kitchen with the window open. At Hanbury Street, the murder of Annie Chapman probably took place in daylight, i.e. sunrise, at a time when people were leaving for work; there would also be residents exiting the property to use the outside lavatory, as Albert Cadosch did at 5:15, minutes before Chapman was probably killed. The killer could also have been interrupted, and trapped, by anyone entering the property. At Castle Alley, if you believe McKenzie was a Ripper victim, Dr Inspector Reid remarked at the inquest, "Two constables are continually passing through the alley all night. It is hardly ever left alone for more than five minutes."

It's also possible he could have used a simple disguise. On an other thread it's been mentioned that when the Pinchin Street Torso was discovered- just a few hundred yards for where Stride was killed in Berner Street, but probably the victim of the Torso Murderer- the constable initially asked a street cleaner who just happened to be passing by, to fetch another constable whilst he stayed with the body (he changed his mind and blew his whistle instead). However, my understanding is that the street cleaner was never identified and didn't appear at the inquest. Now when I say street cleaner, he was basically a man with a brush! I would have thought a simple, but effective disguise.

[lynn cates]

trick

Hello Jon. Well thought-out post, as always.

The biggest trick in Mitre may have been that Kate's assailant knew Watkins was doing a reverse beat. Else they should have net somewhere on Mitre st.

Cheers.
LC