'A stranger tried to intice girls . . .'

[Hamrammr]

Hi all,

I haven't been on these boards for 5 years, so I apologise if I've missed something that already answered this question. But, on the Police News spread about the murder in Miller's Court there is a panel near the top (see link) that mentions a stranger who tried to intice girls into an entry. Can anyone tell me any more about this, or could this just be hearsay? Many thanks.

[Harry D]

Hello, Hamrammr.

I believe you're referring to the Daily News report of 10 November 1888:

A Mrs. Paumier, a young woman who sells roasted chestnuts at the corner of Widegate street, a narrow thoroughfare about two minutes' walk from the scene of the murder, told a reporter yesterday afternoon a story which appears to afford a clue to the murderer. She said that about twelve o'clock that morning a man dressed like a gentleman came to her and said, "I suppose you have heard about the murder in Dorset street?" She replied that she had, whereupon the man grinned and said, "I know more about it than you." He then stared into her face and went down Sandy's row, another narrow thoroughfare which cuts across Widegate street. When he had gone some way off, he looked back as if to see whether she was watching him, and then vanished.

Mrs. Paumier said the man had a black moustache, was about 5ft 6in in height, and wore a black silk hat, a black coat, and speckled trousers. He also carried a black shiny bag about a foot in depth and a foot and a half in length. Mrs. Paumier stated further that the same man accosted three young women, whom she knows, on Thursday night, and they chafed him and asked him what he had in the bag, and he replied, "Something that the ladies don't like." One of the three young women she named.

[Joshua Rogan]

Could be Sarah Lewis' inquest testimony;

[Coroner] Have you seen any suspicious persons in the district ? - On Wednesday night I was going along the Bethnal-green-road, with a woman, about eight o'clock, when a gentleman passed us. He followed us and spoke to us, and wanted us to follow him into an entry. He had a shiny leather bag with him.
[Coroner] Did he want both of you ? - No; only one. I refused. He went away and came back again, saying he would treat us. He put down his bag and picked it up again, saying, "What are you frightened about ? Do you think I've got anything in the bag ?" We then ran away, as we were frightened.
[Coroner] Was he a tall man ? - He was short, pale-faced, with a black moustache, rather small. His age was about forty.
[Coroner] Was it a large bag ? - No, about 6in to 9in long. His hat was a high round hat. He had a brownish overcoat, with a black short coat underneath. His trousers were a dark pepper-and- salt.
[Coroner] After he left you what did you do ? - We ran away.

[Wickerman]

It might also be of interest to read Mrs Kennedy's version of the Wednesday night encounter.

On Wednesday evening, about eight o'clock, me and my sister were in the neighbourhood of Bethnal Green road when we were accosted by a very suspicious man about forty years of age. He wore a short jacket, over which he had a long top coat. He had a black moustache, and wore a billycock hat. He invited us to accompany him into a lonely spot "As he was known about here, and there was a policeman looking at him." She asserts that no policeman was in sight. He made several strange remarks, and appeared to be agitated. He was very white in the face and made every endeavour to prevent them looking him straight in the face. He carried a black bag. He avoided walking with them, and led the way into a very dark thoroughfare "at the back of the workhouse," inviting them to follow, which they did. He then pushed open a small door in a pair of large gates, and requested one of them to follow him, remarking "I only want one of you," whereupon the women became suspicious. He acted in a very strange and suspicious manner, and refused to leave his bag in the possession of one of the females. Both women became alarmed at his actions and escaped, at the same time raising an alarm of Jack the Ripper. A gentleman, who was passing, is stated to have intercepted the man while the women made their escape. Mrs. Kennedy asserts that the man whom she saw on Friday morning with the woman at the corner of Dorset street resembles very closely the individual who caused such alarm on the night in question, and that she would recognise him again if confronted with him.
Evening News, 10 Nov. 1888.

[Robert St Devil]

Hello Wickerman.

There is a report in the British News Archives by a journalist who unknowingly makes the first Jack the Ripper tour of the murder sites with an off-duty constable about a month after Mary Kelley's murder. He describes the locales and neighborhoods [Dutfield Yard is elaborated; a girl describes Liz' head resting on a small post]. One of the aspects pointed out during their evening 'stroll' is the presence of the undercover police officers. The journalist is dumbfounded until the constable assures him that many of the vagabonds and destitutes that they had passed on Hanbury St. and other sites were, in fact, police.

In Mrs Kennedy's version, it's a strange remark to make during an introduction (why worry about the police?) ...unless the sisters were prostitutes. If we take this version as indication that Mrs Kennedy did meet Jack the Ripper or an accomplice on that Wednesday evening, what do you think the likelihood could be that he may have inadvertently revealed that he knew which ones were undercovers?

[Hamrammr]

Thanks all! Very interesting and helpful replies.

[Michael W Richards]

It might also be of interest to read Mrs Kennedy's version of the Wednesday night encounter.

On Wednesday evening, about eight o'clock, me and my sister were in the neighbourhood of Bethnal Green road when we were accosted by a very suspicious man about forty years of age. He wore a short jacket, over which he had a long top coat. He had a black moustache, and wore a billycock hat. He invited us to accompany him into a lonely spot "As he was known about here, and there was a policeman looking at him." She asserts that no policeman was in sight. He made several strange remarks, and appeared to be agitated. He was very white in the face and made every endeavour to prevent them looking him straight in the face. He carried a black bag. He avoided walking with them, and led the way into a very dark thoroughfare "at the back of the workhouse," inviting them to follow, which they did. He then pushed open a small door in a pair of large gates, and requested one of them to follow him, remarking "I only want one of you," whereupon the women became suspicious. He acted in a very strange and suspicious manner, and refused to leave his bag in the possession of one of the females. Both women became alarmed at his actions and escaped, at the same time raising an alarm of Jack the Ripper. A gentleman, who was passing, is stated to have intercepted the man while the women made their escape. Mrs. Kennedy asserts that the man whom she saw on Friday morning with the woman at the corner of Dorset street resembles very closely the individual who caused such alarm on the night in question, and that she would recognise him again if confronted with him.
Evening News, 10 Nov. 1888.

Jon,

To be fair, we know that this woman was Sarah Lewis and was likely mis-identified in the press as Kennedy.