Assessing the case against W.H.Bury

[brummie]

The case against W.H.Bury seems to consist of the following points: 1:An alleged reference to the Ripper in an inital statement to the desk officer. This statement is not written down or recorded so is at best hearsay and the reference to JTR is to say he wasn't the Ripper so hardly a confession. 2:Character of the man. A drunken wife beater and thief as well as a habitual liar. Not a very nice man but a large step away from serial killer. 3:Method of killing.Strangulation followed by stabbing but without the mutilaions of Ripper victims. Certainly not the horrors inflicted on Kelly, the other victim where the killer had time and privacy of a room. 4:Residence in London at time of killings. Seems to fit,but circumstantial at best, and sure a city the size of London had many comings and goings at that time. 5: Chalk grafiti identifying the house as the home of JTR, which may or may not have been written by Bury(why would he?), and may or may not have been present at the time of the killing. 5:Alleged confession to the hangman. Again not written down or recorded and i believe that hangman Berry made no mention of this amazing confession when writing his lifesory. Conlusion then is although William Bury remains an interesting suspect the evidence is flimsy and the case far from proven.One further point in Euan Macpherson's book he points out the planning and preparation Bury made for killing his wife, hardly the random impulse killings of the Ripper.

[truebluedub]

There was a point made on the old message boards (i.e. only on the cd/dvd rom archives) that the wounds inflicted on Ellen Bury were not as similar to Jack the Ripper's c5 victims as the proponents of this theory claim.
I'm relying on memory here (My own disk is wrecked and i haven't got round to ordering a new one).
Kind regards,
Chris Lowe

[revpetero]

Chris,

I think you are right. If I recall :-

1 - The throat wasn't slit.

2 - Though the abdomen was cut and intestines showing this was through hacking and stabbing than the more methodical slicing (gutting) of the Canonical.

That is only if memory serves me right


Peter

[The Good Michael]

Though I agree that the murder of Ellen Bury has more disimilarities to the East End murders than not, this doesn't mean that a man capable of killing his wife in the fashion he did, is not capable of doing other murders in a different fashion. Bury isn't very likely in my opinion, but he is hardly dismissable.

Mike

[revpetero]

Definitely not dismissable.

Bury was without doubt not playing with a full deck.

[Sam Flynn]

There was a point made on the old message boards (i.e. only on the cd/dvd rom archives) that the wounds inflicted on Ellen Bury were not as similar to Jack the Ripper's c5 victims

Here's a very rough attempt I made to show the extent of her wounds, based on the contemporary medical reports:



Most of the wounds appear to have been stabs not much more than an inch or so in extent.

The longest abdominal cut was only about 4" long, as I recall.

[johns]

Nice drawing Sam.

How are you lately? Fine I hope.

John

[Stewart P Evans]

James Berry

5:Alleged confession to the hangman. Again not written down or recorded and i believe that hangman Berry made no mention of this amazing confession when writing his lifesory.

There is no mention anywhere that Bury confessed to the hangman. James Berry the hangman's memoirs were serialised and they were published after his death (in 1913) in Thomson's Weekly News in 1927. Berry's full account of the execution of Bury is given there.

[Sam Flynn]

How are you lately? Fine I hope.

I'm fine, John - nice to hear from you. Hope things are going well with you too. Enjoyed those talks you gave in your fine Black Country accent (or is it Brummie? ) on YouTube 'tother day - looking forward to the next installment

[johns]

Oh you've seen my "talks" eh.

Yeah... not sure about them really. I'd like to more but I just haven't got the time.

I've got a BIG PLAN going on at the moment

Oh and the accent is... well... more Black Country (YamYam) than Brummy.

John

[revpetero]

3:Method of killing.Strangulation followed by stabbing but without the mutilaions of Ripper victims. Certainly not the horrors inflicted on Kelly, the other victim where the killer had time and privacy of a room.

William Bury to be fair did snap her legs and mutilate her body to fit it in a box. William Bury's main downfall was lack of an exit strategy. Looking at the case notes and the witness statements then William Bury was calm and calculated and even in his written confession he deflects blame onto Ellen Bury.

Peter

[Sam Flynn]

Hi Peter,

William Bury to be fair did snap her legs and mutilate her body to fit it in a box.

I believe it was only one leg that had broken - the other merely being twisted, albeit grotesquely - in order to get Ellen into the box. The mutilations, minimal as they were (see crap drawing on previous page ), are unlikely to have helped him fit her in there.

William Bury's main downfall was lack of an exit strategy.

Interestingly, that is not perhaps an attribute one might associate with Jack the Ripper.

[revpetero]

Interestingly, that is not perhaps an attribute one might associate with Jack the Ripper.

Hi Sam,

As always your responce and thoughts are greatly appreciated. I don't believe William Bury to be JtR. If he was though then the usual exiting down a dark alley in the middle of the night wouldn't be an option. To kill in his own home where people had seen his wife coming and going would be a whole new ball game. It is known that Bury slept and lived at 113 Princes Street for a number of days after the murder, with Ellen stored in the box. If he was to make a run for it then there were people who knew his name and it wouldn't be long before the police were looking for him. If he ran then his guilt wouldn't be questionable. Hence he came up with the suicide story hoping he could dupe a jury either in swallowing this story or at least deeming it a one off and hence no need to look further a field at where he had been and what he maybe capable of.

That isn't what I think happened only musings....

Peter

[Sam Flynn]

To kill in his own home where people had seen his wife coming and going would be a whole new ball game.

...in which case, Peter, his "entry strategy" was distinctly dodgy as well

[DVV]

Bonsoir,
Apart from his wife's murder, the main arguments for Bury's candidacy are based on his alledged "profile".
Now the guy seems completely crazy, and/or completely stupid.
Still, he is one of the viable suspects.
He could be Jack...
But does Jack make a viable Bury?
...
Thanks,
DVV (broken-english poster)