Assessing the case against W.H.Bury

[John Wheat]

I think it's odds on Bury wrote both of the chalk messages.

[Ashkenaz]

The Dundee flat graffiti as reproduced in both Macpherson and Beadle's books...

I would suggest that the "back of this door" graffiti looks to be in a more mature hand than the "sellar" graffiti..

As the police said, it's likely Scottish youngsters poking fun as the new neigbours with their strange English accents

[Wyatt Earp]

Here is an additional thought about this. During Bury's second week at Princes Street, in the period immediately following, in Macpherson's opinion, his murder of Ellen, there were some changes at his residence. Whereas before he had left the front door open, he now "always took the precaution of closing it" (p. 79) and "the blind was drawn down over the Burys' back window...and remained drawn all week" (p. 80). I think this supports the idea that Bury chalked the messages in order to scare people off, as it could have been part of this larger effort to keep people away from the residence.

[Wyatt Earp]

I think Bury must have done it, but it hardly makes him Jack the Ripper.
When he arrived in Scotland he and his wife were 'ragged' by Dundonians along the lines of 'oh you're from the East End, that must mean you know Jack the Ripper'. The wife laughed it off - probably a tiresome and commonplace jibe that people from the East End had to put up at the time. Bury shrank away. He already had her coffin ready by then though.
I think the only evidence that Bury drank in Whitechapel comes from Scottish papers (eg one from Aberdeen I think). In my opinion when they said this it really meant 'East End'. The nuances of which district was which would have been beyond them. To them, in the aftermath of the Ripper publicity and with a murderer in Scotland who had just arrived from the East End, it would be natural to say he drank in Whitechapel (meaning the East End) when really the only evidence was that he went out late drinking - more likely just in Bow (or Bromley-by-Bow).
Bury was clearly an unpleasant character but also an idiot and a loser. He hatched the most stupid premeditated murder I have ever read about. He probably self importantly fantasised that he was a ripper, hence the minor stabs at his wife's abdomen. And hence the scrawling, and possibly hence his cryptic remarks to the hangman (if true).

I think that Bury's local "notoriety" because of his association with the East End can be the only real explanation of schoolboy authorship of the chalkings, as we know the chalkings were not made in the aftermath of his arrest (the chalkings were present when police first examined his residence per Beadle, 2009, p.247-8). However this notoriety could also be an explanation for Bury's own authorship of the chalkings. Perhaps he had a problem with kids snooping around out back and he decided to chalk these messages there to scare them off. He wouldn't have wanted to write them in his own hand as this would have been self-incriminating. This way if he was ever confronted about the messages he could always say "Oh, there must have been some kids goofing around out back." If you believe that Bury chalked the messages, I do not think it is necessary to view them as some sort of fantasy or confession.

[Wyatt Earp]

Just a quick follow-up on the spelling issue. On pages 64 and 65 of Macpherson and on page 297 of the 2009 Beadle book the text of other letters Bury wrote is given. I do not see a single spelling mistake. This is not a guy who would have spelled cellar as "seller" unless he was doing it deliberately.

[Wyatt Earp]

The phrase was more likely meant to refer to the style of the writing rather than the age of the writer.

Yes, that's right. One could argue that any given suspect might have faked the style of handwriting, but that would be less easy to do for a suspect who had not previously demonstrated this behavior. Or one would need to explain how a given suspect's handwriting might have been underdeveloped. Or of course one could try to minimize or dismiss the significance of the description itself.

But getting back to Bury, it's worth mentioning that there is one misspelled word in his forged letter ("Ogilvy" for Ogilvie), in the Princes Street chalkings ("seller" for cellar) and in the Goulston Street graffito ("Juwes" for Jews). If one wanted to assign all of these to Bury, one could suggest that he wasn't a very good speller, or one could suggest that deliberately misspelling a word was a behavioral tic of his.

[The Grave Maurice]

I don't think many here believe the Ripper to have been a schoolboy.

True. The phrase was more likely meant to refer to the style of the writing rather than the age of the writer.

[Wyatt Earp]

Another way to put it is this: if you accept that the Goulston Street graffito was the work of the Ripper, as many here do, then the fact that it was described as having been written in a schoolboy hand has to be considered something of an oddity. I don't think many here believe the Ripper to have been a schoolboy. Bury and his capacity for "several hands" explains that oddity.

[Wickerman]

I'd be very surprised if chalk writing on a wall would betray any idiosyncracies of handwriting.
When you write on paper it is generally your finger movements because the words are so small. Yet with chalk the characters are neccesarily larger requiring wrist movement while your fingers remain typically rigid.

Regards, Jon S.

[paul g]

If the poice had taken photo's of the original east end grafitti, they could of compared it to the grafitti in Scotland, it may of been the breakthrough in the case, if Bury was our man.

[The Grave Maurice]

I totally share your sentiments about publishers (and authors) ALWAYS engaging an indexer. But Ken - I remember I sent you a copy of my index to Macpherson's book, which would have enabled you to find the references to the graffiti at Princes Street in seconds ! (pages 31-32 , 190, 192).

I have a few copies remaining. If anyone wants a free copy, please send me a private message with your address. Euan did tell me that if his book ever gets re-published it will be with my index attached...

Quite right, David. At the time I overlooked your excellent index, even though it was sitting on the shelf right next to Macpherson's book. Thanks again for sending it to me.

[Wyatt Earp]

I also wanted to mention that Bury was a known forger. It was therefore within his demonstrated range of behavior to have chalked these messages and made them appear as though schoolboys or someone else had written them. The Goulston Street graffito of course was described as having been written in a schoolboy hand.

[dag]

Sorry for the delay. Once I get in amongst my books, I'm gone. I invariably stumble across things that I forgot I owned and get distracted.

Anyway, it took me a while to find, but Macpherson (at pp. 30-31) quotes the Dundee Advertiser. Its account says, in part:

The back premises are led to by a dirty stair, at the foot of which on an old door is the following written in chalk - Jack Ripper [sic] is at the back of this door. At the back of this door, and just at the turn of the stair, there is the inscription - Jack Ripper is in this seller [sic]. The handwriting is apparently that of a boy and the authorities will probably attach little importance to it.

Sounds as though Hatchett is dead on the money.

Note to Macpherson's publishers (Mainstream Publishing): For heaven's sake, next time you produce a book, spend a bit more and hire an indexer.

I totally share your sentiments about publishers (and authors) ALWAYS engaging an indexer. But Ken - I remember I sent you a copy of my index to Macpherson's book, which would have enabled you to find the references to the graffiti at Princes Street in seconds ! (pages 31-32 , 190, 192).

I have a few copies remaining. If anyone wants a free copy, please send me a private message with your address. Euan did tell me that if his book ever gets re-published it will be with my index attached...

[Wyatt Earp]

They do appear to be written in different hands -- and that's the opinion of someone who know NOTHING about such things. The R's are what appear most different to me.

On the other hand, when I'm extremely stressed or upset, my own handwriting varies drastically. so, who can say?

Ellen Bury's sister Margaret indicated that William Bury could write in "several hands." (Beadle, Jack the Ripper Unmasked, 2009, p.228).

[johns]

Also, it would be interesting to know if they were written with the same material -- both chalk? Paint? what?

curious

According to both Beadle and MacPherson's books, the 2 sets of graffiti in Dundee were chalked on.

MacPherson on page 190
Beadle on pages 248-249