Could Bury have been Astracan Man?

[John G]

This is an interesting thread, especially as I consider Bury to be one of the more plausible candidates. A well-made point about the possibility of him dressing up in his finery for the races, which I hadn't previously considered. And, of course, his wife had inherited £300, a significant sum in 1888, and although he spent some of it on a pony and cart there would no doubt be plenty left over for him to upgrade his wardrobe.

One problem is that we can't be certain of the date that he returned to London; it must have been close to the time of the Kelly murder, but there's still a possibility that he was in Wolverhampton at the relevant time, ruling him out as a possible candidate.

[Wickerman]

The thread on Joseph Isaacs concludes that he was incarcerated the night Kelly was murdered, on evidence found by no less a researcher than Debra A.

If Isaacs was not available on that evening, why not consider other possibilities?

Both Dew, in his memoirs, and Christer on Casebook have proposed that Hutchinson mistook the wrong night, but then Mary Cusins would have to have made the same mistake, which only complicates that argument.

However, on the 'wrong night' basis Hutchinson could still have identified Isaacs, not that I'm in favor of that scenario, but it can't so easily be dismissed.
The complication comes in with Sarah Lewis, who's testimony cannot so easily be attributed to the 'wrong night', coupled with the fact she is credited with also seeing a couple walk up the passage while the loiterer was standing in Dorset St., just as Hutchinson claimed.

All together, a very unsatisfactory set of circumstances.

[Wickerman]

I believe Debra found 1 press clipping that suggested he was incarcerated, and she was unable to find a second.

Here was the proof, or confirmation if you like, that I uncovered in the Barnet Press.

http://forum.casebook.org/showpost.php?p=357610&postcount=10

That said, there are still a handful of questions that remain unanswered.

[Harry D]

For me he is a non starter in so many ways.

Surely every Ripper suspect is a non-starter for you, Michael?

[Michael W Richards]

The thread on Joseph Isaacs concludes that he was incarcerated the night Kelly was murdered, on evidence found by no less a researcher than Debra A.

If Isaacs was not available on that evening, why not consider other possibilities?

I believe Debra found 1 press clipping that suggested he was incarcerated, and she was unable to find a second. That being said, Ill let you discuss Bury's candidacy without interruption. For me he is a non starter in so many ways.

[curious]

We do already have a suspect that was said to have an astrakhan coat, was in the immediate area of Millers Court, and disappeared without notice on the night Mary was killed. I would think he bear more scrutiny based on those factors than Bury does on speculative ones.

The thread on Joseph Isaacs concludes that he was incarcerated the night Kelly was murdered, on evidence found by no less a researcher than Debra A.

If Isaacs was not available on that evening, why not consider other possibilities?

[Michael W Richards]

We do already have a suspect that was said to have an astrakhan coat, was in the immediate area of Millers Court, and disappeared without notice on the night Mary was killed. I would think he bear more scrutiny based on those factors than Bury does on speculative ones.

[curious]

Just this morning, the thought of Bury being Astracan Man came and won't go away.


Apparently Bury was shorter than Hutchinson's guess and he was a little younger.

I believe we know:

1. Bury was "foreign" in appearance,
2. Bury liked to dress up. He enjoyed nice clothing.
3. He liked people to think he was more than he was,
4. He and Ellen went to Wolverhampton for the races,
5. He is known to have purchased jewelry for his wife while in Wolverhampton.

Why would he not have also purchased jewelry for himself?

Since it was during the races, would he have purchased "horsey" style jewelry -- the sort he might have thought horse owners themselves would wear? But being an outsider, he would most likely have bought the cheap, flashy stuff sold by vendors that undoubtedly were set up near the tracks.

George Hutchinson, as an out-of-work groom, would have spent a lot of time with the horsey, racing set. He would have been very familiar with items sold by vendors around the tracks. He would have been able to recognize those items in the dark, at a hundred paces. That's why his description could be so complete.

Also, as a groom, Hutchinson would have been watching the rich owners for years and the light spats over dark would have jumped out at him because they were all wrong for the rich character Bury was trying to portray.

Perhaps Hutchinson waited so long outside Kelly's room because he was interested in talking to Astracan Man, maybe see if he had a job or to just figure out who he was as it appeared he frequented the races too.

I suggest that Hutchinson's description threw Bury into a panic. He disposed of the jewelry and clothing detailed in all the papers. He sold his pony and cart and left town, taking Ellen because he knew she would blab about him getting rid of his clothing and jewelry and being out on the nights of the murders.

Does anyone else think Bury is a good possibility for Astracan Man?