Montague John Druitt : Whitechapel Murderer ?

[aspallek]

Which book please, Andy?

Roy

The Ripper Legacy by Martin Howells and Keith Skinner, which does not actually posit Druitt as the killer but as one involved. It was the beginning of Druitt interest for me.

Oh, and excuse me, I of course meant Montie's brother William, not Robert, in my above post. Unpardonable error.

[dixon9]

i am new to this so will probably be well at of line.I voted a two,reasoning,the bits i have read and found out about him(from this site and others books) i find it hard to believe this mild mannered person is a killer.
Also i have just have doubts were he would have 'holed up' after each murder,although he could have caught the train on some occasions(would that have been a good idea with the probably blood about his person?)
Ok he could have gone to Kings Bench Walk(to clean up) but each murder is scene (i believe) is a fair walk to his chambers,plus would be risking bumpig into someone within the building.Lastly i dont believe someone with the mindset of a 'jack' would take their own lives by getting on a train and travelling into london,before the walk to the Thames,i believe a 'jack' like figure would do it on the spur of the moment.As said i am new to this and any flaws in my argument(and i am sure there are many) please let me know,so i can put myself right.

[aspallek]

Hello Dixon,

Your reasoning is rather sound, but if there is a "flaw" it may be in your opening statement:

i find it hard to believe this mild mannered person is a killer.

That Druitt does not seem like a violent person is one of the factors that makes him a strong suspect. As a Victorian gentleman, he stands out among the other serious suspects. Macnaghten (and presumably his informants) must have had compelling reason to include this gentleman among the list of raving lunatics and violent killers that make up the more typical list of suspects.

Though presumably a gentleman, I don't know that Druitt is rightly termed "mild-mannered." We simply don't know enough of his personality to say that. If one could judge by the glimpses we have of his demeanor in the Winchester groups photos, he looks rather "cocky."

I do agree though on "holing himself up." That is a problem for any non-East End based suspect. Yet really it is only the double event that presents this problem. The other events (or in the case of Kelly, the killer's egress) were close enough to dawn so that it was but a short wait for a morning train. But remember too that Whitechapel is only 6 miles from Blackheath.

Concerning your last point, I believe that Druitt has a specific "mission" in the Chiswick area. What that mission is I don't know but I now have reason to suspect it concerned his mother's medical/psychological treatment. Whatever it was, he felt he had to accomplish it before his death.

[dixon9]

thanks andrew for you answers most helpful

dixon9
still learning

[Jonathan H]

I think that it was Tumblety, or Kosminski, or Druitt because that is what individual senior police thought.

Very strong historical cases can be made for all three.

I favour Montie Druitt because Macnaghten did, despite having these two other viable suspects.

I admit to being infatuated with Melville Macnaghten, the Tycoon Super-cop.

Anyhow, for what it is worth, I don't think the mystery of Jack the Ripper is who it was, rather why there were competing chiefs suspects -- and why they were cloaked, or hidden, yet revealed for us too. That's the conundrum.

[miss_anna]

I'm inclined to exonerate Montague Druitt and voted 1!

I believe Druitt as well as Tumblety, Ostrog and Kosminski were all victims of "Victorean Era Profiling". McNaughten followed his hunch that the ripper would self destruct and commit suicide! He immediatedly zeroed in on Druitt's family after Montague's suicide!
The entire family was plagued by mental illness! The mother was already clinically insane and Druitt's oldest sister later committed suicide too! If McNaughton planted the suggestion that Druitt may have been kidnapped by extraterrestials they may have been just as receptive to that as the suggestion that he was Jack the ripper. McNaughten later destroyed his notes on Druitt not because of a freemason conspiracy, but because he felt they were worthless, which they were in my opinion.

Really now! A lily white, gay boarding school teacher decides to leave his safe Blackhearth to prowl the mean streets of Whitechapel to commit savage murders! His slender shoulders suddenly become broad and hulk like and his soft white hands change to form a powerful vice like grip around the neck of his victims.!

[lynn cates]

hands

Hello Anna. Are we certain that Monty was gay? Of course there is speculation in that direction but, perhaps, nothing conclusive.

Of course, Monty was known for his hand strength having established that in his sporting feats.

The best.
LC

[Robert]

As far as I know, there is no evidence whatsoever that Druitt was gay. OK, he was unmarried at 31 - but there wasn't a great deal of time for romance. His schoolmastering, legal work and cricket would have filled his hours.

[ChrisGeorge]

As far as I know, there is no evidence whatsoever that Druitt was gay. OK, he was unmarried at 31 - but there wasn't a great deal of time for romance. His schoolmastering, legal work and cricket would have filled his hours.

Hello Robert

Surely Monty must have encountered a stiff wicket now and again?

Chris

[c.d.]

Hi Anna,

First of all let me welcome you to the boards. The fact is that no one knows why "Macnaghten" (which is the correct spelling) destroyed his papers. We can only speculate.

c.d.

[Uncle Jack]

I voted 1 for NEVER. While not 100% conclusive I personally see him as having an alibi with the cricket matches.

In my opinion M.J was not Jack.

[miss_anna]

As far as I know, there is no evidence whatsoever that Druitt was gay. OK, he was unmarried at 31 - but there wasn't a great deal of time for romance. His schoolmastering, legal work and cricket would have filled his hours.

Druitt was described as being "sexually insane", which is generally the Victorian era definition of homosexuality. It's also suspected that he was dismissed from his teaching position because of this. I agree too with the point made in the previous post about his cricket games being an alibi. Druitt probably avoided Whitechapel, like most Londoners did and most likely never once stepped into that impoverished area.

[Chris]

I voted 1 for NEVER. While not 100% conclusive I personally see him as having an alibi with the cricket matches.

Sorry, but I don't understand what "I personally see him as having an alibi" means.

Surely the matches either give him an alibi or they don't. And from the data in the public domain, they don't.

Perhaps you mean you personally find it difficult to imagine someone playing cricket a few hours after committing a murder, but that's very different from the matches giving him an alibi.

[lynn cates]

sexually insane

Hello Anna. Are you quite certain that "sexually insane" referred to homosexuality? "Insane" is from the Latin "insanus" meaning unhealthy.

You might wish to have a go at the thread "sexually insane." I think it, too, is under Druitt.

The best.
LC

[Robert]

Hi Anna

Whatever one makes of the phrase "sexually insane," this description of Druitt comes from Macnaghten and so has to be treated with a certain amount of caution. It's pot luck with Macnaghten.