Upon what basis did the Druitt family suspect Montague?

[Robert]

Hi Curious

Mrs Richardson did not mention having seen Chapman in the house at any time previously. She said that she had called to Mr Thompson as he left the house at 3.50 AM. If Chapman had been in the hall then, Thompson would doubtless have informed the police to that effect.

[lynn cates]

hour

Hello Velma.

"If she was not killed until 5:30 a.m., where was she those missing hours?"

But if she were killed at 4.30, that's only one hour's difference.

Cheers.
LC

[curious]

Then that's two people visiting the privy in adjoining houses at more or less the same time....and still the police had nothing to go on.

Bad, Robert. Really bad.

Actually, you and I both know I have no idea if Annie Chapman went to the privy at that time or not.

My problem with having her out soliciting all those hours is how ill she was and what she said to the friend who saw her last.

If she was not killed until 5:30 a.m., where was she those missing hours?

What makes sense? What is possible?

Wait, she's killed in the backyard of a house she was familiar with and a house where people were known to sleep in the hallway . . .

That combination is very suggestive to my mind.

[lynn cates]

prepositerous

Hello Robert. Off by a preposition. (heh-heh)

Cheers.
LC

[Robert]

Then that's two people visiting the privy in adjoining houses at more or less the same time....and still the police had nothing to go on.

[lynn cates]

report

Hello Jon. Thanks.

"The Star"--whose stories must be taken cum grano salis--reported that all the ladies who had described "Leather Apron" reported that he never made any noise and lurked in the shadows.

This fellow had been hanging about Brick Lane until about the time this story broke. Around the 6th, it was speculated that he had left that area. (It is not rocket science to determine that my lad moved to Mitford Road about then.)

Cheers.
LC

[Wickerman]

Hello Jon. But on the other hand, beginning with "The Star" story of 5 September, the assailant was supposed to be entirely silent in his steps.

Cheers.
LC

Hi Lynn.

How did they know that?

[curious]

Neither the backyard of Hanbury St., why else would Chapman have been there unless she was already with a client?

Regards, Jon S.

Hello, Jon,
For me, I see the possibility of Chapman having gone to a house that she knew (she apparently sold crochet work to Mrs. Richardson) because she was too ill to work and was not finding a client. I think its likelly she knew people slept in the hallway there -- perhaps had herself on earlier occasions when she could not raise her doss.

If she had been resting in the hallway, she could have felt a call of nature and went out to visit the privy, then was ambushed on her way back inside.

Just another possible take . . . ESPECIALLY if you believe the 5:30 time of death and no one reported seeing her for hours.

curious

[lynn cates]

quiet

Hello Jon. But on the other hand, beginning with "The Star" story of 5 September, the assailant was supposed to be entirely silent in his steps.

Cheers.
LC

[Wickerman]

Well, if he was a slaughterer, as has been often suggested, rubber-soled shoes would help him in his work, as he would be a lot less likely to slip on something, like fluid, or bits of meat or bone that ended up on the floor.

If Jack was the kind of killer who jumped out of the shadows and killed his victim then yes, but the site of Nichol's murder does not lend itself to that type of blitz attack.
Neither the backyard of Hanbury St., why else would Chapman have been there unless she was already with a client?
The corner where Eddowes was found was dark, true enough, but there were no nooks he could hide in, and of course the Kelly murder, no matter how you look at it was not a blitz attack from the shadows.
So no, there's nothing about the murder sites to suggest Jack snook up on them unawares.

More importantly, though, rubber-soled shoes may have provided him with a silent getaway late at night, when there weren't many competing sounds.

Yes, that is true.

How easy was it to get rubber-soled shoes then?

Apart from rollin' a bobby you mean and stealing his boots?

I don't know, cut up a bicycle tire and nail some strips to your boots?
Robert Sagar, City Police, tells us that some officers wearing india-rubber boots chased a "Jewish" looking suspect out of Mitre Sq. on one occasion.

Regards, Jon S.

[RivkahChaya]

Well, if he was a slaughterer, as has been often suggested, rubber-soled shoes would help him in his work, as he would be a lot less likely to slip on something, like fluid, or bits of meat or bone that ended up on the floor.

Actually, there are a lot of professions where that's true. Any indoor profession, where the floors might get slippery, rubber-soled shoes would be a big advantage, because the advantage of greater wear that leather soles provide is something that is negligible on indoor surfaces; you see the results when you are working on roads, or rocky areas where the soles might get cut by sharp edges.

More importantly, though, rubber-soled shoes may have provided him with a silent getaway late at night, when there weren't many competing sounds.

How easy was it to get rubber-soled shoes then?

[Wickerman]

If you've never worn rubber-soled shoes before, and just acquired some, and are wearing them for the first time, do you think you might walk oddly?

You might have a point, but why would the Ripper sneak about in silence?

All he was interested in was picking up a prostitute and getting her to take him to a quiet spot. Creeping around in soft shoes doesn't facilitate that in any way.

We do know that police came to wearing rubber-soled shoes/boots, but then they had a need to sneak up on a potential suspect, in dark streets, etc.

Regards, Jon S.

[RivkahChaya]

If you've never worn rubber-soled shoes before, and just acquired some, and are wearing them for the first time, do you think you might walk oddly? I really don't know? I'm trying to imagine what it would be like to have rubber-soled shoes for the first time as an adult, and I remember when there was a bigger bridge between school clothes and play clothes, so that "sneakers," or, rubber-soled running shoes were something you wore only after school and on weekends, so I do remember that they felt very different, but I don't know whether they were so different that they would feel odd, or cause a person to walk noticeable way-- maybe someone just noticeably aware of the lack of noise, somehow.

Something I do remember was that typing on a computer keyboard felt odd for a few years, and I would hit the keys too hard, because I grew up with noisy, manual typewriters, that you had to strike pretty hard, and it "felt" wrong that the keys didn't make much noise. I don't know if that's comparable or not, though.

[Wickerman]

Did White mention an awkward gait? (I'm not saying he didn't - just don't have my books in front of me).

Regards, Bridewell.

'Tis all here Colin..
http://www.casebook.org/forum/messages/4924/5870.html

"He was walking quickly but noiselessly, apparently wearing rubber shoes, which were rather rare in those days."

No staggering, limping, or awkward gait, but this character does have "strange eyes", a feature remarked on by a few witnesses.

White does describe him as "foreign looking":

"His face was long and thin, nostrils rather delicate, and his hair was jet black. His complexion was inclined to be sallow, and altogether the man was foreign in appearance."


My previous remark was essentially aimed at myself, a suspect with an awkward gait pops up in the most suspicious places. As recently, I appear to have been defending Druitt's position as a prime suspect, not that he needs it, but if I happened to discover Druitt had a limp, well.....I think I'd buy drinks all round

I had noticed he was a better bowler than runner........

Far be it for me to jump to any conclusions

Regards, Jon S.

[Robert]

I think Hutchinson said "Walked very sharp."

There were plenty of Jews who were born and bred in Britain and thus would have spoken with a local accent. Of course, if one is looking for Anderson's Polish Jew then that's different.