What makes Druitt a viable suspect?

[The Baron]

Yes, but - I'll say it again - in the context of this discussion, the salient point is that Druitt was on the police radar in 1888/89, to the extent that a report was sent to the Home Office about him. This should quell those doubters who believe that Druitt's status as a suspect was something that only Macnaghten and his informant(s) conjured up a few years later. And, here's the thing, I used to be one of those doubters... until today, in fact, when the import of Abberline's interview finally sunk in. It's true what they say - you're never too old to learn

Again Sam, there was nothing linking Druitt to the crimes, absolutely nothing!

Abberline went on to describe it as just a story that amounts to absolutely nothing.

If they investigated him back then and reached that conclusion then why still Druitt considered a viable suspect ?!

That says it all.


The Baron

[PaulB]

And there was absolutely nothing to suspect him of.

That was the point.


The Baron

So why was he suspect, which clearly he was?

[Sam Flynn]

Again Sam, there was nothing linking Druitt to the crimes, absolutely nothing!

Again, Baron... I get that, but that's not my point. My point is that Druitt wasn't retrospectively identified by Macnaghten (and only by him) on the grounds of mere "gossip", years after the event. Whether he is a good suspect - and he isn't, in my view - is by the by.

[The Baron]

So why was he suspect, which clearly he was?

It was just a story Paul, I am not sure if he was ever investigated.

But didn't Abberline said it: They thought he was a doctor who commited suicide after the last murder, and the Police were searching for a mad doctor who had the skill to commit such crimes, who can extract a uterus and a kidney in no time in total darkness?!

That is the long and short of it.


The Baron

[PaulB]

Again, Baron... I get that, but that's not my point. My point is that Druitt wasn't retrospectively identified by Macnaghten (and only by him) on the grounds of mere "gossip", years after the event. Whether he is a good suspect - and he isn't, in my view - is by the by.

We don't know that there was nothing linking him to the crimes, and on the grounds that suspicion fell on him, it's reasonable to suppose that there was something that did link him to the crimes. Whether he was 'viable' is an altogether different matter.

[The Baron]

Sam,

Abberline said: Several months after December 1888.

The greatest regret of Macnaghten life was that he had joined the force six months after Jack the Ripper had committed suicide.


Got it?!


The Baron

[Sam Flynn]

Sam,

Abberline said: Several months after December 1888.

Abberline was to the fact that the police were still investigating the case after Druitt's death, NOT Druitt's candidacy as a suspect at the time his body was fished out of the Thames, or whenever afterwards he was first suspected, for whatever reasons, be they strong or tenuous ones.

Again, as I've said repeatedly, my point is merely to show that Druitt's being a suspect - to the extent that a memo was sent about him to the Home Office - predates the Macnaghten Memorandum by several years.

[The Baron]

Look Baron.....a poster that doesn’t feel that Druitt is a particularly good candidate but can make honest, reasonable, well-informed posts.

It is possible you know.

I agree, Mr Flynn and Mr Begg too.


The Baron

[The Baron]

You've missed my point again, so I shan't waste my time anymore.

Sam, I know what you mean, but maybe the source of it was Macnaghten after he goined the force 6 months later, not that Druitt was under their radar before.


The Baron

[Herlock Sholmes]

Yes, but - I'll say it again - in the context of this discussion, the salient point is that Druitt was on the police radar in 1888/89, to the extent that a report was sent to the Home Office about him. This should quell those doubters who believe that Druitt's status as a suspect was something that only Macnaghten and his informant(s) conjured up a few years later. And, here's the thing, I used to be one of those doubters... until today, in fact, when the import of Abberline's interview finally sunk in. It's true what they say - you're never too old to learn

It’s called integrity.

Look it up in the dictionary Baron.

[The Baron]

Abberline was to the fact that the police were still investigating the case after Druitt's death, NOT Druitt's candidacy as a suspect at the time his body was fished out of the Thames, or whenever afterwards he was first suspected, for whatever reasons, be they strong or tenuous ones.

Again, as I've said repeatedly, my point is merely to show that Druitt's being a suspect - to the extent that a memo was sent about him to the Home Office - predates the Macnaghten Memorandum by several years.

Was that before Druitt committed suicide or after?! Before Macnaghten joined the force or after, Sam ?!


If he was under their radar before he committed suicide, then you have a case.


The Baron

[rjpalmer]

the salient point is that Druitt was on the police radar in 1888/89, to the extent that a report was sent to the Home Office about him. This should quell those doubters who believe that Druitt's status as a suspect was something that only Macnaghten and his informant(s) conjured up a few years later.

Hi Gareth. I happen to agree with you; but not everyone here does. We were informed back in Post #481:

"The “Home Office report,” was the Macnaghten Memoranda."

This is the cynical counter-argument. Abberline is responding to Sims (who mentioned a report being filed) and is merely referring to the 1894 memo. It's all one big echo chamber.

But I asked the following question (and never got much of a response). Why would Abberline have even known about the Memoranda's existence? He retired 8 February 1892, two years before it was written. People, as a rule, are seldom aware of internal reports filed two years after their retirement. Which opens the possibility that Abberline misunderstood Sims and is referring to an earlier report. The tone of his response seems to suggest that he is referring to earlier events of which he had first-hand knowledge. RP

[Herlock Sholmes]

It was just a story Paul, I am not sure if he was ever investigated.

But didn't Abberline said it: They thought he was a doctor who commited suicide after the last murder, and the Police were searching for a mad doctor who had the skill to commit such crimes, who can extract a uterus and a kidney in no time in total darkness?!

That is the long and short of it.


The Baron

. It was just a story Paul, I am not sure if he was ever investigated.

Yet again you are stating something as a fact that you cannot possibly know.

But didn't Abberline said it: They thought he was a doctor who commited suicide after the last murder, and the Police were searching for a mad doctor who had the skill to commit such crimes,

Everyone that had previously thought “well Druitt is only a suspect because of the MM” were incorrect as it turns out. The police were looking at him well before the MM was penned. Yet you still twist and squirm. If he was of interest to the police they must have had reason for that interest. The police don’t just have interest in people for fun. The fact that they didn’t arrest him could just have meant that insufficient evidence existed at the time. Having insufficient evidence at the time does not mean that evidence was presented later on to Macnaghten in his ‘private info.’ Information originating from the Druitt family in some form.

who can extract a uterus and a kidney in no time in total darkness?!

You keep blathering on about this. So what are you saying? That the killer must have been the Usain Bolt of the LVP surgery world? Someone did it Baron so it’s obviously not impossible. It happened. And if you say that Druitt wasn’t a skilled surgeon or some such drivel I’d again ask if you are suggesting that the killer must have been a surgeon.

Thats the long and short of it.

[Herlock Sholmes]

Sam,

Abberline said: Several months after December 1888.

The greatest regret of Macnaghten life was that he had joined the force six months after Jack the Ripper had committed suicide.


Got it?!


The Baron

You don’t know what you’re talking about.

Got it?

[Herlock Sholmes]

I agree, Mr Flynn and Mr Begg too.


The Baron

And both of these posters are telling you that you’re wrong. Try listening.