A Likely Suspect?

[Trevor Marriott]

Being able to speak the local language is not an absolute requirement for soliciting prostitutes. However, if you don't speak the language, then you go the most common places of ill repute. You wouldn't have the local street knowledge, and you couldn't ask around, so you'd follow your nose, as it were - you'd go where your fellow sailors went, and you wouldn't have to go far.

The Ripper victims were not all seasoned prostitutes. Annie Chapman, for example, was an occasional prostitute, and not the sort of hooker a foreign sailor would be likely to find. What's more, witness Elizabeth Long overhears the man ask, "Will you?" which is sufficient to determine whether someone has a thick German accent or not - which she failed to mention.

Hi Karl
There is no evidence to show that he did not have a basic knowledge of English. If he didn't speak any English then how would Lawton been able to communicate with him, and take instructions from him regarding his trial and the defence he put forward. There was never any mention made of the use of an interpreter other than at court, which is what you would expect to happen in the interests of fair play when someone is not fully conversant with the language.

Of course we cannot be certain that the man seen and referred to by the witness was the killer

https://www.trevormarriott.co.uk

[Karl]

My main problem with Feigenbaum is that he didn't speak English. I have a hard time imagining the man who negotiated and picked up those women to employ their services did not speak English.

Being able to speak the local language is not an absolute requirement for soliciting prostitutes. However, if you don't speak the language, then you go the most common places of ill repute. You wouldn't have the local street knowledge, and you couldn't ask around, so you'd follow your nose, as it were - you'd go where your fellow sailors went, and you wouldn't have to go far.

The Ripper victims were not all seasoned prostitutes. Annie Chapman, for example, was an occasional prostitute, and not the sort of hooker a foreign sailor would be likely to find. What's more, witness Elizabeth Long overhears the man ask, "Will you?" which is sufficient to determine whether someone has a thick German accent or not - which she failed to mention.

[Columbo]

I picked up Marriott's last book on the kindle and although I don't agree with the Feighenbaum theory I will say Marriott provided some very good information and angles on subjects I hadn't seen before. I was especially impressed with his ideas about the Swanson marginalia.

It's may not be on par with other JTR books but for $6 it's worth the look.

Columbo

[Patrick S]

In my opinion Feigenbaum is no more or less compelling than many other 'Ripper suspects'.

One impediment, for me, is the fact that we must rely heavily on what we're told by Lawton. On the other hand, we can say without question that Feigenbaum was a killer and we can point to Juliana Hoffman as an example of his misdeeds, bad character, mental instability, insanity.....pick one, or all of the above. In the end he was a murder who's life ended by electrocution. I think that counts for something and elevates Feigenbaum far above someone like Cross/Lechmere, of whom we know of no violent behavior or mental illness at all, and whose life ended after 75 years, of natural causes, in his bed.

For me, at least, another drawback is the killing of Juliana Hoffman. I don't see "Jack the Ripper". The same can be said of the crimes of Deeming, Chapman, and Bury.

In the end, Feigenbaum is interesting. It's a good theory and at the very least, a great story. That's true of Cross/Lechmere, Bury, a few others. In my view, that's about all we can hope for after all this time.

[Columbo]

Feigenbaum was chosen based on a flimsy interview with a lawyer and the fact he was a seaman. If the wiki was correct (I have no reason to doubt it yet) Marriott came up with the idea it was a sailor first and then decided it was Feigenbaum. Of course that's a simplified version of it but it's basically it. There's no basis for Feigenbaum to be considered a suspect, much like alot of the suspects that have been put forth. A great hypothesis though and alot of interesting work by Marriott. Hats off to him.

[Amanda]

This is why not!

Hi All,
Very interesting discussion, but thought it time to give you a little gem.

I have researched Magdalena Strohband - she was supposedly Carl Feigenbaum's sister-in-law, to whom he left his final possessions & communicated with before his execution.
Magdalena was married to a gentleman (German) named Rheiner Kosch who had a brother named Karl (with a K).
From this we can deduce it likely that Feigenbaum's real name was Karl Kosch.

I then tracked the movements of Karl Kosch, the sailor, and apart from a short stay in Portsmouth in 1884 I cannot find him anywhere near London - but, let me point out that this is far from conclusive proof.
What I did find is Karl Kosch on a ship sailing to South America in 1888, the port of call being Nicaragua.
Interesting point - Nicaragua's main fruit export was figs - German name for 'fig tree'? Feigenbaum!
From this we can probably deduce that this is when he changed his name as his next trip was to North America, and from there the trail goes cold until he is picked up as Carl Feigenbaum.

Make what you like of my research, which I did present to Mr.Marriott about a year ago after reading his book, but one thing I can assure you is that I am very thorough. Although his book is very interesting, the theory cannot be upheld when the even the identity of the suspect is in question.
No malice intended Trevor.

Amanda

[Roy Corduroy]

From the Report of the German Evangelical Seaman's Mission in Great Britain 1890

The numbers could be germane to the discussion,

Roy

[Ausgirl]

What evidence is there that he could?

Untold numbers of sailors with the clap?

Language was not (and is not, now) much of a barrier to that particular trade.

[Vincenzo]

Have you any evidence which proves he didn't speak enough of the language to be able to pick up a common street prostitute and indicate his intention to pay for their services ?

www.trevormarriott.co.uk

What evidence is there that he could?

[Trevor Marriott]

My main problem with Feigenbaum is that he didn't speak English. I have a hard time imagining the man who negotiated and picked up those women to employ their services did not speak English.

Have you any evidence which proves he didn't speak enough of the language to be able to pick up a common street prostitute and indicate his intention to pay for their services ?

https://www.trevormarriott.co.uk

[Vincenzo]

My main problem with Feigenbaum is that he didn't speak English. I have a hard time imagining the man who negotiated and picked up those women to employ their services did not speak English.

[Patutte]

Lol

Creepy thought. Maybe we should get one of those ultraviolet lights and check it out. I'm not sure if we'll find anything, but I'm not collecting any "Samples".

[Trevor Marriott]

Hi Lech,

I think you are right. There is no evidence that a casual foreign sailor had any intimate knowledge of the street walkers and their alleyways. Certainly no seaman was found on or near any of them.

Love,

Caz
X

I bet there was plenty of seamen found in the alleys !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Patutte]

No interpreter

I find it both interesting & convenient, that no interpreter was present during any of the conversations between Lawton and Feigenbaum, when Feigenbaum allegedly made certain "confessions". If I was his lawyer and knew my client to have a "loose" understanding of my chosen language, I think I would benefit greatly by the presence of a interpreter. Unless of course I myself had a great knowledge of my client's chosen language. I would want to understand everything that my client had to say, so that I could best prepare my case for his defense. It's pretty convenient that no interpreter was present, had one been, then the whole story of Feigenbaum possibly being JTR could of broken much sooner. Although I guess it's possible that said interpreter may have been bound by the same rules of client confidentiality as Lawton had been. Yet, had one been present, and if said conversations really did take place, at the very least he would have had someone to backup his claims when he finally revealed what he "knew". One can only conclude that said conversations never really took place. Either that, or Lawton spoke a second language that just happened to be Feigenbaum's first language. Didn't Feigenbaum speak German? (correct me if I'm wrong) what of Lawton? Did he perhaps know any German?

There's also one other thing that's been kinda bugging me. Feigenbaum claimed to be innocent of the murder of Mrs. Juliana Hoffman. He even went so far as to name someone else as the murderer, Jacob Weibel. "When asked to plead Feigenbaum, in a firm tone of voice, declared that he was not guilty of the murder. His defense was childishly simple: he did not commit the murder, he said, because his friend, one Jacob Weibel, had." What bugs me about all of this is not that I think he didn't commit the crime and that it was really his friend who had. What bugs me is that his lawyer seemed to ignore this entirely. If I was his lawyer and he claimed another man committed the crime, I would do what I could to find this person. It would be my duty to exhaust all possible avenues of inquiry no matter how small or silly they appear to be. Lawton doesn't appear to do this, Lawton appears to latch onto a opportunity which presented itself in the form Carl Feigenbaum.

Curious question. Did anyone ever look into Jacob Weibel? I'm not saying that he definitely committed the crime and Feigenbaum was really innocent, but I am curious if police looked into it. Maybe it might have seemed unrealistic, however maybe they decided to just for the sake of tying loose ends. In the end Jacob Weibel may well have been nothing more then a mere figment of Feigenbaum imagination, yet, I can't help but wonder, what if?

[Lechmere]

I will have to spell check that