Favorite suspect/s?

[GUT]

If I had to pick a "named" suspect it would be Kosminski, not Aaron Kosminski or at least not "Fido's" Kosminski.

Considering one of the only clues (Even if it was nothing to do with the Ripper) was removed for fear of attacks on Jewish people. If Kosminski (or any other of Jewish extraction) was considered by the police to "be him" then it's reasonable to suspect it would have been covered-up. If dead or mad what would be the point anyway? They were hardly to know that 120-odd years later people would be still dissecting this case through cyberspace.

There are some unfortunate examples of police covering up crimes for the sake of "diversity" in modern times.

The scaling down of the investigation after the Kelly murder, I think the police suspected that it would be the last.


My "favourite" suspects however that I am interested in are Tumblety and Druitt, both of whom I think are not the Ripper.

But darn interesting pair all the same.

[Fisherman]

Abby agree with all your finally half. We may disagree about why throats were cut. Fisherman would argue in Nichols case it was done second.

As you say it's interesting to see how people think.


Steve

It is actually not "my" argument or thinking, it is Llewellyns. I just agree, and find that the blood evidence supports the take.

[Fisherman]

Hi Abby.

My concern with Chapman, and Kozminski alike, is their age. In 1888 both were far too young for this type of crime, in my opinion.

I tend to agree, and since I also think that the 1873 torso was killed by the man we know as the Ripper, not only does that suggest that Koz and Chapman killed before ten years of age, but also that they did so from VERY far afield...

[Varqm]

Hi. Busy Beaver,
i am only using hearsay from a relation of Kelly's landlord, in which it is claimed he knew the identity of her killer, and therefore as her death has all the hallmarks of the Ripper, he knew Jack.
Pure hearsay that McCarthy frightened away someone pestering Mary Kelly. Pure speculation that this person killed MJK, and pure speculation that her landlord knew who the killer was , and his motive.
Pure speculation that Joe Barnett fits in with all this also , and very unlikely in my opinion he had anything to do with her death.[ albeit I did have reservations at one time].
Fiona Kendall who submitted this hearsay to Casebook , also refers to her grandfathers account of Mary Jane Kelly, being a fine looking woman , with distinctive hair., also her great grandmother parcelling up the dead woman's clothing and sending them to a reluctant brother who was in the army, and was concerned with this scandal affecting his army prospects. Also Fiona's grandfather saw a passport belonging to the dead woman..
All hearsay , along with speculation, but is a account from someone whose family had major connections to the case.
Regards Richard.

Yeah I remember when Fiona Kendall was posting.I wanted her to continue and read her full story,if lying something will standout most likely but people attacked her and she ran.Lose respect and its downhill from there.

_

[Darryl Kenyon]

I wouldn't take too much stock over age regarding Chapman, Kosminski etc. This was a different era, people grew up faster, they died younger, life's experiences came at them thick and fast. All that could impact on their psyche,[1888, not 1873, obviously eight is too young].

[MrBarnett]

Passport

Passports bearing a photo of the holder were not introduced until 1915. Not that this really matters......

Graham

It may have been this kind of thing, which, in conjunction with a birth certificate confirming her age, would have been very useful to a young British/Irish woman seeking employment in a French brothel.

[MrBarnett]

Here's a thought. I understand that placeurs trafficking underage girls to the continent employed the simple trick of obtaining copies of the birth certificates of women of the right age from the GRO and passing their girls off by the names on those certificates.

MJK may have been of the right age when (if) she worked in Paris, but she was young enough that documents would have been necessary I'd have thought.

Did she still have her original (presumably Irish) birth cert when she arrived in London? If not, would it have been easier to get hold of a copy in the name of any British-born woman of the right age rather than the correct Irish one? Or would her marriage cert have sufficed?

[Busy Beaver]

James Hardiman, Son of Harriet Hardiman. I reckon he would be my number one "Local" suspect. He had an STD, his baby daughter unfortunately died from and STD and his young wife died from an STD.

And this leads on to the fact that Sarah Hardiman may have resorted to prostitution to help with family finances and James may have frequented prostitutes in the area and this is how they caught the STD. If you look at the age groups of the first four victims, they are middle aged, which to me suggests James if he was the Ripper, may have picked up his STD from an older woman. Mary Jane Kelly and If you believe Frances Coles was a Ripper victim, both of them were young and this may suggest that if James was the Ripper, he was angry with his wife for going in to prostitution, picking up and infection and the subsequent death of his young baby. And if the Ripper caught up with a victim he knew, then it was purely co-incidental. Certainly for Polly Nichols and Annie Chapman, as both of them needed 4d for a bed or drink in the morning and they would have gone to a random place in the hope of finding a punter. I don't think Stride was soliciting, she was looking for blokes to buy her drinks. Catherine Eddowes may have been looking for someone to give her some money, but bumped into Jack who made her an offer and of course she couldn't refuse. Not sure about MJK, but she must have come out of her room and walked straight into JTR. Perhaps JTR was loitering up the court looking for someone to invite him in. As a local he probably would know that a few of the female residents there were part-time or occasional prostitutes and this would have been after George Hutchison had left Dorset Street.

BB

[Pcdunn]

James Hardiman, Son of Harriet Hardiman. I reckon he would be my number one "Local" suspect. He had an STD, his baby daughter unfortunately died from and STD and his young wife died from an STD.

And this leads on to the fact that Sarah Hardiman may have resorted to prostitution to help with family finances and James may have frequented prostitutes in the area and this is how they caught the STD. If you look at the age groups of the first four victims, they are middle aged, which to me suggests James if he was the Ripper, may have picked up his STD from an older woman. Mary Jane Kelly and If you believe Frances Coles was a Ripper victim, both of them were young and this may suggest that if James was the Ripper, he was angry with his wife for going in to prostitution, picking up and infection and the subsequent death of his young baby. And if the Ripper caught up with a victim he knew, then it was purely co-incidental. Certainly for Polly Nichols and Annie Chapman, as both of them needed 4d for a bed or drink in the morning and they would have gone to a random place in the hope of finding a punter. I don't think Stride was soliciting, she was looking for blokes to buy her drinks. Catherine Eddowes may have been looking for someone to give her some money, but bumped into Jack who made her an offer and of course she couldn't refuse. Not sure about MJK, but she must have come out of her room and walked straight into JTR. Perhaps JTR was loitering up the court looking for someone to invite him in. As a local he probably would know that a few of the female residents there were part-time or occasional prostitutes and this would have been after George Hutchison had left Dorset Street.

BB

I think it is more likely that Sarah Hardiman and the baby caught the STD from James, rather than Sarah was a prostitute. Was James employed? Did Sarah have any occupation listed in the census? She won't say "prostitute" of course, but certain professions were code terms for the "oldest profession" and of course "unemployed" or a blank could also point to it.

The Jack was "down on whores" for personal reasons is a pretty old theory now, ands seems to be needed to make sense of the killings. Trouble is, maybe Jack had no reason for killing them other than they were available and he could easily murder them.

[Busy Beaver]

Hi Pcdunn, I picked out James Hardiman as there has been no thread started about him and he fits the JTR profile in terms of being local. at the right age and having a possible motive. James is also a candidate, where the lack of a photo does not yet rule in either in or out.

John Richardson has been discussed and I have kept him on my possible list. I know there are a few casebookers who are keen on Charles Lechmere/Cross, again another local, but as he was identified and became a witness, would he have been brave or stupid enough to carry on as the Ripper? I don't think so anyway.

Top of my list is a Policeman or someone with Police connections. Debate is hotting up on another thread about this.

BB

[Fisherman]

John Richardson has been discussed and I have kept him on my possible list. I know there are a few casebookers who are keen on Charles Lechmere/Cross, again another local, but as he was identified and became a witness, would he have been brave or stupid enough to carry on as the Ripper? I don't think so anyway.
BB

John Wayne Gacy, Gary Ridgway, Peter Sutcliffe are just a few high profile examples of killers who were interviewed by the police and who nevertheless were brave and/or stupid enough to carry on killing. Gacy had served a ten year sentence for rape, even, but took up killing when released in 1970. Since the rape was well known, there were lots of rumours about Gacy whenever a young man disappeared, and the police searched his house.
Thatīs about how stupid or brave he was.

Ridgway was arrested for consorting with prostitutes in 1982 and 2001, and he first became a suspect in the Green River killings back in 1983.
Thatīs about how stupid or brave he was.

Sutcliffe was interviewed nine (9!) times before he was finally captured.
Thatīs about how stupid or brave he was.

There are numerous other examples of killers being known by the police and killing away nevertheless, just as there are examples of killers injecting themselves into the investigations of their murders.

By all means, dislike away when it comes to Lechmere , but do it on sound grounds - if you can find them.

[Herlock Sholmes]

. There are numerous other examples of killers being known by the police and killing away nevertheless,

Fish, are there examples of killers who were specifically in the frame for a single murder who then went on to kill more?

[Abby Normal]

John Wayne Gacy, Gary Ridgway, Peter Sutcliffe are just a few high profile examples of killers who were interviewed by the police and who nevertheless were brave and/or stupid enough to carry on killing. Gacy had served a ten year sentence for rape, even, but took up killing when released in 1970. Since the rape was well known, there were lots of rumours about Gacy whenever a young man disappeared, and the police searched his house.
Thatīs about how stupid or brave he was.

Ridgway was arrested for consorting with prostitutes in 1982 and 2001, and he first became a suspect in the Green River killings back in 1983.
Thatīs about how stupid or brave he was.

Sutcliffe was interviewed nine (9!) times before he was finally captured.
Thatīs about how stupid or brave he was.

There are numerous other examples of killers being known by the police and killing away nevertheless, just as there are examples of killers injecting themselves into the investigations of their murders.

By all means, dislike away when it comes to Lechmere , but do it on sound grounds - if you can find them.

yup. and dahmer was caught red handed by the police with one of his victims who managed to get away into the street, naked, and talked himself out of it. later to kill the victim later once he got them back into the apartment.

[Fisherman]

Fish, are there examples of killers who were specifically in the frame for a single murder who then went on to kill more?

The three I mentioned were in the frame for a large number of murders and went on killing. I donīt know exactly what you are after, asking about a single murder, but in any case, Lechmere (who is the centre of discussion here) was never in the frame for any murder at all, by the looks of things. He was spoken to by the police and attended the inquest, but apparently never in the capacity of a suspect.

[Fisherman]

It will always hold true that most people who have families and kids are not serial killers - but there are numerous exceptions to the rule. The same goes for how people will normally not go on committing crimes if they feel the police have them on their radar - but there are numerous exceptions to that rule too.

Statistics will do us no good in matters like these. Statistics tell us that people will normally not become serial killers, but that is not a good reason to accept that there are no serial killers.