Mr Blotchy

[Abby Normal]

Astrakhan man was a prime suspect. from Joseph Isaacs page: Isaacs, born in 1858 was a 30 year old Polish Jewish cigar maker, who had resided at Mary Cusins lodging house in Little Paternoster Row, Spitalfields, for 3 or 4 days. Cusins became suspicious of Isaacs after he was heard pacing the floor of his room all night. Another lodger, Cornelius Oakes, stated that Isaacs often changed his clothing and was heard to threaten violence to all woman over the age of seventeen. When he suddenly vacated his room after the murder of Mary Kelly, Cusins became even more suspicious. She took her suspicions to the police, who searched his room and found he had left behind a violin bow. The police, assuming Isaacs would return for the bow, asked Cusins to keep a look out for him.

On 5 December 1888 Isaacs returned for the bow, whereupon Cusins followed him. Isaacs went to Julius Levenson's pawnshop, and after distracting Levenson, stole a watch worth 30 shillings, and ran away. Isaacs was arrested the next day in Drury Lane (co-incidentally on the same day as Ripper suspect, Aaron Cohen) and taken under strong escort to Leman Street police station.

The newspapers believed the police had arrested Jack the Ripper, and overheard Inspector Abberline saying to one of his officers, 'Keep this quiet, we have got the right man at last, this is a big thing'. Isaacs was interviewed by Abberline, and must have given a satisfactory account of himself, as he was subsequently only charged with the theft of the watch. Isaacs was described as short in stature, with a black moustache, wearing an Astrakhan trimmed coat and appeared to fit the suspect described by George Hutchinson. This would offer an explanation as to why the police paid such attention to Isaacs, and why they believed they had such a strong suspect.

OK well so much for Isaacs. Now what about Aman? how come no one believes very soon after and up till this day that he isn't really a viable suspect?

[Robert St Devil]

Mr. Devil, were can I read about this incident?

http://www.casebook.org/ripper_media/rps.sims2.html

I want to say I saw it somewhere else too, will keep looking.

[Fisherman]

OK well so much for Isaacs. Now what about Aman? how come no one believes very soon after and up till this day that he isn't really a viable suspect?

Well, you know my answer ...

[RockySullivan]

http://www.casebook.org/ripper_media/rps.sims2.html

I want to say I saw it somewhere else too, will keep looking.

Thanks, do you know where i can read the full story of the coffee stallholder who says the man told him of the two murders? I also read the coffee stallholder wrote a "complete history of the case", is this true and is there any way to read it?

http://forum.casebook.org/showpost.php?p=236771&postcount=59

[Varqm]

Nah. Three police name him and he’s the only suspect with any kind of direct evidence... the possible positive ID. Age would be hard to determine, he could have looked older than his years.

Druit has nothing going for him but rumors of rumors.

Agree with Wickerman.

As I posted before:

Mcnaughten,Swanson, Anderson had all those years to write about the big evidence against kosminski and they return back to solitary vice, eating from the gutter,etc.,all of which are not crimes and has nothing to do with kosminski as a murderer.It's plain to see that they had nothing strong.
Pulling a knife on his sister is far away from being a murderer.

On Anderson's "he was positively idenified",it has to be known what was the basis,did the witness specifically saidI recognize him but would not identify him because he was a jew?
Was it a tell/hunch/interpretaion ,did the witnes's demeanor changed when looking at one suspect but would not identify him ,did the witness not
able to identify the suspect in the first place and was reluctant to identify the suspect,because even though he was somewhat similar,he cold not identify anybody in the first place.
Until then it can't be used against Kosminski,if he was indeed in the Seaside ID or anybody.

----
It might be back then they,family then police, did not understand Kosminski's mental sickness and thought it a ground for murder.Then the family changed
their mind.

[Varqm]

It´s really not hard: Astrakhan man was not a prime suspect, but he was nevertheless sought for. All one needs to do is to work out what could have caused this order of things. He was initially believed to be the killer, and a red hot lead - and then he was downgraded, but NOT ruled uninteresting at all.
There´s only one way in which that jigsaw puzzle can be logically laid, as far as I understand. And Walter Dew said it more or less right out.

To Dew Hutch was not there and Abberliine went for peaked cap man.How could they downgrade given the length of sighting?

[Joshua Rogan]

If you have a look at Lynn`s Isenschmidt threads, there are many photos of him (Jacob, not Lynne) and even physical descriptions such as height and weight.

Thanks Jon. Interestingly, Isenscmidt was described as "very powerfully built" when first admitted to an asylum in Sept 1887. By 1895 He was "slim", but by 1896 he had "put on flesh".

[Fisherman]

To Dew Hutch was not there and Abberliine went for peaked cap man.How could they downgrade given the length of sighting?

To Dew, Hutch WAS there - the day before. Which is why Astrakhan man was downgraded but still of importance.

If you ask me. The fewest do.

[Sam Flynn]

The newspapers believed the police had arrested Jack the Ripper, and overheard Inspector Abberline saying to one of his officers, 'Keep this quiet, we have got the right man at last, this is a big thing'.

Which newspapers said as much, though? Certainly not all of them, and - as far as I recall - none of the mainstream ones.

[Craig H]

No need for charts, you're already spot on -
The Star 8th Sept says;
"Taylor says he has seen this man coming out of a lodging-house in Thrall-street. He thinks that he is a foreigner"

Thanks Joshua. That's interesting. Previous geographic profiles suggested that area as a likely place where he lived.

Was there anything in the press about the specific lodging house where he was staying ? Or does anyone know which lodging houses were in Thrall Street ? Would records still exist about who was staying there on that night ?

Craig

[Craig H]

Here's how Joseph Taylor's description compares to other witness descriptions

Joseph Taylor & Mrs Fiddymont

About 5ft 8in high. One article said 30 – 40 years old, another said 40 – 50 years old. He had a shabby genteel look, pepper and salt trousers, which fitted badly and dark coat. Short sandy hair and a ginger-colored moustache, curling a little at the ends. He was neither stout nor thin. The man did not look in the least like a butcher.

Blotchy (Mary Ann Cox)
A short, stout man, shabbily dressed. A longish, dark coat, very shabby. A round hard billycock. He had a blotchy face, and full carrotty moustache. The chin was shaven.

Lawende
About 30 years old, 5 feet 7 or 8 inches tall, medium build, fair complexion and mustache. He wore a pepper-and-salt loose jacket, a gray cloth cap with a peak, and a reddish neckerchief tied in a knot. Lawende thought he looked like a sailor.

P.C Smith
5 feet 7 inches tall, clean shaven, aged around 28, wearing dark clothes and a dark hard felt deerstalker hat.

Ada Wilson
25 to 30 years of age, medium height (about 5ft. 5in.), sunburnt face, fair moustache, and wore light trousers, a dark coat, and a wideawake hat.

Craig

[Abby Normal]

Here's how Joseph Taylor's description compares to other witness descriptions

Joseph Taylor & Mrs Fiddymont

About 5ft 8in high. One article said 30 – 40 years old, another said 40 – 50 years old. He had a shabby genteel look, pepper and salt trousers, which fitted badly and dark coat. Short sandy hair and a ginger-colored moustache, curling a little at the ends. He was neither stout nor thin. The man did not look in the least like a butcher.

Blotchy (Mary Ann Cox)
A short, stout man, shabbily dressed. A longish, dark coat, very shabby. A round hard billycock. He had a blotchy face, and full carrotty moustache. The chin was shaven.

Lawende
About 30 years old, 5 feet 7 or 8 inches tall, medium build, fair complexion and mustache. He wore a pepper-and-salt loose jacket, a gray cloth cap with a peak, and a reddish neckerchief tied in a knot. Lawende thought he looked like a sailor.

P.C Smith
5 feet 7 inches tall, clean shaven, aged around 28, wearing dark clothes and a dark hard felt deerstalker hat.

Ada Wilson
25 to 30 years of age, medium height (about 5ft. 5in.), sunburnt face, fair moustache, and wore light trousers, a dark coat, and a wideawake hat.

Craig

thanks Craig
well fiddymont man and blotchy certainly sound similar.

[Wickerman]

Oh god.... here we go. Another one with their own legendarium.
Lewis saw Mary Kelly? And saw her with Aman? Phantom witnesses named Kennedy? Lol!

The thing is Abby, we don't have any phantom witnesses in the Zodiac murders. We don't have them in the Long Island Serial Killer cases either. Nor any other murder cases that come to mind.

In fact we don't have a single witness being interviewed by three different journalists, for three different newspapers, all speaking to a witness that "never existed" - only in the crazy world of Jack the Ripper Theorists.

[Wickerman]

OK well so much for Isaacs. Now what about Aman? how come no one believes very soon after and up till this day that he isn't really a viable suspect?

They were still looking for both Astrachan & Blotchy, at least 10 days after the murder - Nov. 19th.

"The police have not relaxed their endeavours to hunt down the murderer in the slightest degree; but so far they remain without any direct clue. Some of the authorities are inclined to place most reliance upon the statement made by Hutchinson as to his having seen the latest victim with a gentlemanly man of dark complexion, with a dark moustache. Others are disposed to think that the shabby man with a blotchy face and a carrotty moustache described by the witness Mary Ann Cox, is more likely to be the murderer."
Echo, 19 Nov.

[Joshua Rogan]

Thanks Joshua. That's interesting. Previous geographic profiles suggested that area as a likely place where he lived.

Was there anything in the press about the specific lodging house where he was staying ? Or does anyone know which lodging houses were in Thrall Street ?

Sorry no, that's all the info I found. There were apparently 10 registered lodging houses in Thrawl Street. Only Flower & Dean St (30) and Dorset St (13) had more. The only one I can name is Wilmot's, where Polly Nichols stayed.

Would records still exist about who was staying there on that night ?

Wouldn't that be nice! Sadly even if they still existed I suspect it wouldn't be much help - at the Eddowes inquest the lodging house keeper Wilkinson was sent to fetch his book to see if any strange men had rented a bed that night, but it didn't seem to contain any useful details and he said he didn't record the names of lodgers :-(