Who was 'Jack the Ripper' - the poll.

[Ben]

Hi Caz,

Coming forward to put yourself near your own hideous crime scene when nobody else could have proved you were ever there may be unwise if not totally unheard of.

I think you'll find it's a good deal more "heard of" than that. I don't think the FBI would lay traps to snare offenders in anticipation of precisely that type of self-preserving strategy if it was an obscure behavioural rarity. Indeed, you even provided a useful example of such a strategy yourself a few weeks ago. For years you've been arguing vehemently against the idea of serial killers coming forward with false evidence on the grounds that it would be "too stupid" (or whatever), but now you've generously provided an example of an offender who did precisely that!

I've already prepared a post in anticipation of the inevitable "Oh, that doesn't count/it was slightly different because..."

because you only have his word for it that he was there at all (and also that he saw the victim that night) and your case against him depends on that much being true but everything else being lies

I looked for external corroboration for his claims. Sarah Lewis described a man loitering near the crime scene, and as soon as her evidence was publicly divulged, along came Hutchinson with a statement to the effect that he was loitering near the crime scene in the same location as Lewis' man, doing precisely what Lewis observed her man to have been doing; "watching and waiting for someone".

I think he came forward because he learned he'd been seen by a witness, and lied about his reasons for being there. A study of more recent murder cases has delivered up several interesting examples of offenders resorting to similar behaviour. The same cannot be said of the hypothesis that Hutchinson wasn't there at all and falsely assumed the indentity of a real person observed at the scene of the crime, whilst still pretending to be a witness himself...for some reason.

If he had been the ripper, and came forward because he thought he needed to excuse a sighting of him loitering, he could so easily have found himself having to excuse his presence near a previous crime scene

No, that's the sort of outcome one would expect had Hutchinson been dragged in and introduced to police as a suspect without having first sowed the seeds of a false preconception as to his character and motivations.

Threatening to become a Hutch-thread pretty quick is this.

Best regards,
Ben

[Lewis]

1) An unknown perp. who will never be revealed.
2) An unknown perp. against whom evidence will one day come to light
3) William Grant Grainger, or someone very similar in background and behavior
4) Someone in the cast of characters who has been heretofore overlooked.
5) William Bury.

[Jeff Leahy]

Sorry had to vote as I could not beleive five people thought Hutchinson more likely than Aaron kosminski

Pirate

[Ben]

That's not something you should be remotely surprised about, Jeff.

[Jeff Leahy]

yes, your probably right about that

are these the same people who think Hutchinson and Flemming are one of the same?

[Ben]

Some of them, yes.

Not all by any means. Some subscribe to the Fleming theory without Hutchinson and vice versa.

[Jeff Leahy]

Bizarre

[Ben]

Nope, not at all.

[c.d.]

Sorry had to vote as I could not beleive five people thought Hutchinson more likely than Aaron kosminski

Pirate

I think Ben just voted five times.

c.d.

[Ben]

Yeah, obviously.

I mean just think of all the hours of sleep I'd lose if Hutchinson wasn't getting the votes.

[Natalie Severn]

Two suspects were named in National newspapers:The first man was Frances Tumblety,named in 1888/89 in the American Press as being a police suspect for Jack the Ripper,who two Scotland Yard men ,allegedly, followed across the Atlantic.
The other was Thomas Cutbush,accused of being Jack the Ripper by the Sun newspaper in 1894.Thomas Cutbush was said by Macnaghten to be the nephew of his Scotland Yard colleague,Supt Charles Cutbush.
Frances Tumblety appears to have been a psycopathic conman and posed as a doctor.He could have been the ripper.
Thomas Cutbush was sent to Broadmoor in 1891,for stabbing women at random in the street.I think he is also a strong candidate and could have been the ripper.

[Celesta]

To continue, there is a problem with Hutchinson, since some of the 4 people who have voted for him believe him to be Hutch, while others believe Hutch to be an alias.
One name, two rippers.

Hi David,

Maybe we need a Do-You-Think-Joe-Fleming-Was-George-Hutchinson-Poll. I guess we need to lasso Barry!

[Jeff Leahy]

Brilliant, we could do a Hutchinson, Flemming or Maybrick poll

What do you think?

[Celesta]

Then, Jeff, we can do a Which-Witness-Do-You-Believe-Poll. Or a Do-You-Believe-Hutch poll. Etc.!

[DVV]

What about a poll: "Had Maybrick a military appearance?"

Amitiés,
David