The Birmingham suspect : Lewis or Hutch's ?

[DVV]

Wassili

Wassili was apparently looked for at about the same time the Birmingham suspect was arrested (see Star, 17 Nov). That is all I know. There may be a good reason to suggest it was him...I myself have not, but I never specialized in Wassili as I belong to another sect.

[DVV]

Tumblety, obviously, doesn’t enter the picture here, no matter how Tumblety supporters want to spin this. He was in London, part of the time under remand and in jail, while the Birmingham Police were watching their down-on-his-luck doctor in Birmingham.
Wolf.

Definitely so, Wolf (and Stewart). The man can't be watched by the Birmingham police and appear in Court at the same time.

[mariab]

Wassili/Vassiliev never existed as a serial killer, David.
The Star from November 17, 1888:
A Fictional French "Ripper."
A story is being widely circulated that the Whitechapel murders were possibly committed by a certain Nicholas Wassili, who is said to have been placed in an insane asylum in 1872, after he had committed a series of crimes in Paris similar to those that have been lately committed in the East-end of London. A certain amount of probability has been attached to this theory, in view of the fact that Wassili was, according to the reports, released from confinement last January. It is doubtful, however, whether such a man as Wassili ever existed. M. Macé, a former Chef de la Sûreté, who is thoroughly posted in the criminal history of France, has said to an interviewer that no such person committed murders in Paris in 1872. The only Parisian case in any way resembling the London aseassinations was one which occurred about 1875. A certain individual terrified the women in the Rochechouart quarter by repeated assaults. He was captured after five or six of these outrages, and was pronounced insane. He was a foreigner, but not a Russian, and in any case he killed none of his victims.

[DVV]

Hi Maria, yes I know this article, I was merely saying that he had been under suspicion at about the same time, hence the interview with the Chief of the Sûreté.

Dvvvv

[mariab]

Salut David,
Vassiliev was not a real person/suspect. There was a series of articles in British newspapers claiming the existence of a French Ripper, as illustrated below:
The Weekly Herald of October 12, 1888:
A FRENCH WHITECHAPEL MURDERER.
Whether it be a case of history repeating itself or not, the discovery has been made that many years ago one of the districts of Paris--corresponding as regards its squalid character to Whitechapel--was infested with a wretch who went about killing and multilating (sic) women of the "unfortunate" class. For months this orge (sic) carried on his operations successfully, but at last was caught, and in a somewhat remarkable manner. He had accosted a young girl, who, struck by his repulsive look, felt convinced that he must be the long-sought assassin, and promptly gave him into the custody of a policeman. Her instinct proved right. All the various crimes were traced to this particular man, and it was subsequently found that he was suffering from a strange form of homicidal monomania. Nothing better could happen than for the Whitechapel atrocities to have the same ending and to be explained in the same way.
Piòtr Rachkovsky, the Okhrana chief operative in Paris, a specialist in provocation, was in the habit of paying subsidies to journalists and plant articles in the local newspapers in favour of Russian interests. (This is documented.) Rachkovsky left Paris and became active in London in the late summer of 1888. The London press reports stating that Vassiliev, the alleged “prostitute killer of France“, lodged with compatriot refugees may have been aimed at instrumentalizing the Ripper murders into inducing the Metropolitan Police to interrogate Russian immigrants, thus gathering valuable information about Russians in London which the Okhrana could collect through its agents in Scotland Yard.
The British press became aware of the fact that Vassiliev was fictitious in November 1888 after speaking with Macé, the former chef de Sûreté.
About Vassiliev not having existed, see also Stepan Poberowski's article in Ripperologist #50.

[lynn cates]

Rachkovski

Hello Maria. No, I have not found the real Vassiliev whom, as I recall, was supposed to be a Skopsy member--not an Anarchist. Rachkovski turned him into that.

I will check my email.

Cheers.
LC

[lynn cates]

correction

Hello Mr. Evans. I beg pardon. I notice that there was a hearing at the Old Bailey regarding him on the 20th November.

Given your remarks, I presume he did not attend?

Cheers.
LC

[lynn cates]

Eunuch st station

Hello David.

"but I never specialized in Wassili as I belong to another sect."

Ah, so not a Skopsy? So no castration in your future?

Cheers.
LC

[mariab]

Yep, he was a Skopsy. They engaged in self-castration and self-cannibalism (not unlike the Pizzaman in Spaceballs).

[mklhawley]

Whilst I do not like to enter into debates about Tumblety and did not extend my Tumblety research beyond 1996 I shall give my opinion, for what it's worth, here. That is with the caveat, of course, that any new information that may emerge might alter that opinion.

I have to say that I agree with Wolf here and I have never believed that the 'Euston Station suspect' was Tumblety, albeit I looked into it over fifteen years ago. It is a tempting idea but the known facts militate against it. As Wolf points out, correctly, Tumblety was probably otherwise occupied in London.

Thanks Stewart,

I actually have no big issues with this, since it really doesn't affect the reality of Tumblety being considered a suspect by Scotland Yard. It certainly is intriguing that Smith's comments are so similar, but taking yours and Wolf's position is very understandable.

Sincerely,
Mike

[Robert]

Beware, researchers! One never knows what will turn up in the files :

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16244217

[Stewart P Evans]

Source

Hello Mr. Evans. I beg pardon. I notice that there was a hearing at the Old Bailey regarding him on the 20th November.
Given your remarks, I presume he did not attend?
Cheers.
LC

What, exactly, is your source for this statement?

[lynn cates]

source

Hello Mr. Evans.

"What, exactly, is your source for this statement?"

Merely the suspect guide, Casebook.

Cheers.
LC

[Stewart P Evans]

Ah...

Hello Mr. Evans.
"What, exactly, is your source for this statement?"
Merely the suspect guide, Casebook.
Cheers.
LC

Ah, for a moment there I thought you were using some previously unseen original source.

[lynn cates]

copycat

Hello Mr. Evans. Original? I? (heh-heh)

Cheers.
LC