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  • Ben!

    It´s a good thing we dont offend each other with our respective views! And it goes without saying that I respect your stance on this matter, just as I do on other issues where we have differed.

    Clearly, I see your point when you compare the magnitude of the witnesses involved, but I will stand my ground when it comes to this; Hutch WAS a different thing than Violenia, Maxwell et consortes.
    I do not for one moment think that you are right in writing "And Hutchinson's impossibe description gave him away effectively", since the only written proof we have points in the exact opposite direction. We KNOW that Abberline readily accepted it from the outset, and we KNOW that it resulted in firing the starting shot for a search for Astrakhan man.

    You yourself is very adamant on the issue; to you, there is no way that Hutch could have recorded all them details, and so you are a firm believer in what you write, of course - that the testimony gives him avay. Maybe you are right on the point - from what I have learnt about different witnesses and "memory champions" and such, I think that I will only go as far as to say that it was a massively improbable feat - but even if you ARE right, then we are speaking present tense: Today such a testimony would have been very much questioned. Back then, you were obviously wrong, at least from the outset.

    "It certainly wasn't a 3:30 "alibi".
    Not agreed, Ben. You will be hard pressed to come up with proof of that assumption. And like I said, it never had to be an alibi, since it could have been the simple recognition of Hutch being a very unreliable character, coming from somebody on the force who had had previous experience of Hutch. Bearing the silent exit of Hutch in mind, it is perhaps more probable, but to rule out what can´t be ruled out does nobody any good.

    Finally, you write:
    "For what possible reason? What a bizarre, inexplicable and totall implausible act of self-sacrifice on Hutchinson's part. It's quite possible that wideawake and billycock were one and the same - I can't rule that out - but it's equally possible that both descriptions referred to Hutchinson himself. Better than any silliness involving accomplices, especially if we're being asked to believe that Blotchy went there not expecting to kill Kelly but eventually did so over a financial dispute!"

    Let´s skip Blotchy´s motive, Ben, and just make the assumption - as Osbourne does - that he did kill Kelly, only to forget that he left a clue in her room. Later he returns, takes a long peek into the court to see if the coast is clear, is seen by Lewis - something he may have recognized himself - and thereafter returns to the court to retrieve whatever it was that he left.
    Aware of the fact that he has been seen, he turns to his friend Hutch, and the latter agrees to masquerade as the loiterer.

    Now, dubbing all of this "silliness" only functions til you realize that nobody has seen through the scam for 120 years - if it is what happened. And the motivation on Hutch´s part could have been a number of things. He could have been payed for the trouble, he could have owed Blotchy a favour or he could have been very uninterested to find out whether Blotchy was mad enough to take a look inside a male abdomen.

    Of course it is all conjecture, but it is conjecture that makes use of a man with short, stout stature in the role as Lewis´ loiterer, a man who we know can be put at the scene earlier that night. I have seen worse tries to explain what happened that night - much, much worse.

    The best, Ben!
    Fisherman
    Last edited by Fisherman; 04-08-2008, 09:52 AM.

    Comment


    • We KNOW that Abberline readily accepted it from the outset, and we KNOW that it resulted in firing the starting shot for a search for Astrakhan man.
      I know, Fish, but he did precisely that with the witness Mrs. Kennedy, whose evidence was quickly discredited even before the inquest, most probably because she was "chinese whispering" the evidence of a real witness - Sarah Lewis. But I fully agree with your observation that dubious witness testimony might be more readily recognised as such today.

      And like I said, it never had to be an alibi, since it could have been the simple recognition of Hutch being a very unreliable character, coming from somebody on the force who had had previous experience of Hutch
      Quite possible.

      Let´s skip Blotchy´s motive, Ben, and just make the assumption - as Osbourne does - that he did kill Kelly, only to forget that he left a clue in her room. Later he returns, takes a long peek into the court to see if the coast is clear, is seen by Lewis - something he may have recognized himself - and thereafter returns to the court to retrieve whatever it was that he left
      Not my favourite scenario, but it makes much better sense if that man was Hutchinson as it eradicates the need for any implausible unrealsitically self-sacrificing accomplice. I don't remotely buy into the idea of a "pay-off". It would have to be one whopper of a sum to get Hutchinson to put himself out on so precarious a limb; a sum that was probably beyond the means of an ostensibly shabby local. The same problems arise with the "favour" hypothesis - it would have been one whopper of a favour.

      They theory is only viable if condensed to one person. No, I don't think there's a "reasonable chance" that Lewis' man and Hutchinson were one and the same. I think it's possible, rather than probable. The best you can say is that there's no "proof" the man was Hutchinson.

      Now, dubbing all of this "silliness" only functions til you realize that nobody has seen through the scam for 120 years - if it is what happened.
      That same argument could be applied, if desired, to the royal conspiracy. Still doesn't stop it being silly!

      Best regards,
      Ben
      Last edited by Ben; 04-08-2008, 01:40 PM.

      Comment


      • Don´t think we´re advancing very much by now, Ben. No sense flogging a dead horse, so I will just leave it where it lies, but for one thing:

        "That same argument could be applied, if desired, to the royal conspiracy. Still doesn't stop it being silly!"

        I would not agree that nobody has recognized that Stowells hobby project was a scam, Ben. And it did not last a 120 years - 120 minutes is more like it, as far as credibility is concerned.

        The very best, Ben!
        Fisherman

        Comment


        • Hi Fisherman,

          I have just read Osbourne’s piece on Hutchinson and I like the cut of his jib. I too have seen far worse attempts to explain Hutch's role in the night’s events.

          Colin Pitchfork was the first criminal caught and convicted for murder as a result of mass screening for DNA evidence. He raped and murdered two girls a century after Mary Kelly was butchered. The case almost beggars belief in two ways: 1) the initial prime suspect was a teenager who admitted to one of the crimes, and would almost certainly have gone down for murder had DNA tests not been available, which put him in the clear for both crimes. 2) The real killer, Pitchfork, somehow managed to persuade a work colleague to take the DNA test in his name, without ringing any serious alarm bells concerning why he couldn’t take the test himself. Eventually, after 5,000 local men had been tested and no matches found, it was the colleague’s loose tongue regarding his role swapping antics that led to Pitchfork’s downfall.

          So along with Ben’s murderers who have come forward in vain attempts to divert suspicion away from themselves, we must add in all the idiots who have put themselves in the frame with lies and false confessions and the complete twats who have danced to a monster’s tune for no obvious advantage to themselves.

          I can easily imagine a number of tricks the ripper could have employed to get someone dancing: a plausible hard-luck story, involving him being the innocent victim of harassment on account of his resemblance to Blotchy; hard cash inducement or threats of violence; threats of setting Hutch up for the murder, or a promise to grass him up for some other offence, if he doesn’t succeed in getting the heat taken off Blotchy; more cash or unbroken bones if he does succeed.

          Persuasion can take many forms, and it certainly doesn’t depend on a close relationship between the parties involved. In fact it would be a distinct disadvantage to the one doing the persuading, if and when it all starts to unravel, if he could be identified and traced by the person he managed to persuade.

          If Pitchfork could get someone to do it for him, without arousing suspicion, and with no threats or promises, then I see no reason why the ripper would have had much trouble a century earlier. By the time Hutch’s tale unravelled and was discredited (for whatever reason), Blotchy could have been long gone, with no DNA tests to worry about.

          Hutch may have had no way of tracing him again or identifying him, and no chance in hell of being taken seriously if he goes back to the cops: “Sorry, I gave you the wrong man. It was Blotchy. No really, it was. Take yer ’ands orf me collar and I’ll tell you everything. He got me to lie for him. That’s the God’s honest truth. He even told me to say the Jew gave Mary a red…. hang on, I’m being serious this time….etc etc” (as they frog-march him off the premises).

          Foolproof or what?

          I see a troubled future for Blotchy. It could put a whole different complexion on him.

          Love,

          Caz
          X
          "Comedy is simply a funny way of being serious." Peter Ustinov


          Comment


          • The act of coming forward under a false guise to divert attention/suspicion away from onesself is well-documented and occasionally even anticipated, whereas coming forward under a false guise to divert attention/suspicion away from someone else is, I suspect, a rarer animal. That said, I too have heard worse explanations Hutchinson's role in the Dorset Street saga. I just find it simpler to condense it to one person.

            I discovered only recently that a "wideawake" is often interchangable with a "billycock", which, coupled the similarity in height and weight, introduces the intriguing possibility that Wideawake man and Blotchy may have been the same man. Spookier still when we consider Ada Wilson's description of a wideawake-wearing attacker with a sunburnt complexion. Skin conditions such as rosacea cause the sufferer to appear both blotchy and sunburnt, and are often exacerbated by excessive drinking.
            Last edited by Ben; 05-22-2008, 03:02 PM.

            Comment


            • Hi Ben!

              You have to admit that "I too have heard worse explanations Hutchinson's role in the Dorset Street saga" differs ever so slightly from your statement "Osbourne´s wrong" in post 169 on this thread.

              But never mind; long as it points to your acceptance of a scenario like this one being at least to some extent credible ...

              Caz, nice to see that you see the potential in the dissertation too. I really think that we need to find something more than Hutch´s phenomenal memory for details if we want to know why the coppers eventually sent him on his way. Abberline swallowed that pill without any questions (and he was a streetwise copper, more lightly than most to see through a false description), meaning that SOMETHING ELSE came up afterwards to discredit Hutch. If I am right, that is, but why wouldn´t I be...?

              The best, Caz, Ben!
              Fisherman

              Comment


              • Hi Fisherman,

                You have to admit that "I too have heard worse explanations Hutchinson's role in the Dorset Street saga" differs ever so slightly from your statement "Osbourne´s wrong" in post 169 on this thread
                My "Osbourne's wrong" observation was specifically in response to his statement that the wideawake description didn't tally with someone of military appearance, and I fully stand by that observation.

                I still don't accept that "something else" was required to discredit Hutchinson. Other discredited witnesses didn't need any big "something else" beyond a lack of police faith in their truthfulness, and Hutchinson was surely no different. But that's another dead and well-flogged horse.

                Cheers,
                Ben

                Comment


                • Hi Ben!

                  You write:

                  "My "Osbourne's wrong" observation was specifically in response to his statement that the wideawake description didn't tally with someone of military appearance, and I fully stand by that observation"

                  My apologies if I was mistaken here, but the full context of our exchange reads thus:

                  Me:
                  Since you point me to some reading, I will do you the same service: Read Derek Osbornes dissertation on Hutch, and you will be provided with A/ an author that says the same thing that I do about Lewis´man and Hutch

                  You:
                  And?
                  Osbourne's wrong.
                  There's nothing to suggest they "don't tally" at all. If you think Osbourne's conclusion was "nice and simple", it's clear that you either haven't read the full article or we have redically different notions of clarity and simplicity.

                  ...and that did not for one moment lead me to believe that you were speaking solely of the "military appearance" part. Myself, I was discussing the wider picture of the possibility of Hutch covering for the Ripper.

                  Whichever, having read the passage again, I of course accept your explanation. I just thought I would point out to you why I failed to pick up on it from the outset.

                  The best, Ben!
                  Fisherman

                  PS. I second your "I still don't accept that "something else" was required to discredit Hutchinson." That is, if we can ommitt the "don´t" ...
                  Last edited by Fisherman; 05-22-2008, 03:25 PM.

                  Comment


                  • Originally posted by Ben View Post

                    I just find it simpler to condense it to one person...
                    How convenient for you Ben.

                    How convenient for the ripper too, and how unfortunate for the man who may have been his dupe.

                    So you let the ripper get away again while you accuse some poor sod in his place. Nothing like the traditional route.

                    Originally posted by Ben View Post

                    ...Skin conditions such as rosacea cause the sufferer to appear both blotchy and sunburnt, and are often exacerbated by excessive drinking.
                    Now all you need is evidence that Hutch was suffering from skin eruptions at the right time.

                    A rather infamous hoaxer got there before you and dumped another poor sod in the frame: someone with documented skin eruptions in November 1888 from excessive drinking and drug taking.

                    Love,

                    Caz
                    X
                    "Comedy is simply a funny way of being serious." Peter Ustinov


                    Comment


                    • Hutchinson

                      Where might this article by Mr Osbourne be found? Sounds interesting.

                      Comment


                      • How convenient for you Ben
                        Not convenient, Caz. Simpler. Unfortunate for the dupe if there was a dupe, yes, but there probably wasn't. I'm not really looking for evidence that Hutchinson had a skin condition. I just found those physical similarities in the witness evidence worth remarking upon.

                        someone with documented skin eruptions in November 1888 from excessive drinking and drug taking.
                        Aha! So wicked Sir Jim was the "Colin Pitchfork" to Hutchinson's "complete twat" who took the DNA test in his name?

                        Comment


                        • Originally posted by Ben View Post

                          Aha! So wicked Sir Jim was the "Colin Pitchfork" to Hutchinson's "complete twat" who took the DNA test in his name?
                          Got it in one, Ben. It looks like whoever popped Sir Jim in the frame may well have taken advantage of 'His Real Blotchiness' in 1888 in doing so. And the constant headaches the real one had between August and November may have helped too.

                          No headaches here though. Blissfully quiet and peaceful.

                          Love,

                          Caz
                          X
                          "Comedy is simply a funny way of being serious." Peter Ustinov


                          Comment


                          • For anyone who is interested, and has access to the Ancestry website, there is a photo of George W T Hutchinson's sister Jane (the one born in Hornchurch nr Romford) taken in 1914. This was posted by her great grandson I think. Just search under "Emily Jane Hutchinson" and you should find it. At the time of the Whitechapel Murders she was living in Lee nr Lewisham with her husband James Knott.

                            Comment


                            • Thanks, David. Shame there's no additional info given about Brother George, though - apart from his birth year. Still, it's really good to put a face to a name, and this find is very much appreciated.
                              Kind regards, Sam Flynn

                              "Suche Nullen" (Nietzsche, Götzendämmerung, 1888)

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