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James Kelly: Forgotten Suspect?

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  • James Kelly: Forgotten Suspect?

    I’ve just re-read James Tully’s The Secret Of Prisoner 1167: Was This Man Jack The Ripper, which I hadn’t read since it came out in 1997, and the first thing that I have to say is that I was reminded of just how good a book this is. One of the best written in my opinion.

    Kelly gets few mentions these days as he seems to have become almost a forgotten suspect but all on here will be aware of him. I don’t know if everyone has read this book so I’ll give a summary of Kelly’s life which might also serve as a bit of a reminder for those who, like me, haven’t read anything about him for a while.


    James Kelly was born in Preston in 1860. His mother was Sarah but she wasn’t married to Kelly’s father (John Miller) He deserted her never to be seen again. He was raised thinking that his grandmother was actually his mother until he was 15, by which time it appears that he was deeply religious after living in their religious household.

    At 18 he got work at a Pawnbroker’s and showed the first signs of mental instability at the age of 18. He became unreliable and flew into a rage over trivial things. He went to London to find work but returned when he was 19 only to go back 2 years later when he met Sarah Brider who was an ‘Indian Envelope Folder’ who lived with her parents at 21 Cottage Lane. She was 21 when she met Kelly in 1881. In March of 1882 Kelly moved in as the family’s second lodger and became the 9th person in the household. Despite the lack of privacy the couple ended up having sex but it was a disaster which he put down to a physical problem with Sarah. She claimed that it stemmed from a time when she’d sat on her uncle’s knee which suggests the possibility of childhood abuse. From that point Kelly suffered from depression with stabbing pains in his head which he believed was due to an abscess, but he never saw a doctor.

    Then things appeared to settle down and he asked Sarah to marry him but she wasn’t sure. He wanted her to see a doctor but she wasn’t keen. She agreed to marry him though and around that time Kelly found out that he’s caught a sexually transmitted disease. The couple married on June 4th 1883. After the marriage Kelly’s behaviour worsened and his behaviour became more irrational and wild. At that time Sarah’s mother found a syringe, a phial and some ointment in his room (he and Sarah didn’t have a shared room) Kelly said that the items weren’t his but he began to believe that Sarah (and her mother) were prostitutes and that Sarah had given him syphilis. Then he would change his mind before reverting to his original belief. He attacked her whilst holding a knife, calling her names, then he was full of remorse.

    One day Sarah was late getting home. Kelly said that he’d seen her earlier in the street (they used to meet after work and walk home together) and that he didn’t like that she was walking ‘in such an upright style…’ that he didn’t go over to her. When she got home he called her a whore and then apologised. Then he grabbed her, pulled her head down, and stabbed her in the neck with a pocket knife and began digging away with it into her neck. He threw his mother-in-law down as she tried pulling him away by his hair. He then went to his room. Mrs. Brider used a towel on the wound before running into the street for help.

    Kelly was taken to Old Street Police Station and was questioned. He said “I don’t know what I am about, I must be mad.”

    His trial started on August 1st 1883 where he was found guilty but with a recommendation for mercy. His solicitors petitioned the Home Secretary for an appeal but they were unsuccessful but Kelly was lucky. At that time a draft bill for The Criminal Lunatics Act 1884 was passing through which required the Home Secretary to appoint 2 or more doctors to enquire into anyone sentenced to death whose sanity had been questioned. On August 7th he was found to be of defective mental capacity. On the 24th he was admitted to Broadmoor where he had persecution delusions and showed signs of religious mania. People tended to avoid him because he couldn’t hold a rational conversation.

    On January 23rd 1888 he escaped by using a manufactured key. A description of Kelly at the time of his escape was - age 27, 5’7”, spare build, complexion dark olive, thin pale face, hair black, moustache and eyes dark.

    Years later another version of this description was - 5’7”, complexion dark (olive), hair black (heavy moustache) eyes dark, spare build, face pale and thin.

    Kelly went to Liverpool and then down to Harwich where he got a berth on a ship but he was recognised by a police officer and had to flee; ending up in the East End in the first half of 1888. He then managed to get to Dieppe on a cross channel steamer. He stayed in the Dieppe/Boulogne area before walking to Paris. He finally returned to England at the end of January of 1892. He then went to New York then on to Pennsylvania where he stayed for 18 months.

    In 1895 his friend John Motler described him as: slight build, small nose, dark hair, dark eyes and about 35.

    In 1895 there was a rumour that Kelly had been seen in Liverpool but he went back to the USA travelling around before on January 27th, 1896 he walked into the British Consulate in New Orleans and gave himself up. No one could decide what to do even though the Home Secretary was informed. No one appeared to want Kelly back. It was arranged that he could work his passage back on SS Capella to Liverpool. He used the name John Miller. He expected to be arrested when he got back on the 27th March 1896 but the ship berthed on the 26th. Kelly got away. He later went to Canada and in 1901 claimed to have helped decorate Vancouver for the visit of the Duke of Cornwall and York (later George V) and his wife the future Queen Mary. After that Kelly went to the British Consul and again tried to give himself up but after 3 months the government did nothing again, so he worked his passage home intending to give himself up but changed his mind during the journey home.

    It has to be said that the efforts to track him down were pathetic considering the information that they had been given as to his whereabouts and the alias that he was using. The police said that they had no photograph of Kelly but they used to have one so what happened to it. Broadmoor certainly had one. And why did the police circular say that Kelly shouldn’t be arrested? Kelly was basically given up an and Broadmoor discharged him in 1907.

    In 1917 Kelly went totally deaf. He continued to work as an upholsterer but his strange behaviour led to him being the target of abuse. In 1924 his health began to fail. His Union found him easier but lesser payed work but Kelly felt that sinister forces were working against him. Around August of 1925, with Kelly being 65, he became unemployable. He returned to London, walked the streets and earned a little money doing odd jobs. Then on Friday February 11th 1927 he appeared at the main gates of Broadmoor. The Superintendant thought that Kelly should be sent to a workhouse and that he wouldn’t be considered insane but the Home Office ignored him and made a second request for a report on his movements since his escape. Three days later, without seeing him, the HO stated that Kelly was now insane and should remain in Broadmoor under observation. Kelly wrote a few pages about how he’d escaped and what he’d done overseas but little else. By 1929 Kelly was unhappy about his treatment and tried to get out but he was too old and escape was impossible as since 1892 there was a 16’ wall around the perimeter. At 7.15am Tuesday September 17th 1929 he died.


    Some of Tully’s points in favour of Kelly as a potential ripper:


    - Serious, violent mental health issues.

    - The trauma of learning that his grandmother was actually his mother and that he’s been abandoned.

    - He believed that his wife and mother were prostitutes.

    - He believed that his wife (according to him a prostitute) had given him syphilis.

    - Just after his escape James Munro wrote 3 letters to Broadmoor about him then on September 22nd the Home Secretary told his Private Secretary the Munro might be willing to give the CID a hint in regard to the murders.

    - Someone with the initials CET took out the Kelly file for the first time in 8 months and asked about what steps had been taken to recapture Kelly.

    - The day after the Kelly murder ‘detectives’ visited the Brider house looking for Kelly (she wrote a letter of complaint through her solicitor) but no record of this visit exists.

    - Might any risks that the killer took be explained by the fact that Kelly knew that he wouldn’t hang. As an escaped lunatic he’d just have been returned to Broadmoor?

    - Why is Kelly’s Home Office file closed until 2030 when far more recent ones are in the public domain?

    - Why does his file have written on it that they must not be destroyed and yet 2 weeks prior to that files had been destroyed?

    - Why are there documents missing from his Broadmoor file?

    - Why did it appear that no one wanted him back in England after he’d turned himself in to the Consul whilst in the USA?

    - As an upholsterer by trade one of his tools was a ‘ripping chisel.’ Could this have led to his ‘trade name?’

    - Why did Munro’s son say that his father’s take on the case was a ‘hot potato?’ Was it that the ripper was an escapee from Broadmoor?

    - Why in a 1906 police circular did it say that Kelly should be traced but not arrested?

    - Why is there no record of Kelly being questioned about the murders after his return to Broadmoor?

    - Why was Kelly given a ‘chemical cosh’ at Broadmoor when he wasn’t violent?

    - What weighed so heavily on Kelly’s conscience that even as late as 1927 he would burst into tears?

    - Why was the police presence in the East End scaled down after the Kelly murder?

    - Why was there no mention of Kelly as a suspect until John Morrison mentioned him over 100 years later?



    I think that Kelly has become a kind of forgotten suspect. For me he’s right up there.
    Regards

    Sir Herlock Sholmes.

    “A house of delusions is cheap to build but draughty to live in.”

  • #2
    I haven’t read the book, herlock, so some of the questions may be more less obviously answered depending on that.

    two easy ones are:
    - Why is Kelly’s Home Office file closed until 2030 when far more recent ones are in the public domain?

    Isn’t this simply due to files on insane patients being closed for 100 years in the UK? He died late 1929 so file closed for 100 years means accesible 2030.

    - Why does his file have written on it that they must not be destroyed and yet 2 weeks prior to that files had been destroyed?

    Well if the files were not meant to be discarded, but someone mistakenly thought they were, it stands to reason that on the mistake being noticed, they might mark the file “do not discard” or similar.

    Fill disclosure: I’m an archivist by trade so both these occurrences seem entirely straightforward and commonplace to me.

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by Kattrup View Post
      I haven’t read the book, herlock, so some of the questions may be more less obviously answered depending on that.

      two easy ones are:
      - Why is Kelly’s Home Office file closed until 2030 when far more recent ones are in the public domain?

      Isn’t this simply due to files on insane patients being closed for 100 years in the UK? He died late 1929 so file closed for 100 years means accesible 2030.

      - Why does his file have written on it that they must not be destroyed and yet 2 weeks prior to that files had been destroyed?

      Well if the files were not meant to be discarded, but someone mistakenly thought they were, it stands to reason that on the mistake being noticed, they might mark the file “do not discard” or similar.

      Fill disclosure: I’m an archivist by trade so both these occurrences seem entirely straightforward and commonplace to me.
      Thanks for the response Kattrup. I certainly wouldn’t dispute what you’ve said as I have no knowledge of these files or how they are treated or of how files are treated in general. I’ll quote three paragraphs to flesh out what Tully was saying:

      The Public Record Office at Kew says that the suffix ‘HO 144’, which appears on the files for both Kelly and ‘The Whitechapel Murderer’, denotes the the file concerned is part of the class of records HO 144 (Home Office Registered Papers, Supplementary) which consists of ‘supplementary registered papers of the Home Office and includes files on criminal and certain other subjects, separated from the main file series in HO 45 because of their sensitivity at the time of transfer [authors italics].
      Obviously it’s a very serious matter if a man kills his wife, or anyone else for that matter, but such murders were, and are, commonplace and so what is it about Kelly’s case which was considered so ‘sensitive’? As I have remarked, all the ‘Ripper’ files bear the ‘HO 144’ suffix, but they are now open to public inspection whilst Kelly’s remains securely under lock and key at the Home Office.
      Why all the secrecy about him? Why is his file ‘Closed until 2030’, when those of far more recent, and apparently more infamous, killers are in the public domain? Why must his Home Office file ‘never be destroyed’, and why, that being the case, was it culled less than a fortnight before the instruction was written, and which documents were ‘Destroyed’?

      Tully goes on to point out that any of Kelly’s Broadmoor files have also disappeared.
      Regards

      Sir Herlock Sholmes.

      “A house of delusions is cheap to build but draughty to live in.”

      Comment


      • #4
        I consider Kelly one of the ten least weak suspects in this case, maybe even one of the five least weak. Here's a pretty good short summary of Kelly, suspect status in Alan Sharp's timeline of Kelly that's on this site:

        "Reasons for suspecting Kelly: He was a diagnosed Paranoid Schizophrenic. He had shown himself capable of murder with a knife. His reasons for murdering his wife were his belief that she was a prostitute and had infected him with VD. Having been disavowed of this idea in Broadmoor he would almost certainly have realised that the real source of his infection was the prostitutes of Whitechapel and Spitalfields with whom he had consorted. He may well have resolved to take his revenge on them for destroying his life. The raid on 21 Cottage Lane on 10th November 1888 shows that at least someone in the Metropolitan Police must have suspected him.

        "Reasons against suspecting Kelly: His movements after his escape from Broadmoor cannot be verified. There is no proof he was in London in late 1888. There are also no other murders which can be tied in with his movements between then and 1927."

        According to Kelly's wiki article, "In his [Kelly's] own personal diary he acknowledges that he had hidden in London between the months of August and November 1888."

        A question from this quote from Herlock's post: "Kelly went to Liverpool and then down to Harwich where he got a berth on a ship but he was recognised by a police officer and had to flee; ending up in the East End in the first half of 1888. He then managed to get to Dieppe on a cross channel steamer." Do we know the date, or even the month, that Kelly went to Dieppe?

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by Herlock Sholmes View Post

          Thanks for the response Kattrup. I certainly wouldn’t dispute what you’ve said as I have no knowledge of these files or how they are treated or of how files are treated in general. I’ll quote three paragraphs to flesh out what Tully was saying:

          The Public Record Office at Kew says that the suffix ‘HO 144’, which appears on the files for both Kelly and ‘The Whitechapel Murderer’, denotes the the file concerned is part of the class of records HO 144 (Home Office Registered Papers, Supplementary) which consists of ‘supplementary registered papers of the Home Office and includes files on criminal and certain other subjects, separated from the main file series in HO 45 because of their sensitivity at the time of transfer [authors italics].
          Obviously it’s a very serious matter if a man kills his wife, or anyone else for that matter, but such murders were, and are, commonplace and so what is it about Kelly’s case which was considered so ‘sensitive’? As I have remarked, all the ‘Ripper’ files bear the ‘HO 144’ suffix, but they are now open to public inspection whilst Kelly’s remains securely under lock and key at the Home Office.
          Why all the secrecy about him? Why is his file ‘Closed until 2030’, when those of far more recent, and apparently more infamous, killers are in the public domain? Why must his Home Office file ‘never be destroyed’, and why, that being the case, was it culled less than a fortnight before the instruction was written, and which documents were ‘Destroyed’?

          Tully goes on to point out that any of Kelly’s Broadmoor files have also disappeared.
          Okay. As said, I haven't read the book. There's a much older discussion about the book on these boards here: Casebook: Jack the Ripper - Message Boards: Will JTR Be Named in 2030?

          Where people point out that Tully actually did access the file, so it wasn't closed until 2030 - normally, closed means it's closed for casual review, but serious researchers may be granted access, perhaps under certain restrictions.

          Also, some documents were removed, this is commonplace when preparing a file for longterm archiving, if the person in question has time one can remove irrelevant documents like notes "Hello Mrs. Grady, please prepare tea and scones for the meeting with the suspect tomorrow" and duplicates of documents, lots of times a document will be filed several times in the same folder.

          As said, I see nothing out of the ordinary in how his file has been treated. It's a sensitive file, containing personal information about a seriously ill individual, and for a decent period of time it should not be lightly disseminated to the public out of concern for relatives. Perfectly commonplace.

          Whether Kelly is a good suspect or not is another matter; as said, I've not read the book but your summary and the casebook timeline listing the merits of the case seems to indicate that he is a better suspect than most, if perhaps a little too meek to really make it to the front of the suspect herd.
          Last edited by Kattrup; 05-31-2024, 09:33 PM.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Lewis C View Post
            A question from this quote from Herlock's post: "Kelly went to Liverpool and then down to Harwich where he got a berth on a ship but he was recognised by a police officer and had to flee; ending up in the East End in the first half of 1888. He then managed to get to Dieppe on a cross channel steamer." Do we know the date, or even the month, that Kelly went to Dieppe?
            According to the Alan Sharp timeline, it was november or december. Apparently, the info must have come from Kelly's own statement made in 1927, so take it with a grain of salt? Casebook: Jack the Ripper - James Kelly

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Lewis C View Post
              I consider Kelly one of the ten least weak suspects in this case, maybe even one of the five least weak. Here's a pretty good short summary of Kelly, suspect status in Alan Sharp's timeline of Kelly that's on this site:

              "Reasons for suspecting Kelly: He was a diagnosed Paranoid Schizophrenic. He had shown himself capable of murder with a knife. His reasons for murdering his wife were his belief that she was a prostitute and had infected him with VD. Having been disavowed of this idea in Broadmoor he would almost certainly have realised that the real source of his infection was the prostitutes of Whitechapel and Spitalfields with whom he had consorted. He may well have resolved to take his revenge on them for destroying his life. The raid on 21 Cottage Lane on 10th November 1888 shows that at least someone in the Metropolitan Police must have suspected him.

              "Reasons against suspecting Kelly: His movements after his escape from Broadmoor cannot be verified. There is no proof he was in London in late 1888. There are also no other murders which can be tied in with his movements between then and 1927."

              According to Kelly's wiki article, "In his [Kelly's] own personal diary he acknowledges that he had hidden in London between the months of August and November 1888."

              A question from this quote from Herlock's post: "Kelly went to Liverpool and then down to Harwich where he got a berth on a ship but he was recognised by a police officer and had to flee; ending up in the East End in the first half of 1888. He then managed to get to Dieppe on a cross channel steamer." Do we know the date, or even the month, that Kelly went to Dieppe?
              Sadly not Lewis. Kelly was apparently vague and evasive when discussing where he’d been and when. Tully says:”All that we know for certain is that Kelly reappeared in the East End of London during the first half of 1888. He had some money, but we do not know how much, how long it lasted, or how he supported himself when it ran out.”
              Regards

              Sir Herlock Sholmes.

              “A house of delusions is cheap to build but draughty to live in.”

              Comment


              • #8
                I missed a letter from a previous post.

                “Tully goes on to point out that many of Kelly’s Broadmoor files have also disappeared.​“

                Regards

                Sir Herlock Sholmes.

                “A house of delusions is cheap to build but draughty to live in.”

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Kattrup View Post

                  Okay. As said, I haven't read the book. There's a much older discussion about the book on these boards here: Casebook: Jack the Ripper - Message Boards: Will JTR Be Named in 2030?

                  Where people point out that Tully actually did access the file, so it wasn't closed until 2030 - normally, closed means it's closed for casual review, but serious researchers may be granted access, perhaps under certain restrictions.

                  Also, some documents were removed, this is commonplace when preparing a file for longterm archiving, if the person in question has time one can remove irrelevant documents like notes "Hello Mrs. Grady, please prepare tea and scones for the meeting with the suspect tomorrow" and duplicates of documents, lots of times a document will be filed several times in the same folder.

                  As said, I see nothing out of the ordinary in how his file has been treated. It's a sensitive file, containing personal information about a seriously ill individual, and for a decent period of time it should not be lightly disseminated to the public out of concern for relatives. Perfectly commonplace.

                  Whether Kelly is a good suspect or not is another matter; as said, I've not read the book but your summary and the casebook timeline listing the merits of the case seems to indicate that he is a better suspect than most, if perhaps a little too meek to really make it to the front of the suspect herd.
                  Thanks Kattrup but there is one aspect that I don’t quite get. Why would there be this level of secrecy/sensitivity/discretion over Kelly and not for more recent and more serious offenders?
                  Regards

                  Sir Herlock Sholmes.

                  “A house of delusions is cheap to build but draughty to live in.”

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Herlock Sholmes View Post

                    Thanks Kattrup but there is one aspect that I don’t quite get. Why would there be this level of secrecy/sensitivity/discretion over Kelly and not for more recent and more serious offenders?
                    There are various ways to gain access to official files, and so it becomes complicated.
                    for instance, much information is presented publicly as part of trial proceedings, so that’s the usual source for info on criminals.

                    That may be what you’re thinking of - during trial, all sorts of reports and witness testimony by cops and criminologists and psychologists etc. will be presented and become part of the public record, and journalists might be present during trial and their articles are then also used as information on the accused.

                    Access to files is differently regulated depending on whether the files are still with the original authority, where they may be disclosed as part of legislation like freedom of information act, which has various clauses for releasing information. Or if the files have been transferred to an archive, which then regulates access according a different legal framework.

                    of course, individuals themselves may choose to release private information, and many people do, including criminals and people on trial, if they think it will help their defense or they’re eager for attention.

                    And there may in all this be specific rules for a minority of cases, when those rules then occasionally come into play it can make it seem arbitrary to an outside observer - for instance, if the UK has a special rule regarding access to insane patients’ files, stipulating 100 years, then a specific file being kept back may seem odd if other files from the same office are available after 50 years, but it would be within the laws if that file contained a patient’s file from an insane asylum.

                    Fill disclosure: I am not a UK-based archivist so the above is just a general remark on why some information may seem more freely available than other. It all depends on what kind of info. when the info is from, whether it’s been public before and where it’s being kept.
                    Last edited by Kattrup; 05-31-2024, 10:58 PM.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Kattrup View Post

                      There are various ways to gain access to official files, and so it becomes complicated.
                      for instance, much information is presented publicly as part of trial proceedings, so that’s the usual source for info on criminals.

                      That may be what you’re thinking of - during trial, all sorts of reports and witness testimony by cops and criminologists and psychologists etc. will be presented and become part of the public record, and journalists might be present during trial and their articles are then also used as information on the accused.

                      Access to files is differently regulated depending on whether the files are still with the original authority, where they may be disclosed as part of legislation like freedom of information act, which has various clauses for releasing information. Or if the files have been transferred to an archive, which then regulates access according a different legal framework.

                      of course, individuals themselves may choose to release private information, and many people do, including criminals and people on trial, if they think it will help their defense or they’re eager for attention.

                      And there may in all this be specific rules for a minority of cases, when those rules then occasionally come into play it can make it seem arbitrary to an outside observer - for instance, if the UK has a special rule regarding access to insane patients’ files, stipulating 100 years, then a specific file being kept back may seem odd if other files from the same office are available after 50 years, but it would be within the laws if that file contained a patient’s file from an insane asylum.

                      Fill disclosure: I am not a UK-based archivist so the above is just a general remark on why some information may seem more freely available than other. It all depends on what kind of info. when the info is from, whether it’s been public before and where it’s being kept.
                      Thanks for your thoughts Kattrup. Yes I did wonder if there were any procedural differences between here and Denmark but from what you’ve said it look like there could have been non-suspicious reasons for the things that Tully felt was suspicious about the files on Kelly. One thing that I’ll say in Tully’s favour in general though is that he doesn’t come across as someone who makes unwarranted leaps just to try and incriminate his suspect. By this of course I’m just talking about intent and not about conclusion. He could certainly be mistaken on certain points or interpretations (as your points suggest) but I never get the impression that he’s deliberately trying to bend the evidence to fit his theory which we do see in some suspect books.
                      Regards

                      Sir Herlock Sholmes.

                      “A house of delusions is cheap to build but draughty to live in.”

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        A couple of points. One of my own and one of Tully’s.

                        Tully’s first - In the book he talks briefly about the risks that the killer took during the murders and this is something that we’ve discussed on here regularly and recently. There are two points to consider in regard to Kelly. Firstly is that he, just before escaping, talked about a ‘divine plan’ and the fact that God helped him to escape by giving him his own room at Broadmoor and by providing him with a violin so that he could join the prison band. He also believed that God watched over him as he escaped and staff there mentioned signs of religious mania in him, so might the killer’s willingness to take risks that we might question be down to the killer’s sense that he had God on his side?

                        Also, there’s the question of Kelly being classed as a lunatic which would have meant that he wasn’t under the threat of the gallows. He might have felt that he could push it a bit more when it came to risks because he knew that the worst that could happen was that he’d be sent back to Broadmoor? Maybe a combination of this thought and his thoughts about being protected by God might explain the risks that we question?

                        And my point - It’s often raised as a doubt about Kosminski as a suspect because there’s no record of any identification or interest in him from the police and yet here we have ‘detectives’ definitely going to the Brider’s house in search of Kelly that day after the murder of Mary Kelly and we have them trying to find his whereabouts and yet there’s no mention anywhere of this in the records or any mention of him being of interest to the police. Doesn’t this show that a) not everything that the police did made the records or b) that the loss of paperwork over the years can easily explain why there is no record of certain events?
                        Regards

                        Sir Herlock Sholmes.

                        “A house of delusions is cheap to build but draughty to live in.”

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Hi all


                          This is fascinating...



                          In the 1921 census (June 19th) James Kelly is living at 16 King Henry's Walk, in Mildmay, Islington, north London.

                          It appears his residence was located just south of the 'North London line' that ran through 'Mildmay Park' train station.

                          Mildmay Park train station opened in 1880 but closed in 1934.


                          But, it's not his residence that is the most interesting, nor his proximity to the train line...it's his occupation...



                          He was working at a Funeral Directors located on Bethnal Green Road.

                          The Company IS called W. English & Son.

                          James Kelly was working under the alias/alternate name; "John Miller"

                          He is aged 60 years and 4 months.

                          Although his "Occupation" is listed as Upholsterer and Coach Trimmer.

                          Birthplace... is listed as Liverpool


                          But it's James Kelly


                          Here's the evidence from the 1921 Census...

                          (Note that I have had to upload in 2 separate pages as the file had too large a parameter. Hopefully, it will be fairly obvious how the 2 pages fit together)

                          Also, note that at the bottom right of the census page is James Kelly's signature....as John Miller)







                          What's all the more fascinating is that the Funeral Directors that James Kelly worked for in 1921, is STILL operating at the same location on Bethnal Green Road TODAY.


                          Now, it may well be worth contacting them to see if they have an Archivist.

                          They may have employment and personal records for John Miller (James Kelly) that may tell us when he started, when he left, and even more interestingly; his conduct during his employment.

                          Why wait for 2030, when they may have his personnel file from his work at the funeral directors?


                          How apt that he went to work at a place where he would see death every day.

                          For someone of Kelly's mental disposition; that makes things all the more macabre



                          RD
                          "Great minds, don't think alike"

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Here's a little newspaper snippet from January 1911 for the same funeral company; around 10 years before we see John Miller (James Kelly) working for them.


                            Note that the address is different, albeit still very close to the Bethnal Green Road.

                            There were also road number changes at some point I believe.


                            Click image for larger version

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                            It also suggests that in 1911, the company had multiple sites, including Well Street in Hackney.


                            One thing is for certain; the funeral company was also active around the time of the Ripper killings.



                            The company's proximity to the top of Brady Street is also worth noting.



                            Has James Kelly swung back into the limelight, or is this talk of him being a suspect in the Ripper case simply a waste of time?




                            RD

                            "Great minds, don't think alike"

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Thanks Kattrup and Herlock for your responses.

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