A New Suspect?

[Henry Flower]

Good suggestion Robert. The only doubt that I can think of is that he did give his address at the Inquest. Maybe CL just didn't think it through. No one is suggesting that he was Professor Moriarty Of course.

Hi Abby,

I think that you've just about summed it up. I've also seen it suggested (I can't recall who by though) that he 'might' have even felt that 'Lechmere' sounded a bit foreign?

[Herlock Sholmes]

well, i do have the word "saint" in my name dja which means i can't be all bad. always appreciate these extra bits that you fill in.

my current weightless & opposing suggestion for the "name change" herlock: the weekend of Polly's murder, Lechmere had no idea what a "Jack the Ripper" was, but he could have known what a "High Ripper" was, so he may have been providing some self-protection by not using his last name. iow his mind may have raced to the involvement of gang violence before the idea of a serial killer entered his mind, and he feared criminal reprisals... moreso considering he still had to walk that route to work.

Good suggestion Robert. The only doubt that I can think of is that he did give his address at the Inquest. Maybe CL just didn't think it through. No one is suggesting that he was Professor Moriarty Of course.

[Henry Flower]

Hi Abby,

I think that you've just about summed it up. I've also seen it suggested (I can't recall who by though) that he 'might' have even felt that 'Lechmere' sounded a bit foreign?

[MysterySinger]

Hi Robert,

Fisherman did make the discovery of what I tend to call 'the name thing,' but I still say that CL didn't gain any advantage from it as he gave his actual address, 22 Doveton Street, at the Inquest . It's interesting to speculate why he used Cross instead of Lechmere but it would have only made me suspicious of him if he'd called himself Fred Smith of 37 Flower and Dean Street for eg.

No I don't believe Fisherman discovered "the name thing". The person who originally discovered it somehow got overshadowed by someone else who "discovered" it years later - neither of which were Fisherman to my knowledge. Fish is, of course, vocal as to Lechmere as a suspect (and does a good job imho but I'm not really convinced by the arguments so far). Someone will supply the correct names from the Boards I'm sure.

[Herlock Sholmes]

That's twice in 2 days that I've duplicated a post!

Sorry.

Was it a mistake or is it just a cunning ploy to get my Serjeants promotion quicker

[Herlock Sholmes]

Hi HS
My personal opinion is that Cross was the name he used because that's what he went by at work, having started there when he was still under the auspices of his stepfather cross, and because that's the reference of the circumstances he was in-a carman on his way to work.

if innocent, he may have also used that name to keep his "domestic" situation out of the news-not wanting it to burden his family.

if guilty-I could totally see why he would do it. He was trying to keep his involvement hidden from friends and family lest they put two and two together. using an alias is common among criminals.

Hi Abby,

I think that you've just about summed it up. I've also seen it suggested (I can't recall who by though) that he 'might' have even felt that 'Lechmere' sounded a bit foreign?

[Herlock Sholmes]

Hi HS
My personal opinion is that Cross was the name he used because that's what he went by at work, having started there when he was still under the auspices of his stepfather cross, and because that's the reference of the circumstances he was in-a carman on his way to work.

if innocent, he may have also used that name to keep his "domestic" situation out of the news-not wanting it to burden his family.

if guilty-I could totally see why he would do it. He was trying to keep his involvement hidden from friends and family lest they put two and two together. using an alias is common among criminals.

Hi Abby,

I think that you've just about summed it up. I've also seen it suggested (I can't recall who by though) that he 'might' have even felt that 'Lechmere' sounded a bit foreign?

[Robert St Devil]

well, i do have the word "saint" in my name dja which means i can't be all bad. always appreciate these extra bits that you fill in.

my current weightless & opposing suggestion for the "name change" herlock: the weekend of Polly's murder, Lechmere had no idea what a "Jack the Ripper" was, but he could have known what a "High Ripper" was, so he may have been providing some self-protection by not using his last name. iow his mind may have raced to the involvement of gang violence before the idea of a serial killer entered his mind, and he feared criminal reprisals... moreso considering he still had to walk that route to work.

[Abby Normal]

Hi Robert,

Fisherman did make the discovery of what I tend to call 'the name thing,' but I still say that CL didn't gain any advantage from it as he gave his actual address, 22 Doveton Street, at the Inquest . It's interesting to speculate why he used Cross instead of Lechmere but it would have only made me suspicious of him if he'd called himself Fred Smith of 37 Flower and Dean Street for eg.

Hi HS
My personal opinion is that Cross was the name he used because that's what he went by at work, having started there when he was still under the auspices of his stepfather cross, and because that's the reference of the circumstances he was in-a carman on his way to work.

if innocent, he may have also used that name to keep his "domestic" situation out of the news-not wanting it to burden his family.

if guilty-I could totally see why he would do it. He was trying to keep his involvement hidden from friends and family lest they put two and two together. using an alias is common among criminals.

[Herlock Sholmes]

Hi Pat

I think that it's just the fact that CL found the body and so had at least 'some' time alone with it is the difference between the two. We can say that CL gave the wrong name at the Inquest but he gained no advantage from it as he gave his correct address. We can point out discrepancies in statements but there's no reason why it has to be CL that lied. Paul did exaggerate his involvement in his Lloyds statement. A statement that he was keen to give as he obviously approached the press to give it rather than the other way around.
The killing and then 'doubling back' is by no means impossible but I'd accept unlikely. He wasn't bothered about touching the body whereas CL was. This has been cited as a suspicious point against CL but maybe it just shows that Paul was more 'comfortable' around a corpse than CL was

Just a point to add. Even if we knew for certain that CL and Paul lied about Polly being dead or drunk we could still come up with a non-sinister reason for it. Namely that both men were worried about being late for work and wouldn't have wanted the inevitable delay of being taken back to the scene. They were together but Christer came up with the Mizen Scam to get CL away from Paul so that he could lie to Mizen. There's just no evidence for it though.

[Herlock Sholmes]

Herlock, I too think Robert Paul makes a better suspect for at least the Nichols murder than Charles Lechmere, and I've mentioned it before.

Consider-- Paul seems to have lied a bit to the magazine people, making his part in the discovery more important than it may have been in reality;

Also-- he didn't come forward to the inquest of his own accord, but had to be tracked down by the police and brought in.

Granted, we can't really link him to the other murders-- except that he lived in Hanbury Street.

Hi Pat

I think that it's just the fact that CL found the body and so had at least 'some' time alone with it is the difference between the two. We can say that CL gave the wrong name at the Inquest but he gained no advantage from it as he gave his correct address. We can point out discrepancies in statements but there's no reason why it has to be CL that lied. Paul did exaggerate his involvement in his Lloyds statement. A statement that he was keen to give as he obviously approached the press to give it rather than the other way around.
The killing and then 'doubling back' is by no means impossible but I'd accept unlikely. He wasn't bothered about touching the body whereas CL was. This has been cited as a suspicious point against CL but maybe it just shows that Paul was more 'comfortable' around a corpse than CL was

[Herlock Sholmes]

I think it comes from an overwhelming need to put a name to him.

Same reason for all the celebrity suspects.

Many people seem to have a real issue with it being Mr U. N. Known.

I think your absolutely right GUT. The overwhelming likelihood is that the Ripper has yet to be named. It's just as likely that he never will. We've been searching for years and no one likes to fail.

Mr U. N. Known is the likeliest suspect. Hold on....you've cracked it

[Herlock Sholmes]

one of the points of the lechmere argument is that he used an alias at the coroner's inquest. in your op herlock the argument is that Jack the Ripper voluntarily offered his given name to the press a day after murdering Polly Nicholls.

i dont suspect lechmere, but he's more suspicious than paul.

Hi Robert,

Fisherman did make the discovery of what I tend to call 'the name thing,' but I still say that CL didn't gain any advantage from it as he gave his actual address, 22 Doveton Street, at the Inquest . It's interesting to speculate why he used Cross instead of Lechmere but it would have only made me suspicious of him if he'd called himself Fred Smith of 37 Flower and Dean Street for eg.

[Herlock Sholmes]

Hi,
Its extremely dangerous, to have been a witness in the Ripper case, nearly 130 years later, you could become a leading suspect.
How about Cadosch for Annie Chapman, or Diemschutz for Stride, PC Watkins for Eddowes, or Hutchinson, Indian Harry, Mrs Maxwell, and residents of Millers court, for Mary Kelly...take your pick?
Its all rather silly.
Regards Richard.

To be honest Richard these days it's dangerous even to have existed at the same time as the victims. Robert Mann, Albert Bachert, Lewis Carroll, Francis Thompson, Arthur Conan Doyle, Toulouse Lautrec.......the list goes on

[Herlock Sholmes]

This argument would be more convincing if Paul was employed driving the equivalent of a 6x2 Kenworth W900 with a 16 liter engine generating 625 horsepower, with the Aerocab Flattop sleeper option.