So if you live in Bethnal Green, you won´t kill in Whitechapel?

[Fisherman]

Neither. Only that he was dependable enough to have kept the same job for some twenty years.

Meaning that the employers of Sutcliffe, Jasperson, Eyler, Bonin and the rest of the highway killers who hung on to their jobs for many years also thought that these men "did their job well" and were "dependable". Like Russell Williams, Gary Ridgway, Dennis Nilsen, ...

Can you see how this point is of no value at all? It is more of the "he seems to have been a good guy" argument that is totally useless in the discussion about serial killers. It´s the statistical argument all over again and it must be disregarded, not least since it couples the words "well" and "dependable" to a man who may have been something entirely different.

Then again, that was the whole idea, right?

[MrBarnett]

Neither. Only that he was dependable enough to have kept the same job for some twenty years.

But in this context ‘dependable’ would have meant ‘can be relied upon to meet his delivery targets’ through the congested streets of London.

[Sam Flynn]

True! But how do we define "well"? Is it a question of being a charitable man, always having time to chat with the ones he deliver to, who pats kids on the heads and does his work with a smile - or are we talking about a man who whips the living daylights out of his horses, an intimidating character who stops at nothing to get his work done?

Neither. Only that he was dependable enough to have kept the same job for some twenty years.

[Fisherman]

The latter was what I had in mind, Fish.

Yes, I figured. Sutcliffe, Bonin, Jasperson, Eyler; they were all employed as lorry drivers for years, delivering goods and killing as side business. "Highway killers" are thirteen a dozen in the serial killer branch.

Presumably, their employers think they "do their jobs well".

[MrBarnett]

True! But how do we define "well"? Is it a question of being a charitable man, always having time to chat with the ones he deliver to, who pats kids on the heads and does his work with a smile - or are we talking about a man who whips the living daylights out of his horses, an intimidating character who stops at nothing to get his work done? More pertinently, what kind of worker would his employers prioritize?

The latter was what I had in mind, Fish.

[Fisherman]

Well, if a man holds on to his job for 20 years in the tough Victorian period, there's a fair chance he was doing it well.

True! But how do we define "well"? Is it a question of being a charitable man, always having time to chat with the ones he deliver to, who pats kids on the heads and does his work with a smile - or are we talking about a man who whips the living daylights out of his horses, an intimidating character who stops at nothing to get his work done? More pertinently, what kind of worker would his employers prioritize?

[Sam Flynn]

Yes, I know, Gareth, but you’re less likely to throw sprouts at me than Caz.😉

Coward! Hand back your O.B.E.!!!

(S Milligan, The Dreaded Batter-Pudding Hurler of Bexhill-on-Sea http://bloodnok.net/aac/coward.m4a)

[MrBarnett]

I was adding to Caz's post, which used the word "exemplary", presumably in a somewhat tongue-in-cheek manner.

Now that you mention it, though, I think we'd all welcome the discovery of Charles Cross's work records, shift rotas etc. Assumptions about where and when he worked are largely taken as read.

Yes, I know, Gareth, but you’re less likely to throw sprouts at me than Caz.😉

The assumption that CAL had only ever worked at Broad Street has nothing to support it. And neither does the idea that he worked Mon-Sat.

[Sam Flynn]

A perfect example of how not having any negative factors on record is confused with having an exemplary working record. Par for the course in some camps.

Well, if a man holds on to his job for 20 years in the tough Victorian period, there's a fair chance he was doing it well.

[MrBarnett]

And lest anyone is tempted to go down the ‘he worked hard all his life and accumulated enough money to start his own business’ route, let’s not forget that his old Ma seems to have had a few bob, and it wasn’t until after she died that he opened his shop. (I think that’s right?)

[Sam Flynn]

I must have missed the discovery of CAL’s ‘exemplary’ work record.

I was adding to Caz's post, which used the word "exemplary", presumably in a somewhat tongue-in-cheek manner.

Now that you mention it, though, I think we'd all welcome the discovery of Charles Cross's work records, shift rotas etc. Assumptions about where and when he worked are largely taken as read.

[MrBarnett]

Pickfords’ drivers were notorious for their recklessness. They were frequently involved in accidents and the company were criticised for allowing/encouraging them to disregard the safety of other road users in the pursuit of speed.

[Fisherman]

I must have missed the discovery of CAL’s ‘exemplary’ work record. I thought that all we knew was that, according to him, he had worked for them for 20-odd years. Oh, and that he possibly killed a child while driving one of his employers’ vans.

A perfect example of how not having any negative factors on record is confused with having an exemplary working record. Par for the course in some camps.

[MrBarnett]

An exemplary, and very loooooong work record, even by today's standards.

I must have missed the discovery of CAL’s ‘exemplary’ work record. I thought that all we knew was that, according to him, he had worked for them for 20-odd years. Oh, and that he possibly killed a child while driving one of his employers’ vans.

[Fisherman]

I take the liberty to post an excerpt from Wikipedias page on serial killer, namely the "Characteristics" section. I think it is a risky thing to discuss characteristics as if they were general to all serialists, but the exercise could nevertheless be interesting if we apply it all to Lechmere. Here we go, my comments in red:

Characteristics
Some commonly found characteristics of serial killers include the following:

They may exhibit varying degrees of mental illness or psychopathy, which may contribute to their homicidal behavior.[35]
For example, someone who is mentally ill may have psychotic breaks that cause them to believe they are another person or are compelled to murder by other entities.[36]
Psychopathic behavior that is consistent with traits common to some serial killers include sensation seeking, a lack of remorse or guilt, impulsivity, the need for control, and predatory behavior.[16] Unlike people with major mental disorders such as schizophrenia, psychopaths can seem normal and often quite charming, a state of adaptation that psychiatrist Hervey Cleckley called the "mask of sanity".[37]

So! Serial killing psychopaths can seem normal and quite often charming, and they include sensation seeking. Such, perhaps, as staying put at a murder site and bluffing at an inquest?

They were often abused—emotionally, physically, or sexually—by a family member.[7]

An unknown factor in Lechmere´s case.

Serial killers may be more likely to engage in fetishism, partialism or necrophilia, which are paraphilias that involve a strong tendency to experience the object of erotic interest almost as if it were a physical representation of the symbolized body. Individuals engage in paraphilias which are organized along a continuum; participating in varying levels of fantasy perhaps by focusing on body parts (partialism), symbolic objects which serve as physical extensions of the body (fetishism), or the anatomical physicality of the human body; specifically regarding its inner parts and sexual organs (one example being necrophilia).[38]

No further comments needed - we can see how the Ripper fits in. Whether Lechmere did is written in the stars.

A disproportionate number exhibit one, two, or all three of the Macdonald triad of predictors of future violent behavior:
Many are fascinated with fire setting.[7]
They are involved in sadistic activity; especially in children who have not reached sexual maturity, this activity may take the form of torturing animals.[7]
More than 60 percent, or simply a large proportion, wet their beds beyond the age of 12.[7][39]

Another unknown factor for Lechmere.

They were frequently bullied or socially isolated as children or adolescents.[7] For example, Henry Lee Lucas was ridiculed as a child and later cited the mass rejection by his peers as a cause for his hatred of everyone. Kenneth Bianchi was teased as a child because he urinated in his pants, suffered twitching, and as a teenager was ignored by his peers.[7]

Lechmere moved many times, and he lacked a father, both factors that could speak for isolation and ridicule. Could - we don´t know.

Some were involved in petty crimes, such as fraud, theft, vandalism, or similar offenses.[40]

SOME were involved in petty crime. Not all by a long stretch.

Often, they have trouble staying employed and tend to work in menial jobs. The FBI, however, states, "Serial murderers often seem normal; have families and/or a steady job."[16] Other sources state they often come from unstable families.[7]

So this is no deciding factor - there is material speaking for both sides.

Studies have suggested that serial killers generally have an average or low-average IQ, although they are often described, and perceived, as possessing IQs in the above-average range.[7][16][41] A sample of 202 IQs of serial killers had a median IQ of 89.[42]

Another unknown factor for Lechmere.

There are exceptions to these criteria, however. For example, Harold Shipman was a successful professional (a General Practitioner working for the NHS). He was considered a pillar of the local community; he even won a professional award for a children's asthma clinic and was interviewed by Granada Television's World in Action on ITV.[43] Dennis Nilsen was an ex-soldier turned civil servant and trade unionist who had no previous criminal record when arrested. Neither was known to have exhibited many of the tell-tale signs.[44] Vlado Taneski, a crime reporter, was a career journalist who was caught after a series of articles he wrote gave clues that he had murdered people.[45] Russell Williams was a successful and respected career Royal Canadian Air Force Colonel who was convicted of murdering two women, along with fetish burglaries and rapes.[46]

And there´s Russell Williams again! Together with a number of other "pillars of society".
The suggestion of Lechmere being the killer is not at odds with any of these "characteristics", it would seem. It is wildly at odds with statistics, since 99 per cent of all men who are married with kids and have a steady job are NOT serial killers. But that point is - at least to my mind - absolutely ridiculous to try and apply to the Lechmere case or any other case where a suspect is evaluated. If we were to give it any impact, we may just as well give up on trying to catch any serial killer at all.