Originally posted by Fisherman
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Added to this is the very real possibility that the same Pickfords carman was involved a dozen years earlier, in the collision which caused the accidental death of a child, and called himself Cross on that occasion, for reasons we have no way of knowing, but which can't reasonably be interpreted as sinister or suspicious. So unless it can be ascertained that this Charles Cross was definitely not the Buck's Row witness, I would have to give Lechmere the benefit of the doubt, that his reasons were similar on both occasions, and not connected to any criminality on his part. One obvious possibility is that he had been known as Charlie Cross at Pickfords from day one, so naturally used that name for both work-related incidents. Also plausible is that he didn't want the Lechmere name to be connected with such distressing events. Why would he not have tried to spare Mrs Lechmere and the Lechmere offspring from local and playground gossip, following his discovery of a murdered prostitute on his route to work, if using the name Cross could have helped?
Again, I have to ask exactly what Lechmere would have thought to gain, by not revealing that name to the authorities, had he been the killer? How would that have helped protect him from suspicion, in the event of a routine check to confirm his identity, using the other details he had freely provided? We can only speculate what his reasoning would have been if guilty, but there is no evidence whatsoever that using the name Lechmere would have been the more risky option. If anything it should be the other way round for anyone who believes he only adopted the name Cross in connection with the murder in Buck's Row, and was known as Lechmere in every other context.
Love,
Caz
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