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

[Fisherman]

In answer to the question, of course someone residing in Doveton Street could have been the murderer. As I've pointed out before, Lechmere's residence was only around a mile from all of the C5 sites.

However, let's consider Jack Random from Flower and Dean Street. He's just 0.6 miles walking distance from Mitre Square, if he goes via Wentworth Street-the GSG was found on the corner of Wentworth Street and Goulston Street; 0.6 miles from Durward Street; 0.4 miles from Hanbury Street; 0.5 miles from Henriques Street; and a mere 0.2 miles from Whites Row.

He is therefore within about half a mile of all the murder sites. Moreover, if you take into account other factors, such as work address, former work addresses, former residences, girlfriend's addresses, former girlfriends' addresses, etc, you will no doubt be able to discover even closer connections.

On that basis, what makes Jack Random less likely to be the killer than Lechmere, particularly as there is no substantive evidence linking Lechmere to any murder.

Thus, there is no forensic evidence, such as signs of blood on his person, or being discovered with a blood stained knife. No evidence that he was a violent character. No confession. No witnesses observing him commit a murder, or flee a murder scene.

All there is, from a substantive perspective, is the fact that he found a body close to the time when a murder took place. Well, someone had to find the body. And both Louis D and PC Thompson discovered the body of murder victims shortly after the murder took place. Does that make them prime suspects?

Jack Random, John - is he the man who was listed in the 1881 census as P Hantom, killer?

[Harry D]

Let's not forget that the murders took place within a relatively small area of approximately one square mile. Therefore, any overlap or connection between the carman's work routes and familial locations are to be expected given the surroundings. Case in point, Robert Paul's trek also took him past two of the murder sites.

Jacob Levy had a brother who lived in Goulston Street, and a cousin (Joseph Levy) who was said to be hiding something after Eddowes' murder. Jacob was a mentally unstable butcher with a criminal record who was finally put away in 1890. I'm not saying that Levy is necessarily a stronger suspect than Lechmere. I'm merely illustrating the circumstantial evidence that can be stacked up against a local suspect.

[MrBarnett]

Yeah, well - Connor is one of them Lechmere zealots, Gary, so he was bound to get that wrong...

Of course, I had read it before - a few times - and a very interesting introduction to the theory it is. But it was written twelve years ago and our knowledge of Mr Lechmere has increased significantly since. And some of the information we have gleaned may be relevant to how he might have behaved geographically if he had decided to take up serial killing as a hobby.

[Fisherman]

Harry D: Let's not forget that the murders took place within a relatively small area of approximately one square mile. Therefore, any overlap or connection between the carman's work routes and familial locations are to be expected given the surroundings. Case in point, Robert Paul's trek also took him past two of the murder sites.

Nope, Harry - if you are to work from an unbiased perspective, you must work from an assumption that Lechmere could have walked off in ANY direction from 22 Doveton Street.
He didn´t.
He walked right into what you describe yourself as a small area, situated to the southwest of his dwellings, and he did so by employing the Bucks Row passage where one of the murders occurred only to then traverse the exact small area where the other Spitalfields murders occurred.
There is a tendency to think that there were no real aternative options for him since he used Bucks Row and worked in Broad Street, but any real research must work from the idea that these things are unestablished. Therefore, once he left Doveton Street, he could have gone anywhere - but he ended up taking that very, very small slice of the surroundings to the southwest where the killings took place.

Jacob Levy had a brother who lived in Goulston Street, and a cousin (Joseph Levy) who was said to be hiding something after Eddowes' murder. Jacob was a mentally unstable butcher with a criminal record who was finally put away in 1890. I'm not saying that Levy is necessarily a stronger suspect than Lechmere. I'm merely illustrating the circumstantial evidence that can be stacked up against a local suspect.

Levy is thus tenuously tied to Goulston Street. But what about Berner Street, Bucks Row, Mitre Square, Hanbury Street, Dorset Street and George Yard? And on how many murder sites was he found standing alone by a victim´s side, a freshly killed victim who was still bleeding?

Many men can be suggested, it´s not that. But this thread is about the geographical implications and Lechmere is miles ahead of Levy in that respect.

[Fisherman]

Of course, I had read it before - a few times - and a very interesting introduction to the theory it is. But it was written twelve years ago and our knowledge of Mr Lechmere has increased significantly since. And some of the information we have gleaned may be relevant to how he might have behaved geographically if he had decided to take up serial killing as a hobby.

Indeed, Gary. At that stage, nobody knew about his connections to St Georges, for example. And that was on account of how nobody knew that Charles Cross was in fact Charles Lechmere.

[MrBarnett]

Indeed, Gary. At that stage, nobody knew about his connections to St Georges, for example. And that was on account of how nobody knew that Charles Cross was in fact Charles Lechmere.

St Georges: Tiger Bay - Pinchin Street!

Mere trivia to some. Very interesting to me.

As is the fact that the WM started very shortly after his move away from ST G, where he’d spent most of his life, and occurred in areas with which it seems he would have been infinitely more familiar than Bethnal Green.

[Fisherman]

St Georges: Tiger Bay - Pinchin Street!

Mere trivia to some. Very interesting to me.

As is the fact that the WM started very shortly after his move away from ST G, where he’d spent most of his life, and occurred in areas with which it seems he would have been infinitely more familiar than Bethnal Green.

I gather you will have no problem at all realizing how I look upon Pinchin Street, Gary. I believe Drew Gray refers to it as the "crossover" or something along those lines, and it is a reflection that has to be made.

[John G]

Jack Random, John - is he the man who was listed in the 1881 census as P Hantom, killer?

Coincidentally, like Lech, he's suspected of commiting most of the unsolved murders, and possible murders, in the latter part of the nineteenth century!

The salient point, if course, is that a random individual from Flower and Dean street would have a modest geographical advantage over Lechmere. Against that, Lechmere found a body, but someone with a connection to the local area had to, why not him?

[John G]

I gather you will have no problem at all realizing how I look upon Pinchin Street, Gary. I believe Drew Gray refers to it as the "crossover" or something along those lines, and it is a reflection that has to be made.

I'm not sure what he means by "crossover", apart from the fact that there were lots of disimilarities, of course.

Of course, on that basis you could describe Ellen Bury as a "crossover", so too Chapman's wives, so too Kitty Ronan, so too Austin, so too Coles, so too Smith, so too Mylett, so too...

[MrBarnett]

I gather you will have no problem at all realizing how I look upon Pinchin Street, Gary. I believe Drew Gray refers to it as the "crossover" or something along those lines, and it is a reflection that has to be made.

I can well imagine.

I had an email exchange with Ed a little while back about whether the Lechmere’s 1861 house would still have been there in 1888. As you know, I’m convinced it would have been, but Ed thinks otherwise and is still trying to confirm it.

[Fisherman]

I'm not sure what he means by "crossover", apart from the fact that there were lots of disimilarities, of course.

Of course, on that basis you could describe Ellen Bury as a "crossover", so too Chapman's wives, so too Kitty Ronan, so too Austin, so too Coles, so too Smith, so too Mylett, so too...

Did the word upset you, John? Why the sudden need to produce other "crossovers"?

I think Gray used the word to point out how a torso victim was found on Ripper territory - that is where the two series cross over.

Nothing more than that.

Why is it so painful to you?

[Fisherman]

I can well imagine.

I had an email exchange with Ed a little while back about whether the Lechmere’s 1861 house would still have been there in 1888. As you know, I’m convinced it would have been, but Ed thinks otherwise and is still trying to confirm it.

Yes, I know you made different identifications of the house, and I am eager to hear what comes of the research!

[Fisherman]

Coincidentally, like Lech, he's suspected of commiting most of the unsolved murders, and possible murders, in the latter part of the nineteenth century!

The salient point, if course, is that a random individual from Flower and Dean street would have a modest geographical advantage over Lechmere. Against that, Lechmere found a body, but someone with a connection to the local area had to, why not him?

There is a very good case to be made for Lechmere being responsible for more than a dozen murders. As such, that does not mean that he was responsible for all murders in the latter part of the nineteenth century. Furthermore, there are examples of serial killers who have killed many times as many as a dozen victims.

Could you explain to me why a serial killer in the late nineteenth century could not kill a dozen women, John? And how is it more likely with two or more eviscerating serial killers in the same city and time?

[Batman]

There is nothing remotely to suggest the Cross was a misogynist or even violent.

[Fisherman]

There is nothing remotely to suggest the Cross was a misogynist or even violent.

No, there is not. Can you tell me who has made such a claim? Or who can deny that he WAS violent or a misogynist? Or that the Ripper was? Or that the Ripper enjoyed inflicting violence?