Evidence of innocence

[rjpalmer]

Leather aprons were worn by those who used knives or other sharp tools in their occupation. Carmen wore sacking aprons to prevent soiling of their clothes.

These three carmen evidently didn't get the memo.

[drstrange169]

>>Thanks for the complete transcription. I double-checked, found no mistakes and copy/pasted it into my notes.<<

If anybody wants a copy of the relevent page from the three papers, p.m. me your email address. They are too big to post here.

Weirdly, these papers were almost certainly printed on paper that came from Broad Street goods yard as it was the main distributer of newsprint paper to the provinces.

Maybe Lechmere carried the paper on his cart;-)

The main point, of course, is that this story started in London via a reporter from the widely read Star newspaper.

[MrBarnett]

The idea that Lechmere wore an apron to the inquest on Sept 3rd to alleviate suspicion against him seems rather... quaint.

Whether Lechmere's apron was leather or not, the mental association would have occurred to a guilty man. Half the East End was screaming about the murderer wearing an apron.

‘Half the East End was screaming’?

A number of women had suspicions about a man specifically with a leather apron and that was printed in some newspapers a couple of days before Lechmere attend the inquest, and you somehow imagine that as a result a few hundred thousand people looked with suspicion on all men who wore any kind of apron?

Now that really is ‘quaint’, RJ.

Leather aprons were worn by those who used knives or other sharp tools in their occupation. Carmen wore sacking aprons to prevent soiling of their clothes.

Isn’t there a contradiction between your claim that half the East End were screaming about aprons and your only saying that the unwisdom of wearing would have occurred to a guilty man? Why not to an innocent man if the sight of an apron was such an emotive issue?

[FrankO]

Anyway, I've copied the clearer version out, correcting some other minor errors on my part. I've not kept the original formatting for line breaks, or the hyphens where words in the original story split over lines. Also I've put the name of the paper at the top. This might be easier for people to copy/paste into their notes if they wish, but I would encourage anyone who does to double check my transcription with the clearer version on the previous page in case there are still some mistakes in my transcription:

Edinburgh Evening News
SEPTEMBER 1, 1888,
THE WHITECHAPEL MURDER.
The body of deceased has been identified as that of a married woman named Mary Ann Nichols, who has been living apart from her husband for some years. She had been an inmate of Lambeth Workhouse on and off for seven years. She was discharged from the workhouse a few months ago, and went into domestic service at Wandsworth, suddenly leaving her situation under suspicious circumstances seven weeks ago. Since that time she had frequented the locality of Whitechapel, and was seen in Whitechapel Road on the night of the murder under the influence of drink.
BODY DRAGGED SOME DISTANCE.
It was evident yesterday morning that the murder was committed some distance from the place where the body was found. This was in Buck’s Row, about midway down its length. Buck’s Row is a short street, occupied half by factories and half by dwellings. Half-way down the street is the house of Mrs. Green. Next to it is a large stable yard, whose wide closed gateway is next to the house. In front of this gateway the woman was found by two men, who at first supposed her to be drunk, but closer inspection saw first a pool of blood in the gutter just before her, and then the deathly whiteness of the woman’s face, stained as it was with blood. One of them remained by her, while the other found Constable Neil. Constable Neil immediately woke the Green family, and asked them if they had heard any unusual noises. Neither Mrs. Green, her son, nor her daughter, all of whom were sleeping within a few feet of where the body lay, had heard any outcry. All agreed that ….

Hi Jeff,

Thanks for the complete transcription. I double-checked, found no mistakes and copy/pasted it into my notes.

Cheers,
Frank

[rjpalmer]

The idea that Lechmere wore an apron to the inquest on Sept 3rd to alleviate suspicion against him seems rather... quaint.

Whether Lechmere's apron was leather or not, the mental association would have occurred to a guilty man. Half the East End was screaming about the murderer wearing an apron.