Why Cross Was Almost Certainly Innocent

[Herlock Sholmes]

I didn't "rewrite my words". Shipman was a body finder; not ALWAYS, however - and all my words are perfectly good English. And I didn't "describe" Shipman's murders in their entirety - I merely pointed out he didn't discriminate as to the day or time when it came to committing murder.

The definition of "who can find a body" doesn't include Shipman, a doctor, apparently. No doctors. Nor therefore does it include multiple serial killer nurses who often found dead bodies on their rounds of the ward. And also doesn't include people murdered inside buildings, for some reason (what about garden sheds - a murder in one of these, would it be "inside" or "outside"?). A completely self-serving definition, and I do not subscribe to it.

You can’t compare the type of serial killer Jack the Ripper was to Harold Shipman or Lucy Letby.

I’m talking about serial killers who leave there victims outdoors (like the ripper) and there have been thousands so we have many to compare with. What makes me smile is that over the years I’ve lost count of the amount of times on here that Christer has gone to a ‘history of crime ‘ argument. How he used ‘precedent’ to try and make a point. But since I pointed out a couple of glaringly obvious ones it suddenly becomes unimportant. Or someone tries to change the criteria by adding in poisoners.

[TopHat]

That is interesting because I'm sure I've read about 19 different newspaper articles stating Charles Cross did turn up at the inquest.

That's correct; I meant straight away. My bad.

I think not going straight away to the inquest is not an issue for some people. For me, the most important witness (Cross) not appearing at the inquest until after Paul has gone public - and therefore the police now know about the mystery man who found the body - is a huge issue.

Edit: I did actually list he eventually turned up:

---------------
* Cross doesn't turn up to the inquest or even go to the police to say what happened.
* The police still think they found the body.
* Paul is interviewed in the press.
* Cross turns up to the inquest.
---------------

[Herlock Sholmes]

You're just letting Cross off scot-free. In a modern-day investigation, Cross would never be ruled out at this point. He was the closest known person in time next to a fresh murder, who subsequently did not make it clear to the police what had happened, and then did not turn up to the inquest on day one where the police were positive a policeman had found the body.

First point - I’m not letting him off Scot free because for over 10 years I and others have examined in the minutest detail every aspect of the murder in Bucks Row. Your statement that “Cross would never be ruled out at this point” is clearly untrue, whatever “this point” you mean, because eventually every suspect is ruled out until the guilty one is found and convicted. The police at the time, despite not having modern knowledge, would have been fully aware that Cross had been alone for an unknown period near to the body and they found nothing suspicious in him. We haven’t a clue to what extent they looked into him but you can’t simply assume that they would have believed him no matter what (which is the feeble angle Christer tried). That’s a typically convenient viewpoint. They would have interviewed him, probably at length, and let him go because his story convinced them. That doesn’t prove innocence of course but it does prove that investigators at the time looked into him and saw nothing suspicious.

Second point - “..subsequently did not make it clear to the police what had happen…” Again, and typically, you are being selective. You, and other Cross supporters, have no issue with saying that the police could have messed up and let the real killer go, but you are strangely reluctant to accept that a police Constable (Mizen) who was otherwise engaged at the time (knocking up) might simply have misheard or misunderstood what Cross and Paul said. He was human; why ‘must’ he have been correct? And that’s another glaringly obvious point…Cross left the scene with Paul (a man that he didn’t know and had no influence over) they walked together, they met Mizen together, they spoke to him together (confirmed by all three) so tell me how a ‘guilty’ Cross could have misled Mizen without Paul being in on it. How come Paul didn’t contradict him? It’s very clear that there was no misleading going on. And of course, Cross could have avoided this in the first place if he’d escaped….something that, as far as is known, every singly serial killer in the history of serial murder has done.

Third point - is barely worth answering. Why is it a problem that Cross didn’t attend the first day of the inquest and yet it’s perfectly ok that Paul didn’t attend on the first day either…and he’d been in the newspaper? It wasn’t down to witnesses as to when they attended and gave their testimony. They were told when to attend and Cross attended when he was told to. Do you really think that Cross was working on the basis of “let’s hope that the other bloke never tells anyone about us being in Bucks Row then I can avoid going to the inquest.” Hardly a bit of genius deception is it. Again, he had zero control over Paul.

Cross found the body like millions of others. He has absolutely nothing going for him as a suspect. In fact he’s an appalling suspect because the evidence is against his guilt at every point. All that’s happened is that people have become childishly obsessed over the ‘he was there, he was there’ thing. John Richardson was there with Chapman, has far more about him that could be called suspicious so was he the ripper? Of course he wasn’t. Then after the ‘he was there’ Christer manipulated the evidence to create an imaginary gap and some less critical people fell for it hook, line and sinker. Those with experience of the case didn’t. Then we have a bandwagon rolling with Stow and the family connection no doubt hoping that down the line a book might be in the offing.

You could pretty much take any aspect of the case, pick out someone at random, and build some kind of ‘case’ against them. How much stone cold evidence against him do you need?

There’s nothing about him or his life that suggests crime or violence or the life of a serial killer.
On the day in question he was exactly where he should have been at just that time.
He stood around waiting for a complete stranger to show up…forgoing an opportunity of escape that a toddler could have achieved.
They have a cursory look at the body.
They both need to get to work.
They walk together to find a PC.
They find a PC and tell him about the woman.
He shows up at the inquest and gives evidence that makes perfect sense.
He’s 90 minutes into his shift when Chapman is killed.

Barring proof that he was in the Outer Hebrides when Eddowes was killed it doesn’t get clearer. Innocent. Absolutely game over. This pursuit of Cross is just a distraction…a massive waste of time.

[TopHat]

You did not say that. You said "Harold Shipman often "discovered the body". Shipman also killed on his way to work, during work, after work, and on weekends."

Your attempt to rewrite your own words is noted. Your description of Shipman's murders remains laughably inaccurate.

I didn't "rewrite my words". Shipman was a body finder; not ALWAYS, however - and all my words are perfectly good English. And I didn't "describe" Shipman's murders in their entirety - I merely pointed out he didn't discriminate as to the day or time when it came to committing murder.

The definition of "who can find a body" doesn't include Shipman, a doctor, apparently. No doctors. Nor therefore does it include multiple serial killer nurses who often found dead bodies on their rounds of the ward. And also doesn't include people murdered inside buildings, for some reason (what about garden sheds - a murder in one of these, would it be "inside" or "outside"?). A completely self-serving definition, and I do not subscribe to it.

[TopHat]

Then you certainly have no concept of ‘suspicious’ TopHat. And why have you added the ‘Cross didn’t turn up at the inquest’ part. A fairly typical invention. He turned up at the inquest. There was never a time that he ‘doesn’t turn up.’ He actually testified before Paul. Unbelievable!

• A man kills a woman and then escapes just as every other serial killer in history did.
• A man is walking a street as he did 6 days a week
• That man arrived at the spot where you would have found him 6 days a week at that time.
• He discovers a body as untold numbers of people have all through history.
• Another man arrives who is also on his way to work.
• They go to find a Constable as any innocent passer-by person would.
• Both men turn up at the inquest and give their testimony.

I struggle to think of anything less suspicious.

You're just letting Cross off scot-free. In a modern-day investigation, Cross would never be ruled out at this point. He was the closest known person in time next to a fresh murder, who subsequently did not make it clear to the police what had happened, and then did not turn up to the inquest on day one where the police were positive a policeman had found the body.

[Geddy2112]

I pointed this out to Stowe on his House of Cross channel, and he was still adamant that Cross was guiltier than the other Finder`s, despite the fact that we only had the word of the other Finder`s as there were no witnesses, whereas Cross was been watched all the way.

Indeed, I just do not get it. The evidence is clear. It's astonishing that they still believe this rubbish after over a decade of them being told it's a load of rubbish. I guess it's the YouTube clicks that matter, not the truth.

[Jon Guy]

Sorry Sir that simply is not true. It did not happen.

This is what is kind of frustrating, a bit like the name none issue. These statements are made and when asked how did it make a difference you get no reply...

Even if there were 30 people watching Cross standing in the middle of the road it does not make him more suspicious or a likely killer. In fact Paul being present actually exonerates him because Paul saw nothing suspicious. We can't say that about the other first finders. So I'm not sure how Paul being present makes him more of a serial killer...

I pointed this out to Stowe on his House of Cross channel, and he was still adamant that Cross was guiltier than the other Finder`s, despite the fact that we only had the word of the other Finder`s as there were no witnesses, whereas Cross was been watched all the way.

To be fair it`s consistent for that mob as they`re just Johnny come lately`s jumping on the back of some proper research by Derek Osborne.

[Fiver]

So if it's not Cross who did the murder, it goes like this:

* Jack did the murder.
* Jack disappeared.
* Cross found the body.
* Paul found Cross (and the body).
* A policeman found the body.
* Cross doesn't turn up to the inquest or even go to the police to say what happened.
* The police still think they found the body.
* Paul is interviewed in the press.
* Cross turns up to the inquest.

If that sequence of events is not extremely suspicious, I don't know what is.

* Jack did the murder.
* Jack disappeared.
* Cross found the body.

No one finds these suspicious for any of the other murders.

* Paul found Cross (and the body).

Paul would have kept walking if Cross hadn't have stopped him. Cross' behavior is the same as John Reeves, PC Neil, John Davis, Louis Diemschutz, PC Watkins, Thomas Bowyer, and PC Andrews.

* A policeman found the body.

This is identical to the Eddowes and McKenzie murders.

* Cross doesn't turn up to the inquest or even go to the police to say what happened.

This is provably false. Nether Robert Paul nor PC Mizen knew who Charles Cross was. Charles Cross could only have ended up at the inquest if he went to the police.

* The police still think they found the body.

PC Mizen knows that two carmen told him there was a body. The rest of the police thinking they have found the body is either a sign of poor communication between H and J divisions or of PC Mizen never reporting it. If there is any suspicion, it attaches to PC Mizen, not Cross.

* Paul is interviewed in the press.

But Paul does not go to the police. If there is any suspicion, it attaches to Paul, not Cross

* Cross turns up to the inquest.

Nether Robert Paul nor PC Mizen knew who Charles Cross was. Charles Cross could only have ended up at the inquest if he went to the police.

[Geddy2112]

Yes, and all these FINDERS had no witnesses to them finding the body or being with the body, whereas Cross was been watched by a witness as he approached the body

Sorry Sir that simply is not true. It did not happen.

This is what is kind of frustrating, a bit like the name none issue. These statements are made and when asked how did it make a difference you get no reply...

Even if there were 30 people watching Cross standing in the middle of the road it does not make him more suspicious or a likely killer. In fact Paul being present actually exonerates him because Paul saw nothing suspicious. We can't say that about the other first finders. So I'm not sure how Paul being present makes him more of a serial killer...

[Geddy2112]

And the idea that a murderer has never declared discovering the body (their victim) to a witness, whether having had a chance to flee the scene or not, is equally preposterous. There have been countless murders where this seeming innocence has been displayed - and then it is found out the body finder actually committed the murder.

To be honest I'm not an expert but I'm struggling to think of an example. Could you enlighten me please?

[Fiver]

The idea that Cross discovered the body is not what happened; it's only half the story.

This is what happened: Paul discovered the person (Cross) who discovered the body.

This is extremely important.

It is important - Robert Paul seeing Cross means means Charles Cross is less likely to have been the Ripper.

Robert Paul's presence means that Rippermere will have to pull out a handkerchief, clean his knife and hands, hide the knife and handkerchief, and move well away from the body without being heard or seen by Paul.

All of the other finders could have spent at least some time unobserved to conceal bloodstains and their knives and then claimed to have found the body. Cross doesn't have this possibility.

[Fiver]

Thanks for the welcome.

Unfortunately it's so long since the Ripper murders happened, it's a matter of prioritizing the evidence for importance, accuracy, and veracity, and then ranking the suspects. If you want to accuse "manipulated evidence" for the Cross theory then this applies to every suspect - and I suggest that when doing this fair application of "manipulation bias", the Cross theory is still the best theory.

I have seen manipulation of the evidence for several suspects, but seldom as much as the case of Charles Cross. There remains no evidence of any kind against Charles Cross.

Cross could be lying about what time he left home.

Cross could be lying about what time he left home. So could Robert Paul. PC Neil could be lying about when he last walked down Bucks-row. The night watchmen could have been lying about not leaving their posts. The slaughtermen could have been lying about none of them leaving alone. the neighbors could have been lying about being asleep in bed.

All you have proved is your own double standard.

[Jon Guy]

Alfred Crow, John Reeves, PC Neil, John Davis, Louis Diemschutz, PC Watkins, Thomas Bowyer, and PC Andrews.

Yes, and all these FINDERS had no witnesses to them finding the body or being with the body, whereas Cross was been watched by a witness as he approached the body

[Fiver]

With a witness next to him, it makes sense for Cross to go along with this. What's the alternative? Allow Paul to find the police and tell them a man he just spoke to "discovered" a body and has decided to not play a part in reporting it?

The witness was only next to Cross because of Cross' actions.

If Cross was the killer he had lots of other options.
* Walk off into the darkness.
* When Robert Paul wanted to avoid him, just let Paul keep walking.
* Tell Paul that they should split up so they can find a constable sooner and then walk off into the darkness.

[Fiver]

In a modern-day murder investigation, with what we know from the evidence before us, Cross would be the prime suspect. No way would he be ruled out (or reduced) in the manner that is being done by the "it's not Cross" team. He would remain the number one suspect until new evidence proved otherwise.

Charles Cross found a body - that's it. That cannot make him the "number one suspect" since it's exactly the same as Alfred Crow, John Reeves, PC Neil, John Davis, Louis Diemschutz, PC Watkins, Thomas Bowyer, and PC Andrews.

All you have proved is your own double standard.

* There is no physical evidence against Cross.
* There is no eyewitness evidence against Cross.
* There is no evidence of violence or criminal behavior by Cross.
* Cross had no knowledge of anatomy.
* The idea of hiding bloodstained clothing and trophy organs in a house full of small children is laughable.
* The timing of the Chapman, Stride, and Eddowes murders make it wildly unlikely that Cross killed them.
* Cross lived for over three decades after the murders ended.