The Mizen Meeting

[Geddy2112]

Hi, hope everyone is well. Just a quick question. Do we know with any degree of certainty the exact, more or less location Paul, Cross and Mizen met on the 31st Aug 1888?

[Fiver]

"We left together, and went up Baker's row, where we met a constable." - Charles Cross

"...the first policeman I saw. I saw one in Church-row, just at the top of Buck's-row..." - Robert Paul

"Policeman George Myzen said that at a quarter to four on Friday morning he was in Hanbury-Street, Baker's-row".

[FrankO]

Hi Ian,

I think it was somewhere in the red oval. Mizen himself stated that he was "at the corner" or "at the end" of Hanbury Street. And when he admitted that he continued to knock at one house before leaving for Buck's Row, I think that house was still in Hanbury Street.



Cheers,
Frank

[Geddy2112]

I think it was somewhere in the red oval.

Hi Frank, yes I suspect that is correct. If so it is fairly obvious why he, Cross continued up Hanbury St and not Old Monty Street, not in an attempt to follow Paul but rather it just meant he did not even slightly have to double back. Another example of no suspicion and a rather simple boring explanation.

Thanks Fiver

[JeffHamm]

Hi Ian,

I think it was somewhere in the red oval. Mizen himself stated that he was "at the corner" or "at the end" of Hanbury Street. And when he admitted that he continued to knock at one house before leaving for Buck's Row, I think that house was still in Hanbury Street.



Cheers,
Frank

Around there makes good sense. It's also, at an average walking pace (I used 3.1 mph), only about 3m 30s walk from the crime scene, which fits with Paul's statement that it was no more than 4 minutes after his arrival that they met PC Mizen. I tend to believe that Cross/Lechmere and Paul's examination of Polly was very short, well under a minute (I've argued for as short as 10-15s), so combined with the inaccuracy of estimating durations from memory, the distance and testimonies all line up well without any issues.

- Jeff