Charles Lechmere: Prototypical Life of a Serial Killer

[PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR 1]

PC Mizen, like other police would have been equipped with a lamp. Mizen doesn't seem to have been the brightest, but talking to him would have been a massive risk for a man with fresh bloodstains on his clothing.

What similar risks did the murderer take in Berner Street or Mitre Square?

Did he wait for someone else to arrive on the scene and point out the body to him?

Did he try to get past a policeman, as Christer put it, by telling him about the body?

[PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR 1]

That's not how logic works. Whether or not someone plays cricket has no bearing on whether they are a serial killer.

I think it does have a bearing and it is not a matter of logic.

I have read hundreds of cases of serial murderers and not one has been remotely like Druitt, in terms of progeny, upbringing, interests, or occupation.

[Darryl Kenyon]

There is no evidence that he was ever challenged to produce one.

So you are saying that once Kosminski became a suspect, or person of interest if you like, that the police didn't try and establish his whereabouts that Autumn and particularly the nights in question ?

[Darryl Kenyon]

I think it does have a bearing and it is not a matter of logic.

I have read hundreds of cases of serial murderers and not one has been remotely like Druitt, in terms of progeny, upbringing, interests, or occupation.

And how many Germanic sailor serial killers did you come across who only killed in one of their ports of call, and no others , and probably not even in the country he was born in or would know ?

[Sunny Delight]

Charles Lechmere is one of the poorest suspects I have encountered. In fact I find it almost insulting to surviving descendents. We have to remember that this was a real man. I know that if my name was dragged through the mud as potentially the Whitechapel Murderer-even if it was 130 years later I would be apoplectic. Even more so when we consider there is not a shred of evidence to link him to any crime. Quite the contrary. He appears to have been a family man who worked hard to provide at a time when times were extremely difficult. He should be completely exonerated in my opinion.

[PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR 1]

And how many Germanic sailor serial killers did you come across who only killed in one of their ports of call, and no others , and probably not even in the country he was born in or would know ?

There have been plenty of German serial killers, possibly the best-known of whom has been Peter Kürten.

There have been plenty of sailors who became serial killers, including Allan Grimson, Steven Wright, Richard Dorrough, John Armstrong, Richard Valenti, Billy Gohl, Anthony McKnight, and Anatoly Onoprienko.

The East End of London abounded with foreign sailors, including many from Northern European countries, many of whom were commuting between London and German ports.

The only witness who can plausibly be considered to have seen the Whitechapel Murderer with a victim shortly before he killed her said that the man had the appearance of a sailor and a fair moustache.

It is amazing that so many people treat Anderson's anti-Semitic conspiracy theory with respect but whenever I suggest that the murderer was a German sailor, there are howls of derision.

The explanation for the cessation of the murders proposed by Macnaghten, which still has considerable support, that the murderer must either have died or been incarcerated in an asylum, omits a third possibility: he boarded a ship and left the way he had come.

What on earth is farfetched about that?

[PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR 1]

Charles Lechmere is one of the poorest suspects I have encountered. In fact I find it almost insulting to surviving descendents. We have to remember that this was a real man. I know that if my name was dragged through the mud as potentially the Whitechapel Murderer-even if it was 130 years later I would be apoplectic. Even more so when we consider there is not a shred of evidence to link him to any crime. Quite the contrary. He appears to have been a family man who worked hard to provide at a time when times were extremely difficult. He should be completely exonerated in my opinion.

Unfortunately, some people confuse fame and infamy.

A descendant of Lechmere's is proud of the supposed fact that he was the Whitechapel Murderer and was extremely insulting towards me when I defended Lechmere from the accusations made against him.

A descendant of Kosminski's relatives seemed flattered by the idea that she might be related to the Whitechapel Murderer - on the strength of a hoax involving a twentieth-century table runner on which Kosminski is alleged to have ejaculated one night in Mitre Square in the previous century.

It is obvious that both men are innocent of all charges, including that of staining the supposed shawl.

[Abby Normal]

There have been plenty of German serial killers, possibly the best-known of whom has been Peter Kürten.

There have been plenty of sailors who became serial killers, including Allan Grimson, Steven Wright, Richard Dorrough, John Armstrong, Richard Valenti, Billy Gohl, Anthony McKnight, and Anatoly Onoprienko.

The East End of London abounded with foreign sailors, including many from Northern European countries, many of whom were commuting between London and German ports.

The only witness who can plausibly be considered to have seen the Whitechapel Murderer with a victim shortly before he killed her said that the man had the appearance of a sailor and a fair moustache.

It is amazing that so many people treat Anderson's anti-Semitic conspiracy theory with respect but whenever I suggest that the murderer was a German sailor, there are howls of derision.

The explanation for the cessation of the murders proposed by Macnaghten, which still has considerable support, that the murderer must either have died or been incarcerated in an asylum, omits a third possibility: he boarded a ship and left the way he had come.

What on earth is farfetched about that?

so do you consider Feigenbaum a legit suspect?

[PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR 1]

so do you consider Feigenbaum a legit suspect?

I think he was too old at the time of the murders.

[PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR 1]

So you are saying that once Kosminski became a suspect, or person of interest if you like, that the police didn't try and establish his whereabouts that Autumn and particularly the nights in question ?

Yes, because he did not become a 'suspect' until years later and was never actually investigated.

[Darryl Kenyon]

There have been plenty of German serial killers, possibly the best-known of whom has been Peter Kürten.

There have been plenty of sailors who became serial killers, including Allan Grimson, Steven Wright, Richard Dorrough, John Armstrong, Richard Valenti, Billy Gohl, Anthony McKnight, and Anatoly Onoprienko.

The East End of London abounded with foreign sailors, including many from Northern European countries, many of whom were commuting between London and German ports.

The only witness who can plausibly be considered to have seen the Whitechapel Murderer with a victim shortly before he killed her said that the man had the appearance of a sailor and a fair moustache.

It is amazing that so many people treat Anderson's anti-Semitic conspiracy theory with respect but whenever I suggest that the murderer was a German sailor, there are howls of derision.

The explanation for the cessation of the murders proposed by Macnaghten, which still has considerable support, that the murderer must either have died or been incarcerated in an asylum, omits a third possibility: he boarded a ship and left the way he had come.

What on earth is farfetched about that?

But how many of the above are German and sailors ? Certainly not Steven Wright for one. And if the killer was a sailor who came and went how come there are no known JTR murders elsewhere German port or else, Before or after he sailed into the sunset ?

I suggest to you that the murderer killed only in a very limited part of the east end is because that's where he lived and possibly worked.

[Darryl Kenyon]

Yes, because he did not become a 'suspect' until years later and was never actually investigated.

It doesn't matter when someone becomes a suspect/ person of interest , one day, one year, one decade after the murders the police will always try and find where that person was within a time frame of murders. The killer Peter Tobin has been tried to be linked to the Bible John series of murders in sixties Glasgow for instance because he was known to frequent Glasgow and was born in Scotland . But its likely he had an alibi of living in Brighton at the time of at least one of the murders.

I am sure Victorian police [ even without the methods of today ] would have checked on whether Kosminski was in the east end of London in the Autumn of 1888. And if it was known that he had moved , say up north to Manchester for a few weeks during the murder spree [ where there was/is a large Jewish community ] for instance, then he would have been dismissed as a suspect [ if he had ] much like Piser or Issemenchid .

[PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR 1]

But how many of the above are German and sailors ? Certainly not Steven Wright for one. And if the killer was a sailor who came and went how come there are no known JTR murders elsewhere German port or else, Before or after he sailed into the sunset ?

I suggest to you that the murderer killed only in a very limited part of the east end is because that's where he lived and possibly worked.

Steven Wright did kill in his own country, but not in a port.

I read some interesting statistics not long ago - I think on this site - about knife murders of women in England.

There were 11 in 1887 and 1889 respectively, but 17 in 1888.

I suggest the extra five or so were imported, so to speak.

If the murderer was a German, he may have committed murders in other places which have never been linked to the Whitechapel Murders.

It may be that he targeted a foreign port because he knew - in the days before fingerprinting and DNA testing - that it would be impossible to link him with the crimes after he left.

I don't think the murderer was in employment during the period in which the murders took place, partly because two of the four murder dates were Friday mornings.

You could be right that the murderer was home-grown.

If he wrote the GSG and used a cockney double-negative, then he may have been a Londoner, but another possibility is that the GSG was intended to mean It is not for nothing that the Jews will be blamed.

As I stated before, I believe the construction of part of the GSG suggests a German-speaking author, and having a fair moustache would not be inconsistent with that.

[PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR 1]

I am sure Victorian police [ even without the methods of today ] would have checked on whether Kosminski was in the east end of London in the Autumn of 1888.

What checks did the police make on whether Ostrog was in the East End of London in the Autumn of 1888?

They were evidently unaware that he was in custody in Paris.

They had only to check with their French counterparts and Macnaghten would not then have included him in his shortlist of 'suspects'.

What checks did the police make about Druitt?

If they had made checks, they might have realised he was not a doctor and that he did not disappear around 9 November 1888.

Did they check his Dorset alibi for the first murder?

If they did, and it did not hold up, why did Macnaghten not mention it and why did Abberline dismiss all talk of Druitt being the murderer?

Why was Macnaghten's strongest evidence an unsubstantiated report that relatives of Druitt who did not even live with him suspected him of being the murderer?

Why did he not mention evidence that Druitt absented himself during his Dorset trip?

If they had investigated Kosminski, they would have had to find incriminating evidence or that his alibis would not stand up, but all Macnaghten can offer is unspecified circumstantial evidence.

No incriminating evidence was discovered during any search of Kosminski's home or belongings and no alibi of his was found to be unsound.

Otherwise, Anderson and Swanson would have been crowing about it.

[Darryl Kenyon]

What checks did the police make on whether Ostrog was in the East End of London in the Autumn of 1888?

They were evidently unaware that he was in custody in Paris.

They had only to check with their French counterparts and Macnaghten would not then have included him in his shortlist of 'suspects'.

What checks did the police make about Druitt?

If they had made checks, they might have realised he was not a doctor and that he did not disappear around 9 November 1888.

Did they check his Dorset alibi for the first murder?

If they did, and it did not hold up, why did Macnaghten not mention it and why did Abberline dismiss all talk of Druitt being the murderer?

Why was Macnaghten's strongest evidence an unsubstantiated report that relatives of Druitt who did not even live with him suspected him of being the murderer?

Why did he not mention evidence that Druitt absented himself during his Dorset trip?

If they had investigated Kosminski, they would have had to find incriminating evidence or that his alibis would not stand up, but all Macnaghten can offer is unspecified circumstantial evidence.

No incriminating evidence was discovered during any search of Kosminski's home or belongings and no alibi of his was found to be unsound.

Otherwise, Anderson and Swanson would have been crowing about it.

You say - no alibi of his was found to be unsound. Again what alibi was found ? Please allude. Or stop making your surmising statements as if they are fact.

As for Ostrog and Druitt they are from one man MM as suspects . In a document which he is relying on memory to refute one sensationalist newspaper article from a couple of weeks previous , on a person most people agree was very unlikely to have been the ripper and never taken very seriously . They are his views and his views alone.