Walter Sickert: Whitechapel Murderer ?

[Sickert]

Flying Pigs

I just saw a pig fly past.

Sickert

[The Grave Maurice]

Yeah, and it's a very old pig.
Nice to have you with us, Sickert. But, other than having an interest in this case (like all of us), your namesake, IMO, had nothing to do with it.

[Limehouse]

I have always thought that Walter Sickert was guilty. What with DNA, Paintings, and him been a master of disguise, sounds good to me.

The DNA? Walter Sickert left his DNA on the vicitms? I don't think so! And what about the paintings? A man paints a picture about a murder and he is a murderer? Ms Cornwell has written dozens of books about murders - so she is a murderer too? And are all actors and actresses potential murderers because they are masters of disguise?

What about offering some evidence that Sickert was even in the country - never mind London - at the time of the murders?

[Graham]

The DNA? Walter Sickert left his DNA on the vicitms? I don't think so! And what about the paintings? A man paints a picture about a murder and he is a murderer? Ms Cornwell has written dozens of books about murders - so she is a murderer too? And are all actors and actresses potential murderers because they are masters of disguise?

What about offering some evidence that Sickert was even in the country - never mind London - at the time of the murders?

Hi Julie,

I think Cornwell claimed that she'd found DNA on one or more of the Ripper Letters, and that it matched Sickert's taken from God-knows-what. Even if true, it doesn't make Sickert the Ripper - it just means he probably wrote one or more of the letters just for jolly.

And I thought it'd been established that Sickert was in Dieppe at the time of at least two of the murders.

My only interest in Sickert as the Ripper is that I admire his work, and like many others feel that his reputation and memory have been sullied by linking him with the Whitechapel Murders. Everyone is, though, fully entitled to his or her opinion.

Graham

[Limehouse]

Hi Julie,

I think Cornwell claimed that she'd found DNA on one or more of the Ripper Letters, and that it matched Sickert's taken from God-knows-what. Even if true, it doesn't make Sickert the Ripper - it just means he probably wrote one or more of the letters just for jolly.

And I thought it'd been established that Sickert was in Dieppe at the time of at least two of the murders.

My only interest in Sickert as the Ripper is that I admire his work, and like many others feel that his reputation and memory have been sullied by linking him with the Whitechapel Murders. Everyone is, though, fully entitled to his or her opinion.

Graham

Hi Graham -

You are quite right of course - everyone is entitled to their opinion. I suppose to some Sickert is a good suspect in a Cluedo sort of way.

Sickert's DNA on one of the ripper letters eh? And who elses? It would be good to know where she got the comparative sample from - Joseph Gorman perhaps? Oh no ! I'm not getting into another DNA discussion. Oh no. Not al all!

Like you - I very much like Sickert's work - not all of which is dark and forboding.

Have a good weekend!

[Sickert]

Paintings

Limehouse it's the fact that he put things in his paintings that only the police and the killer knew. And as for where the DNA came from, ever heard of Mitochondrial DNA.

[Graham]

Limehouse it's the fact that he put things in his paintings that only the police and the killer knew

Such as?

And as for where the DNA came from, ever heard of Mitochondrial DNA

.

Yes. So what?

Graham

[Sickert]

Answers

1) I'm not the killer. It's just what I heard.
2) Just answering the question, where did she get a sample from. Answer one of his relatives.

[The Grave Maurice]

1)...where did she get a sample from. Answer one of his relatives.

I don't think so. What relative would that be, exactly? As I recall, Cornwell's hired guns compared the mitochondrial DNA from one of the Ripper letters to a letter known to originate from Sickert's house. The chance of a direct connection was still remarkably low.

And please don't tell me that I have to re-read her book to find this information. I don't think I could stand it.

[Limehouse]

Limehouse it's the fact that he put things in his paintings that only the police and the killer knew. And as for where the DNA came from, ever heard of Mitochondrial DNA.

If it's a fact - why didn't they arrest him?? Yes - I have heard of mitochondrial DNA but in this case it's not a reliable test.

Sickert probably was not even in the country when at least two of the murders were committed - how do you answer that?

[kensei]

The way I recall it, the DNA match Cornwell found was between the Ripper letter received by Dr. Openshaw and one written by the artist James Whistler during the time that Sickert was apprenticed to him and doing things such as mailing letters for him. It's hardly proof though and I don't think Sickert was the Ripper.

[Sickert]

Agree

I changed my mind about who the ripper was. I think it may have been George Chapman.

[Ausgirl]

the DNA match Cornwell found was between the Ripper letter received by Dr. Openshaw and one written by the artist James Whistler

Wrong artist, mayhap?

[BTCG]

Good evening Mr Sickert, and welcome,

The vast majority of Sickert's work is far from macabre. Have you explored it further than the few mentioned by Ms Cornwell?

Almost the whole of London and most of England was interested in the crimes and it was not just Mr Sickert who represented the killings in his work.

Many, many artists are eccentric - it is what gives them their inspiration and Sickert was painting at a time when art was becoming much more than just portraits and landscapes.

If Ms Cornwell really wanted to prove Sickert was the Ripper, she would have made much more of an effort to determine where he was during the autumn of 1888, or at least at the time when some of the women were killed.

Methinks that in Sickert, Cornwell has a suspect that Ripperologists cannot defend their behavior against.


And yet, Ripperologists and their vanity feel compelled to spite their faces with their own blades.

One confession letter can be written off as jest: more cannot.

But why let that stop the body of Ripperology?

[BTCG]

And... be prepared:

I suspect that Sickert correspondence dating from what was supposed to be ironclad (the time he was (sic) undisputedly in France, painting) will be unveiled. Some of these letters will be written on Sickert's home stationary and will bear local postmarks. If this is not enough, playbills dating from this narrow window, containing Sickert's drawings, will also be unveiled.

Now, again, it's circumstantial. But the circumstances are starting to resemble a wall of evidence.