What basis is there for a conspiracy theory?

[Joshua Rogan]

I know I saw it on the Beast of Gevaudan Episode of Animal X on YouTube. It’s a great Australian show that interviewed French researchers but I haven’t looked into it further.

I'll try and track it down, cheers.
Now, back to the conspiracy talk...

[Sam Flynn]

Basically, and with no disrespect for the victims, we're dealing with poor, downtrodden non-entities targeted by an opportunist killer or killers. In terms of conspiracies there's nothing to see here, folks. There is no more whiff of conspiracy connecting the victims of the Whitechapel Murders than there has been between the victims of any other serial killer, and why should there be?

[Trapperologist]

Is there any way for the “terrorist(s)” theory to have evolved into the Royal Conspiracy? Homegrown terror is a natural fit.

PS Could the killer or killer have killed someone with a “respectable” past and respectable family? Mary, with an accepted better part of a year in the West End, and no associates were officially found or came forward. Running in respectable circles doesn’t mean there aren’t any artists or gentry who consorted and has the odd illegitimate that would require a cover-up. That story in itself could snowball.

[Michael W Richards]

John Kelly never described Catherine Eddowes as a partner, he testified "Have seen the deceased and recognise her as Catherine Conway. I have been living with her for seven years." Eddowes sister Eliza Gould testified "She has been living for some years with Mr. Kelly." Frederick Wilkinson of the lodging-house at Flower and Dean-street testified "I have known the deceased and Kelly during the last seven years. They passed as man and wife, and lived on very good terms." Annie Philips, Eddowes daughter, testified her mother and Kelly "were living together as man and wife"

Its in a press account of a Kelly interview, forgive me for not trawling through page after page for something I already know is there. What Wilkinson thought about the nature of the relationship, as well as Annie, is based on their own perceptions. What does John call Kate in the above quote? Does John say they were as man and wife? Does John say they were in essence married, virtually married, in a pseudo marriage, friends with benefits, a couple, …….

[Trapperologist]

Any more info on that geo-profiling of the Beast's attacks? I don't think I've heard about that and would be interested to read more.

I know I saw it on the Beast of Gevaudan Episode of Animal X on YouTube. It’s a great Australian show that interviewed French researchers but I haven’t looked into it further.

[Fiver]

Yet no JK tattooed on any body parts. No children. No evidence they were anything but what John described them as, "partners".

John Kelly never described Catherine Eddowes as a partner, he testified "Have seen the deceased and recognise her as Catherine Conway. I have been living with her for seven years." Eddowes sister Eliza Gould testified "She has been living for some years with Mr. Kelly." Frederick Wilkinson of the lodging-house at Flower and Dean-street testified "I have known the deceased and Kelly during the last seven years. They passed as man and wife, and lived on very good terms." Annie Philips, Eddowes daughter, testified her mother and Kelly "were living together as man and wife"

[Joshua Rogan]

There's always the case of the Beast of Gevaudan. The French solved that one IMO.

At first, they thought it was a wolf or some other wild animal but then the geo-profile of the murders showed one area where the killings were in direct parallel lines. A wild animal wouldn't do that.

Any more info on that geo-profiling of the Beast's attacks? I don't think I've heard about that and would be interested to read more.

[Michael W Richards]

Yet no JK tattooed on any body parts. No children. No evidence they were anything but what John described them as, "partners".

[Sam Flynn]

And steady "partner", as Kelly also described them is a long haul from my "wife", "lover", "girlfriend", "mate", "spouse", main squeeze, what have you...or any of a bunch of different ways he could have described their relationship.

The only reason why I put that in bold was to remind us that Eddowes had been closely involved with a man called Kelly for the best part of a decade. No need to posit that Eddowes had a woman named Kelly in mind when she plucked that alias - sorry, two different aliases - out of her head at the police station and... oh yes, the pawnbrokers, of course.

[Michael W Richards]

How do we know that Catherine didn’t get drunk on money that she’d earned from prostitution?

People that conducted that sort of business on the streets generally did so after dark, she was picked up drunk just after 8:00pm. We don't know for sure of course, but its improbable.

[Herlock Sholmes]

How do we know that Catherine didn’t get drunk on money that she’d earned from prostitution?

[Michael W Richards]

There was no reward in place at the time Eddowes and her steady partner of seven years Kelly were hop picking in Kent.

There were sums offered privately, that could not be prevented by the authorities, I thought that had been made clear earlier here Sam. And steady "partner", as Kelly also described them is a long haul from my "wife", "lover", "girlfriend", "mate", "spouse", main squeeze, what have you...or any of a bunch of different ways he could have described their relationship.

[Sam Flynn]

How many of them claimed that they were going to claim the reward based on that information?

There was no reward in place at the time Eddowes and her steady partner of seven years Kelly were hop picking in Kent.

[Michael W Richards]

So how come none of the other people - who were reported as saying they too knew who the killer was, in the same paper - didn't also end up getting murdered?

How many of them claimed that they were going to claim the reward based on that information? Hell, many locals would know who the bad guys were, but Kate said she didn't fear falling victim to him. That implies that they would have known each other. Maybe the kind of relationship that would make her feel at ease putting her hand on his chest when she showed up outside Mitre Square. If, of course, that was her.

Just wanted to add that people of all walks of life can become acquainted with dangerous, vicious people, and that doesn't automatically translate to a risk. Dangerous people are only dangerous to their enemies,.... there are lots of brutal, extremely violent individuals who also have otherwise calm and benign lifestyles. To imagine humans beings as one dimensional entities is naïve. Kate could well have known someone with a ruthless, vicious reputation, and that person might be no more threat than just another friend to her.

Don't all of you know someone bad? Someone who you knew, or suspected, was dark, and yet your relationship with them...even as passing acquaintances perhaps, doesn't present any risk? Someone you can say hi to, and not fear them?

But what if you threatened to squeal to the police about them?

[Sam Flynn]

Sam, of all people you shouldn't be putting words into my mouth. I never once said that she was killed by Fenians, I have said that Fenians, terrorists and all sorts of bad guys were in that place at that same time

Fair enough, but what I said otherwise stands. There is far, far more evidence of poor middle-aged slum dwellers begging for money - or scraping money together by whatever means for that matter - than there is for poor middle-aged slum dwellers being deliberately and publicly bumped off in gruesome fashion for whatever reason, whether there Fenians involved or not.