Francis Thompson. The Perfect Suspect.

[Harry D]

Very interesting suspect .

Should've let sleeping dogs lie.

[MrBarnett]

Yet we dont know that he in fact didnt carry one around with him , just sayin its possible .


So its also possible he could have being staying at the refuse , which would technically make him a resident ?

We just dont know he/they [other suspects] were there at the time of the murders , have i got that bit right ?

Of course there are other suspects for whom there is no evidence of their being in the East End at the time. There are lots of weak suspects.

If we compare people like Joe Barnett or Charles Lechmere, long-term residents who had reason to be in or very near the murder sites, to Thompson who may or may not have been anywhere near them in 1888, I fail to see how he warrants a high score.

[MrBarnett]

According to Walsh, Thompson was in hospital for six weeks between October and December, 1888. He had been sent there having been examined by a doctor who said he was in a state of near total physical collapse.

Patterson suggests this physical wreck of a man somehow entered the London docks and started fires as a distraction from his activities in Bucks Row.

Did he overpower the Dock police manning the gates or did he scale the walls?

[FISHY1118]

Should've let sleeping dogs lie.

[GBinOz]

Ability:
Thompson trained as a surgeon for 6 years, at Owens Medical College Manchester, where he cut up hundreds of cadavers. There he was taught the very new and rare technique of heart removal called the Virchow method. This entails the removal of the heart via the pericardium. Doctor Thomas Bond, who performed Mary Kellys Autopsy, told the killer had used this method to remove her heart.

This is what originally caught my attention regarding Thompson, but when I googled the Virchow method this is what was returned: "In the Virchow technique, the organs are re- moved one by one and dissected as removed." I can't really see how this relates to Bond's comment, as the pericardium is the fibrous sac that enclosed the heart and great vessels. Perhaps a member with medical knowledge could explain?

Cheers, George

[Ms Diddles]

It’s been a while since I read Patterson’s book but I also read ‘Strange Harp, Strange Symphony: The Life of Francis Thompson by John Walsh on the recommendation of Gary Barnett, which is an excellent biography.

From what I can recall Thompson simply admitted to using a razor for shaving when he was wandering around and this is the only evidence of any ‘weapon.’ He was also in search of a woman that he had feelings for who I believe was a prostitute but she wasn’t an East End prostitute and I believe that he only ever talked/wrote of her in glowing terms. I seem to remember that he did spend some time in the East End though and near to Miller’s Court but I don’t think that it could be tied down to the time of the murders (I’ll stand correcting on this of course because I’m just working from memory ad I’m far from sure that his presence in the East End was proven). He did study medicine for a time but without much enthusiasm but of course he would have picked up medical/anatomical knowledge (if the ripper did have such knowledge)

Thompson reminds me in some ways of Van Gogh. A troubled man whose life was blighted by mental issues whether caused by or exacerbated by an addiction to opium. He appears to have been someone who was well liked by many. Personally I don’t see him as the ripper by any stretch but he had an interesting life and I don’t see that we have any reason for dismissing him.

Hi Herlock!

I haven't come across Strange Harp, Strange Symphony before.

Is it a simple biography of Thompson or is it proposing that he's the Ripper?

[Herlock Sholmes]

Hi Herlock!

I haven't come across Strange Harp, Strange Symphony before.

Is it a simple biography of Thompson or is it proposing that he's the Ripper?

Hi Ms D,

It’s just a biography of Thompson. It’s a really good book though and I’ve just looked on the price check site that I use and there’s one on sale on Amazon for £9.93 inc p+p.

[Ms Diddles]

Hi Ms D,

It’s just a biography of Thompson. It’s a really good book though and I’ve just looked on the price check site that I use and there’s one on sale on Amazon for £9.93 inc p+p.

Thanks Herlock!

I'll check it out.