Francis Thompson. The Perfect Suspect.

[MrBarnett]

Where? When?

Have you seen evidence that even Richard Patterson hasn’t seen?

At one stage Patterson was claiming that Thompson could look through the window of the room he was staying in at the Night Refuge and see the entrance to Miller’s Court. He dropped that claim when it was pointed out to him that only the windows in the women’s section of the refuge looked down Dorset Street. The men’s section was at the rear of the building.

[MrBarnett]

He certainly was close wasnt he .

Where? When?

Have you seen evidence that even Richard Patterson hasn’t seen?

[MrBarnett]

There is no hard evidence that Thompson was in the East End at the time of the murders.

He once had a knife.

He wrote some strange poems, although none of them ever mention prostitutes.

He had some medical training, but it seems he spent a lot of his time as a student going to the theatre and other entertainments.

[FISHY1118]

i fishy. agree. i think pattenson over eggs the pudding a but, but ive always found him an intriguing suspect, especially if he was actually living a stones throw away from kelly.

He certainly was close wasnt he .

[Herlock Sholmes]

There is no evidence of when Thompson shaved with a dissecting scalpel. It could have been when he was studying medicine, years before the Whitechapel Murders. Was a dissecting scalpel the sort of weapon that was used on the victims? I would imagine every adult in the country had access to a knife of some kind.

The only evidence of Thompson being in Spitalfields is his description of being outside the Providence Row refuge. That first appeared in a publication called Merry England. Patterson obtained it second hand from Walsh and hasn’t read the full article. There is no way of knowing when the incident occurred or whether Thompson actually stayed at the refuge.

There is nothing to suggest that Thompson’s split from his prostitute companion was in any way acrimonious, and as she had been based in Chelsea the idea that as a result of the split a rage-fuelled Thompson went to the East End looking for her and began killing other prostitutes as an act of revenge is highly fanciful.

As for ability, he was medically trained, so if the Whitechapel Murderer displayed medical training, then Thompson has the edge over suspects who weren’t.

Thompson is a weak suspect whose candidacy Richard Patterson has spun into something interesting.

Cheers Gary, I couldn’t recall the exact details.

[FISHY1118]

It's funny, Fishy!

At the risk of sounding contrary, I recently read Patterson's Thompson book and was pretty unimpressed with the case he made.

I wouldn't relegate Thompson to the "Ridiculous Suspect" category, but he would certainly be in my "I'll eat my hat if it was him" tier!

Off the top of my head, I would personally go something like:

Ability 2.50 (He was young enough, but I just don't see a fey, sickly poet having the oomph)

Opportunity 8.50 (yeah, he was in the right place at the right time which scores high)

Motive 1.50 (I think Patterson totally overegged his "obsession" with tracking down the prostitute lover who abandoned him and his misogyny).

Weapon 5.00 (He had previously had access to surgical knives. The shaving with a scalpel even if true doesn't really ring any alarm bells for me. All men had knives and razors).

My (completely unscientific and barely thought through total ) 17.5 out of 40.

I actually find it quite interesting how we all digest the same material, and then interpret it completely differently!

Thanks Diddles .

Yes i to find your last point interesting ,seems with jtr its a common occurrance we all share is it not ?


Just a couple of things tho ,by ability i mean and im sure the poster of topic was saying was his ability to carry out the crimes i.e his knowledge of the human anatomy and how to remove organs in a perticular way .

And i guess motive, im leaning towards the poem he wrote that has a kinda weird ''i hate prozzies'' feel about it if you catch my drift .

So perhaps you might have him a bit low on those two ,but hey like you said its all in the way we digest it huh .

[MrBarnett]

There is no evidence of when Thompson shaved with a dissecting scalpel. It could have been when he was studying medicine, years before the Whitechapel Murders. Was a dissecting scalpel the sort of weapon that was used on the victims? I would imagine every adult in the country had access to a knife of some kind.

The only evidence of Thompson being in Spitalfields is his description of being outside the Providence Row refuge. That first appeared in a publication called Merry England. Patterson obtained it second hand from Walsh and hasn’t read the full article. There is no way of knowing when the incident occurred or whether Thompson actually stayed at the refuge.

There is nothing to suggest that Thompson’s split from his prostitute companion was in any way acrimonious, and as she had been based in Chelsea the idea that as a result of the split a rage-fuelled Thompson went to the East End looking for her and began killing other prostitutes as an act of revenge is highly fanciful.

As for ability, he was medically trained, so if the Whitechapel Murderer displayed medical training, then Thompson has the edge over suspects who weren’t.

Thompson is a weak suspect whose candidacy Richard Patterson has spun into something interesting.

[Herlock Sholmes]

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.

[Abby Normal]

Best way to turn me off a suspect is to over egg him, if you need exageration and speculation you aren’t too convinced yourself.

agree. but you cant throw out the baby with the bathwater. its the same reason why i begrudgingly have to acknowledge koz as a valid suspect eventhough i cant stand andersons bluster.

[GUT]

i fishy. agree. i think pattenson over eggs the pudding a but, but ive always found him an intriguing suspect, especially if he was actually living a stones throw away from kelly.

Best way to turn me off a suspect is to over egg him, if you need exageration and speculation you aren’t too convinced yourself.

[Abby Normal]

Very interesting suspect .

i fishy. agree. i think pattenson over eggs the pudding a but, but ive always found him an intriguing suspect, especially if he was actually living a stones throw away from kelly.

[Ms Diddles]

Ability 9.95

Oportunity 9.95

Motive 9.00

Weapon 9.75
.
Based on these 4 must haves [i believe they can be listed as such. ] for the Ripper crimes , My scorecard for Francis Thompson is a 38.65 out of 40 .

Id be interested to see any scores from any other posters preferred Suspect ,P.O.I Based on this system, [i.e according to ''you'' what does your man score ]

Wether he was or wasnt JtR, F.T certainly makes a very good case .

It's funny, Fishy!

At the risk of sounding contrary, I recently read Patterson's Thompson book and was pretty unimpressed with the case he made.

I wouldn't relegate Thompson to the "Ridiculous Suspect" category, but he would certainly be in my "I'll eat my hat if it was him" tier!

Off the top of my head, I would personally go something like:

Ability 2.50 (He was young enough, but I just don't see a fey, sickly poet having the oomph)

Opportunity 8.50 (yeah, he was in the right place at the right time which scores high)

Motive 1.50 (I think Patterson totally overegged his "obsession" with tracking down the prostitute lover who abandoned him and his misogyny).

Weapon 5.00 (He had previously had access to surgical knives. The shaving with a scalpel even if true doesn't really ring any alarm bells for me. All men had knives and razors).

My (completely unscientific and barely thought through total ) 17.5 out of 40.

I actually find it quite interesting how we all digest the same material, and then interpret it completely differently!

[FISHY1118]

During the reign of the Ripper, London's East End held 900,000 people. Francis Thompson was just one East Ender. You might well ask how come, out them all, I think Thompson is the likely suspect for Jack the Ripper. It is because he is the only one who has combined all four main traits that people look for in the Ripper - ability, opportunity, motive, and a weapon.

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.

Opportunity:
Thompson was able to walk the streets at all hours. Being homeless for 3 years in the East End, he was part of the landscape and could come and go without rousing suspicion.

Motive:
Thompson had a resentment of prostitutes. At the start of June 1888 his year long relationship with an unnamed Chelsea prostitute ended angrily and suddenly. After he told her his first poems were to be published, she said she did not want the attention and she threatened to leave him. She since disappeared without a trace.

Weapon:
Thompson not only possessed a knife, it was a dissecting scalpel, which was the perfect weapon for the Ripper crimes.

Out of the thousands of existing suspects out there, from of all the books that have been written, surely somebody can present one that can match these 4 necessary traits. If only I can then I've just shot Thompson, the perfect suspect, to the top of the list.

More information can be found on Facebook at: Francis Thompson and the Ripper Paradox Book Group

https://www.facebook.com/groups/502480266521400/

Ability 9.95

Oportunity 9.95

Motive 9.00

Weapon 9.75
.
Based on these 4 must haves [i believe they can be listed as such. ] for the Ripper crimes , My scorecard for Francis Thompson is a 38.65 out of 40 .

Id be interested to see any scores from any other posters preferred Suspect ,P.O.I Based on this system, [i.e according to ''you'' what does your man score ]

Wether he was or wasnt JtR, F.T certainly makes a very good case .

[FISHY1118]

Very interesting suspect .

[MrBarnett]

Thompson mentioned to a friend that he had ‘shaved with a dissecting-scalpel before now’. This apparently translates to his carrying a sharp knife on him at all times.