new to Thompson as a suspect

[YankeeSergeant]

Is there literature on his inclusion in the pool of suspects? I'm new to the whole idea of Thompson as a suspect. I don't remember coming across him in my research. Is he a new addition?

[Pcdunn]

Is there literature on his inclusion in the pool of suspects? I'm new to the whole idea of Thompson as a suspect. I don't remember coming across him in my research. Is he a new addition?

Francis Thompson was a very well-known Catholic poet, most famous for writing "The Hound of Heaven". There are two biographies on him, both rather old. You may also find a biographical sketch of him online in the Catholic Encyclopedia.

Thompson was the son of a doctor, and attended both medical school and a seminary, but never became either a doctor or a priest. He seems to have had an affinity for living on the streets of London as a penniless wanderer, though some sources indicate he tried to earn money by selling matches. This period in his life coincided with the Autumn of Terror. The story is that while homeless, Thompson mailed some of his poems to a Catholic magazine. The editor eventually located Thompson with the news he would publish him, helped him to get off the streets, and encouraged his writing. Thompson eventually died in his thirties, I think, of TB. Thompson's poetry is still taught today.

Richard Patterson, a poster on Casebook, has many threads about the proposed guilt of Thompson as JTR. I think he may have authored the new book about Thompson's guilt.

[Fantomas]

Thompson was new to me too, until some time ago. He does seem to fit what would be an excellent suspect in both the forensic and psychological speculation. My proclivity to indulge the conspiratorially minded Ripper theories finds no great spoils in Thompson but he seems to fit a pattern of uniquely British serial killers (if indeed such a pantheon can be assembled) with a panoply of motives that begin in some misguided practical venture and end in ramped up murder lust. Christie, Nielsen and Haigh would seem to fit the contingency history of British serial killing if we take Thompson as a suspect.

[jmenges]

Richard only yesterday updated the Suspect page for Thompson to bring him up to date.

http://www.casebook.org/suspects/ft.html

And I interviewed him for about an hour last weekend.

http://forum.casebook.org/showthread.php?p=360324#post360324

JM

[YankeeSergeant]

Thanks

Thank you all for your rapid responses! You're the best!

[Richard Patterson]

Like no other suspect.

When Mary Kelly was murdered, his home was less than 100 yards away. His only reason for roaming those streets at night was that he was looking for a prostitute. In one of his coat pockets was his poem on hunting and disemboweling them so he could find and kill their fetuses. In the other was his razor sharp dissecting knife, that he had been trained for years with, to make the exact same wounds on the victims. His name was Francis Thompson.