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Greetings all,
I would like to address an issue some have, which causes doubt that Scotland Yard considered Francis Tumblety anything more than a minimal Ripper suspect:
“If Scotland Yard really considered Francis Tumblety a serious Ripper suspect, then why would they have let him sneak out of the country? Surely if they thought Tumblety was Jack the Ripper as Tumblety enthusiasts claim, they would have either had him incarcerated or at least have had multiple detectives watching his every move.”
First, there needs to be some clarification. When did Tumblety enthusiasts ever claim that Scotland Yard was so convinced that Francis Tumblety was Jack the Ripper that they stopped the entire investigation and put all of their financial and personnel resources on Francis Tumblety, and then contacted the Queen and told her they have their man? I went to the extreme not to ridicule but to make a point. No one witnessed the actual murders, so why would they have been 100% confident about anyone? Tumblety fell in their lap in early November 1888 and red flags went up. Even though there has been a suggestion that Scotland Yard arrested Tumblety directly because of a Ripper investigation on him or even a gross indecency investigation, the facts do not support this. According to primary sources, he was arrested on the streets for suspicious behavior like dozens of other characters, but when they had him and because of the contents in the ‘large dossier concerning him at Scotland Yard’ (Littlechild), they realized this man should be taken seriously. The fact that Assistant Commissioner Anderson PERSONALLY contacted US chiefs of police -at that very time- for information on Tumblety, specific to the Ripper investigation, confirms their higher level of interest in him,
“…the London Police are evidently doing their level best to fasten the Whitechapel murders upon Dr. F. T. Tumblety.” Today Police Superintendent Campbell received a telegram from Assistant Police Commissioner Anderson, acting Chief since the resignation of Police Commissioner Warren, in reference to Tumblety. Mr. Anderson wants some information as to his life in Brooklyn, and says he is accused of indecent assault in London, where some say he was known as “Brooklyn’s Beauty.” (Brooklyn Standard-Union, November 23, 1888)
Note that this Anderson cable was sent two days prior to Tumblety being safely onboard the transatlantic vessel, La Bretagne, on his way to New York from Le Havre, France.
So, why didn’t they incarcerate him AS A RIPPER SUSPECT if he was such a hot suspect? Since no one saw the murderer in the act of killing, then it’s logical to assume that they were not ready to take Tumblety to court FOR THE MURDERS. Would Assistant Commissioner Anderson have had the wealthy, upper class American, Francis Tumblety, illegally incarcerated? Did Anderson have enough control over the courts to violate British law? Would Tumblety have hired legal assistance like he always had in the past?
…or Anderson and company decided to LEGALLY incarcerate Tumblety with the use of gross indecency and indecent assault, a winnable case. According to primary sources, such as the Brooklyn Standard-Union article above and the Old Bailey Court Calendar records, this is exactly what happened.
“But weren’t they watching his every move after he posted bail for gross indecency and indecent assault?” By November 1888, the Ripper investigation was working in overdrive, stretching out their resources to the breaking point. According to Don Rumbelow, each detective still had at least thirty cases they were working on at any moment, other than the Ripper investigation. They couldn’t just drop everything for the Ripper investigation, especially since the month of October saw no Ripper killings and they didn’t know if and when there was going to be another killing. How many detectives could they afford to put on Francis Tumblety and still investigate, especially when Kelly was just murdered?
Sneaking out of the country, Tumblety certainly did. The usual port of departure from England to New York was on the west coast of England; Liverpool. We know Tumblety used this port, because he use to work out of Liverpool and he even had a sister who lived in Liverpool. Inspector Andrews used this port when he left on the SS Sarnia to Canada around the same time Tumblety left. If Scotland Yard was worried about Tumblety leaving the country, they clearly would have, first, had men following him, and second, had men watching the port in Liverpool. So, what did Tumblety do? He escaped the back way to France, the same way Irish Nationalists took when they were escaping the grip of Scotland Yard. Is this a coincidence when we have primary sources connecting Tumblety to Irish Nationalists? Remember, two unknown London acquaintances bailed him out on November 16, 1888. All he had to do was elude a couple of detectives at his many haunts. Keep in mind; this was a wealthy man, who had a three-decade history of sneaking out of town and country when things got hot. This would have been even easier to do if those two unknown men gave him assistance.
“I agree that he escaped from England but not because he was a Ripper suspect, but because he was about to go to prison for a couple of years for gross indecency. Since Scotland Yard was not concerned about such a small case, then they would not have invested energy to ensure he did not escape.”
The first part of this I agree with. Tumblety was running from a two-year prison sentence, and not for knowing Scotland Yard suspected him of being the Ripper. Primary sources show that he hated being incarcerated. The problem with the second part is that we know he was suspected of being the killer, not just from a lowly detective crew located in Whitechapel, but from the highest positions in Scotland Yard, Assistant Commissioner Anderson (something even Chief Inspector Littlechild corroborated). Just think, the Assistant Commissioner himself took the time to contact US chiefs of police about Ripper suspect Tumblety at the peak of the murder investigation.
Sincerely,
Mike
I would like to address an issue some have, which causes doubt that Scotland Yard considered Francis Tumblety anything more than a minimal Ripper suspect:
“If Scotland Yard really considered Francis Tumblety a serious Ripper suspect, then why would they have let him sneak out of the country? Surely if they thought Tumblety was Jack the Ripper as Tumblety enthusiasts claim, they would have either had him incarcerated or at least have had multiple detectives watching his every move.”
First, there needs to be some clarification. When did Tumblety enthusiasts ever claim that Scotland Yard was so convinced that Francis Tumblety was Jack the Ripper that they stopped the entire investigation and put all of their financial and personnel resources on Francis Tumblety, and then contacted the Queen and told her they have their man? I went to the extreme not to ridicule but to make a point. No one witnessed the actual murders, so why would they have been 100% confident about anyone? Tumblety fell in their lap in early November 1888 and red flags went up. Even though there has been a suggestion that Scotland Yard arrested Tumblety directly because of a Ripper investigation on him or even a gross indecency investigation, the facts do not support this. According to primary sources, he was arrested on the streets for suspicious behavior like dozens of other characters, but when they had him and because of the contents in the ‘large dossier concerning him at Scotland Yard’ (Littlechild), they realized this man should be taken seriously. The fact that Assistant Commissioner Anderson PERSONALLY contacted US chiefs of police -at that very time- for information on Tumblety, specific to the Ripper investigation, confirms their higher level of interest in him,
“…the London Police are evidently doing their level best to fasten the Whitechapel murders upon Dr. F. T. Tumblety.” Today Police Superintendent Campbell received a telegram from Assistant Police Commissioner Anderson, acting Chief since the resignation of Police Commissioner Warren, in reference to Tumblety. Mr. Anderson wants some information as to his life in Brooklyn, and says he is accused of indecent assault in London, where some say he was known as “Brooklyn’s Beauty.” (Brooklyn Standard-Union, November 23, 1888)
Note that this Anderson cable was sent two days prior to Tumblety being safely onboard the transatlantic vessel, La Bretagne, on his way to New York from Le Havre, France.
So, why didn’t they incarcerate him AS A RIPPER SUSPECT if he was such a hot suspect? Since no one saw the murderer in the act of killing, then it’s logical to assume that they were not ready to take Tumblety to court FOR THE MURDERS. Would Assistant Commissioner Anderson have had the wealthy, upper class American, Francis Tumblety, illegally incarcerated? Did Anderson have enough control over the courts to violate British law? Would Tumblety have hired legal assistance like he always had in the past?
…or Anderson and company decided to LEGALLY incarcerate Tumblety with the use of gross indecency and indecent assault, a winnable case. According to primary sources, such as the Brooklyn Standard-Union article above and the Old Bailey Court Calendar records, this is exactly what happened.
“But weren’t they watching his every move after he posted bail for gross indecency and indecent assault?” By November 1888, the Ripper investigation was working in overdrive, stretching out their resources to the breaking point. According to Don Rumbelow, each detective still had at least thirty cases they were working on at any moment, other than the Ripper investigation. They couldn’t just drop everything for the Ripper investigation, especially since the month of October saw no Ripper killings and they didn’t know if and when there was going to be another killing. How many detectives could they afford to put on Francis Tumblety and still investigate, especially when Kelly was just murdered?
Sneaking out of the country, Tumblety certainly did. The usual port of departure from England to New York was on the west coast of England; Liverpool. We know Tumblety used this port, because he use to work out of Liverpool and he even had a sister who lived in Liverpool. Inspector Andrews used this port when he left on the SS Sarnia to Canada around the same time Tumblety left. If Scotland Yard was worried about Tumblety leaving the country, they clearly would have, first, had men following him, and second, had men watching the port in Liverpool. So, what did Tumblety do? He escaped the back way to France, the same way Irish Nationalists took when they were escaping the grip of Scotland Yard. Is this a coincidence when we have primary sources connecting Tumblety to Irish Nationalists? Remember, two unknown London acquaintances bailed him out on November 16, 1888. All he had to do was elude a couple of detectives at his many haunts. Keep in mind; this was a wealthy man, who had a three-decade history of sneaking out of town and country when things got hot. This would have been even easier to do if those two unknown men gave him assistance.
“I agree that he escaped from England but not because he was a Ripper suspect, but because he was about to go to prison for a couple of years for gross indecency. Since Scotland Yard was not concerned about such a small case, then they would not have invested energy to ensure he did not escape.”
The first part of this I agree with. Tumblety was running from a two-year prison sentence, and not for knowing Scotland Yard suspected him of being the Ripper. Primary sources show that he hated being incarcerated. The problem with the second part is that we know he was suspected of being the killer, not just from a lowly detective crew located in Whitechapel, but from the highest positions in Scotland Yard, Assistant Commissioner Anderson (something even Chief Inspector Littlechild corroborated). Just think, the Assistant Commissioner himself took the time to contact US chiefs of police about Ripper suspect Tumblety at the peak of the murder investigation.
Sincerely,
Mike
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