Lipski

[Joshua Rogan]

I just read that he did say that he was sleeping at the time. So would he have been able to change his clothes and get there within six minutes?

c.d.

Quite possible, I think. Commercial Road ran across the top of Berner St (about 130yds), and no. 100 was at the top of Batty Street (another 40-50yds). So no more than a 2 minute walk, or 18 seconds for Usain Bolt.

I'm not sure how long exactly it would take a Victorian gentleman to get dressed but 4 minutes sounds plausible. Especially as his assistant Johnson estimated he arrived 3-4 minutes before the doctor.

[c.d.]

Ok. Mystery solved. Thanks for that, Joshua.

c.d.

[drstrange169]

>So no more than a 2 minute walk <<

I've done the journey, comfortably, in 57 seconds.

[NotBlamedForNothing]

From Interpreting 'Lipski':

Israel Lipski's actual surname was Lobulsk. After arriving in London, he changed his name. A Mr. and Mrs. Lipski were the landlords of 16 Batty Street. Perhaps he took their name out of respect or convenience. He may have even thought that Lipski sounded less Jewish. In Victorian England, it was quite common for foreigners of all nationalities and religious backgrounds to anglicize birth names.

There are quite a few letters in the files dealing with the shout of 'Lipski' and what it might possibly meant. For example, three unsigned handwritten pages, apparently copying a Home Office memo on the subject, state in part: 'It does not appear whether the man used the word "Lipski" as a mere ejaculation, meaning in mockery I am going to "Lipski" the woman, or whether he was calling to a man across the road by his proper name. In the latter case, assuming that the man using the word was the murderer, the murderer must have an acquaintance in Whitechapel named Lipski.' ⁵

In a report, dated 1 November, 1888, Inspector Abberline wrote that no person named Lipski could be found. ⁶ This suggests that the Lipskis of Batty Street had either moved away or changed their name. Given the notoriety generated by the Angel murder and the fact that 16 Batty Street was demolished in 1888 this would seem a likely scenario. ⁷

In the same report, Abberline stated that the word 'Lipski' was used as an insult if addressing a Jew 'and Schwartz has a strong Jewish appearance.' Schwartz was questioned at length by Abberline, but could not say to whom the 'Lipski' remark was addressed. Abberline believed it was directed at him. It is a reasonable assumption. Out of the three visible men in Berner Street at the time, Schwartz was the only one, according to his own statement, of Semitic appearance.

So 'Lipski' could have meant one of three things:

1. A reference to murder, or an intention to murder
2. A man's name
3. An insult addressed to a Jew - presumably Schwartz

No one by the name of Lipski was found, so that probably leaves 1 & 3 as the possibilities. As we are dealing with a murder case, I would suggest that 1 is the most likely possibility. However, would a man have brazenly announced to anyone on the street within hearing range, that he was about to 'Lipski' the woman he was assaulting? Seems unlikely, and that leads me to suppose that when the word 'Lipski' was called out, the murder had already occurred. That would explain why no one else reported hearing it. It might also explain why Schwartz could not say who the remark was addressed to.

[PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR 1]

From Interpreting 'Lipski':

Israel Lipski's actual surname was Lobulsk. After arriving in London, he changed his name. A Mr. and Mrs. Lipski were the landlords of 16 Batty Street. Perhaps he took their name out of respect or convenience. He may have even thought that Lipski sounded less Jewish. In Victorian England, it was quite common for foreigners of all nationalities and religious backgrounds to anglicize birth names.

There are quite a few letters in the files dealing with the shout of 'Lipski' and what it might possibly meant. For example, three unsigned handwritten pages, apparently copying a Home Office memo on the subject, state in part: 'It does not appear whether the man used the word "Lipski" as a mere ejaculation, meaning in mockery I am going to "Lipski" the woman, or whether he was calling to a man across the road by his proper name. In the latter case, assuming that the man using the word was the murderer, the murderer must have an acquaintance in Whitechapel named Lipski.' ⁵

In a report, dated 1 November, 1888, Inspector Abberline wrote that no person named Lipski could be found. ⁶ This suggests that the Lipskis of Batty Street had either moved away or changed their name. Given the notoriety generated by the Angel murder and the fact that 16 Batty Street was demolished in 1888 this would seem a likely scenario. ⁷

In the same report, Abberline stated that the word 'Lipski' was used as an insult if addressing a Jew 'and Schwartz has a strong Jewish appearance.' Schwartz was questioned at length by Abberline, but could not say to whom the 'Lipski' remark was addressed. Abberline believed it was directed at him. It is a reasonable assumption. Out of the three visible men in Berner Street at the time, Schwartz was the only one, according to his own statement, of Semitic appearance.

So 'Lipski' could have meant one of three things:

1. A reference to murder, or an intention to murder
2. A man's name
3. An insult addressed to a Jew - presumably Schwartz

No one by the name of Lipski was found, so that probably leaves 1 & 3 as the possibilities. As we are dealing with a murder case, I would suggest that 1 is the most likely possibility. However, would a man have brazenly announced to anyone on the street within hearing range, that he was about to 'Lipski' the woman he was assaulting? Seems unlikely, and that leads me to suppose that when the word 'Lipski' was called out, the murder had already occurred. That would explain why no one else reported hearing it. It might also explain why Schwartz could not say who the remark was addressed to.

'Lipski' was chalked on the walls of Whitechapel.

It was a term of abuse, like accusing the Jews of ritual murder or killing Christ.

The evidence is that it was not directed at Stride, that she was still alive, and that Schwarz, being the only Jewish person nearby, was the target of the exclamation.