Tweet
The account below, from 1 October 1888, contains some interesting errors. Among these, Diemshitz's wife is referred to as Mrs Lewis. I wonder if this was just a reporting error or if Diemshitz also used this as a surname, which may explain the lack of mention in the census records etc.
Interesting to see the misinterpretation of the apron in Goulston Street. This article states that the portion of apron belonged to Stride and this showed the murderer had passed along Goulston Street on his way from Berner Street to Mitre Square. This interpretation was obviously in error, but I wonder how widepsread this idea was.
This article will be going into the Press Reports section.
Chris
Londoners awoke yesterday morning to find themselves confronted by the intelligence of two more ghastly and atrocious crimes, both of them similar in their fiendish details to the recent tragedies that have created widespread panic throughout the United Kingdom. The East End, and, indeed, the whole of the Metropolis, in a few hours rang with the sensational intelligence that two more women, both of them of the lower class, both middle aged, and, apparently, possessed of nothing that could tempt a person actuated by motives of gain, had been brutally murdered; and in one of the cases most horribly mutilated. Both murders have taken place in what may be broadly spoken of as the East End. The one occurred within the City bounds; the other in that part of London allotted to the division of the Metropolitan force which has its headquarters in Leman Street, and is technically known as the H Division. So far from displaying a less daring method than the crimes that have preceded them, those of yesterday morning indicate a far greater desperation, combined with cunning, than either the murder of Annie Chapman or that of Mary Ann Nicholls. For both of the tragedies were committed within an hour and three quarters of midnight in thoroughfares not a stone's throw removed from Aldgate and Commercial Road, where people were busily passing to and fro, and where some thousands of persons were standing at their doors chatting prior to retiring to rest.
The scene of the first discovered tragedy was Berners (sic) Street, Commercial Road. This street is situated but a few hundred yards along the busy east End thoroughfare, turning down to the right opposite No. 57. It is a narrow street, occupied by small dwellings, in which reside a number of artisans, and is by no means of the low description of thoroughfare common in the neighbourhood. Next to the Socialist Club is a yard entered by two large wooden gates, which always remain open. Up this yard on one side is a row of small, dirty looking houses, each of which is tenanted. The other side is skirted by the premises of the club, to which there is a side entrance. At the time the murder was committed some of the people in the small houses had not gone to bed, yet none of them can state that they heard any noise or noticed anything unusual. This is not surprising, since during the time in question the members of the club, who are mostly foreign Jews, were singing songs and making sufficient disturbance to drown any sound the poor woman may have made. Those who know the yard say it would be the last place to select for either evil purpose or for murder, as people are constantly passing up and down. At about one o'clock, when numerous people were walking briskly about, the lights in the house windows indicated that the occupants had not retired to rest, a policeman passed on his beat from Commercial Road down Berners Street, and observed nothing whatever of a suspicious character. Shortly before one o'clock a hawker named Diemshitz, who had just returned from market, entered the yard, and in the shadow came upon the body of a woman. The woman, who was poorly clad, lay on the ground dead, a fearful gash almost severing her head from her body. Apparently she was about 35 years of age. The body was found a considerable distance from any common lodging house, and the supposition is that the poor creature was decoyed from the public thoroughfare to a less frequented spot and brutally murdered. Death must have been instantaneous. The hawker lost no time in communicating with the police. When the officer who was called arrived on the scene he found the poor woman lying on her back in the passage, only a few yards distant from the street pavement. Her throat, as has been said, was cut from ear to ear, and her head and hair lay daffling in a pool of blood. Evidently the assassin had been disturbed in his horrible work, for there can be little doubt that the woman's actual murder would have been followed by an atrocious form of mutilation which was discovered later to have been perpetrated in a second case. Superintendent Arnold, Chief Inspector West, Inspector Pinhorn, and others, accompanied by a medical man, were speedily on the spot. An ambulance was obtained, and the body of the victim was conveyed to the City mortuary, in Golden Lane, while the spot where the body was found was minutely inspected by the officers. On the discovery of the murder the police closed the wooden gates, and barred any one from going either out of the club or the houses. Such of the members of the club as were present at the time were immediately subjected to a minute inspection, their pockets being turned out and their hands looked at for traces of blood. Those residing opposite in the houses also went through the same test.
Lewis Diemshitz, steward of the International Working Men's Club, and the finder of the body, says -
I am a traveller by trade, and go to different markets to sell my goods. Yesterday (Saturday) I went to Westow Hill. As the night was so wet I did not stay quite as late as usual. On driving into the yard my pony shied a little in consequence of my cart coming in contact with something on the ground. On looking down I saw the ground was not level, so I took the butt end of my whip and touched what appeared to me in the dark to be a heap of dirt lately placed there - a thing I was not accustomed to see. Not being able to move it I struck a match, and found it was a woman. First of all I thought it was my wife, but I found her inside the club enjoying herself. I said to some of the members, "There is a woman lying in the yard, and I think she is drunk." Young Isaacs, a tailor machinist, went to the door and struck a match, and, to our horror, we saw blood trickling down the gutter, almost from the gate to the club. I and Isaacs ran out for a policeman, but could not find one after traversing several streets; but in the meantime another man from the club, Eagle, ran to the Leman Street Police Station and fetched two policemen, who arrived about seven minutes after the discovery. I discovered the body about one o'clock.
Mr. Eagle says he went to the club about twenty minutes to one o'clock, or twenty minutes before Diemshitz passed up the yard, but did not notice anything. Still, as he stated, he walked quickly and proceeded up the centre of the yard, so, possibly, had the woman been lying there he might not have noticed her.
The Policeman who was upon duty at the time affirms that as he passed up Berners Street he noticed a man and a woman talking together not far from the yard. The man he did not see, but the woman he fancies he might identify.
Dr. Blackwell says - At about ten minutes past one I was called to 40 Berners Street by a policeman, where I found a woman who had been murdered. Her head had been almost severed from her body. She could not have been dead more than twenty minutes, the body being perfectly warm. The woman did not appear to be a Jewess, but more like an Irish woman. I roughly examined her, and found no other injuries but this. I cannot definitely state until I have made a further investigation of the body. She had on a black velvet jacket and black dress of different material. In her hand she held a box of cachous, whilst pinned in her dress was a flower. Altogether, judging from her appearance, I should say she belonged to the immoral class; at least her general get up would lead me to suppose that. I have no doubt that the same man committed both this and the murder that was discovered later, and should say he is a maniac, but one at least who is accustomed to use a heavy knife. I should say that as the woman held sweets in her left hand, that her head was dragged back by means of a silk handkerchief she wore round her neck, and her throat was then cut. One of her hands, too, was smeared with blood, so she may have used this in her rapid struggle. I have no doubt that the woman's windpipe being completely cut through, she was unable to make any sound. I might say it does not follow that the murderer would be bespattered with blood; for, as he is sufficiently cunning in other things, he could contrive to avoid coming in contact with the blood by reaching well forward.
FURTHER STATEMENTS AS TO THE FIRST MURDER
Abraham Hershburg, a young man living at 28 Berner Street, says:-
I was one of those who first saw the murdered woman. It was about a quarter to one o'clock, I should think, when I heard a policeman's whistle blown, and came down to see what was the matter in the gateway. Two or three people had collected, and when I got there I saw a short, dark young woman lying on the ground with a gash between four and five inches long in her throat. I should think she was from 25 to 28 years of age. Her head was towards the north wall, against which she was lying. She had a black dress on, with a bunch of flowers on her breast. In her hand there was a little piece of paper containing five or six cochous (sic). The body was not found by Koster, but by a man whose name I do not know - a man who goes out with a pony and barrow, and lives up the archway, where he was going, I believe, to put up his barrow on coming home from market. He thought it was his wife at first, but when he found her safe at home he got a candle and found this woman. He never touched it till the doctors had been sent for. The little gate is always open, or, at all events, always unfastened; but I don't think the yard is one which is used by loose women. There are some stables in there - Messrs. Duncan Woollatt & Co.'s, I believe - and there is a place to which a lot of girls take home sacks which they have been engaged in making, none of them, though, about after one o'clock on Saturday afternoon. None of us recognised the woman, and I don't think she belongs to this neighbourhood. She was dressed very respectably. There seemed to be no wounds on the body. About the club? Oh yes; it would be open till two or three this (Sunday) morning. I suppose it is a Socialist club, and there are generally rows there. Both men and women go there. They have demonstrations up there, and concerts, for which they have stage and piano. There was a row there last Sunday night. It went on till about two in the morning, and in the end two people were arrested.
The house which adjoins the yard on the south side, No 38, is tenanted by Barnett Kentorrich who, interrogated as to whether he had heard any disturbance during the night, said -
I went to bed early and slept till about three o'clock, during which time I heard no unusual sound of any description. At three o'clock some people were talking loudly outside my door, so I went to see what was the matter and learned that a woman had been murdered. I did not stay out long, and know nothing more about it. I do not think the yard bears a very good character at night, but I do not interfere with any of the people about here. I know that the gate is not kept fastened. The club is a nasty place. In this view Mrs. Kentorrich, who had come up from the underground kitchen to take part in the colloquy, thoroughly agreed, and both she and her husband, in reply yo further questions, corroborated Heshburg's statement as to women and girls being taken to the Club, and as to disorders which sometimes took place there. In order to inquire further into these matters the Central News representative next visited the club referred to - a rather low class little building covered with posters, most of them in the Hebrew language.
Mrs. Lewis, wife of the steward, as she explained, was standing at the door the centre of a knot of people, but she declined to call up her husband, who had been up all night, and had only just gone to bed. Pressed to speak as to the character of the club, Mrs. Lewis was inclined to be reticent; but a young man in the crowd volunteered an explanation of the ill feeling which existed in the district as to the institution. "You see," he explained, "the members are 'bad' Jews - Jews who don't hold their religion - and they annoy those who do in order to show their contempt for the religion. At the black fast a week or two ago, for instance, they had a banquet and ostentatiously ate and drank, while we might do neither. They have concerts there till early in the morning, and women and girls are brought here."
"Were any here last night?" asked the reporter.
"No," said Mrs. Lewis; "there were only a concert and discussion on last night."
The young fellow who had previously spoken gave some further details at second hand as to the finding of the body by Lewis, but he could add no further facts to those given in the above statements.
Morris Eagle, a Russian Jew, says:-
I frequent this club, and I was passing into it so late as twenty minutes to one this (Sunday) morning, which was just twenty minutes before the body was discovered. I had been there earlier in the evening, but left about twelve o'clock in order to take home my young lady. When I returned I came along by the small streets in this district, but noticed nothing unusual. There were a number of men and women about, as there always are about that time, but the streets were not more lively than usual, and I saw nothing suspicious. When I got back to the club in Berner Street the front door was closed, and so I passed through the gate on the left hand side of the house to get in by the side door. I went over the same ground as Diemshitz did later on, but I saw nothing on the ground. The gates were thrown wide; in fact, it is very seldom that they are closed. It is customary for members of the club to go in by the side door, to prevent knocking at the front. There is no light in the yard, but, of course, there are lamps in the street. After I got into the club there was some singing, and after I had been in twenty minutes a man came in and said something about a woman being in the yard. I went into the yard and struck a match, and then I could see that there was blood on the ground. I heard Diemshitz calling for the police, and I ran into Commercial Road. I found two officers at the corner of Christian Street, and told them what was the matter. When one of the policemen saw the blood he sent his companion for a doctor. In the meantime I went straight to Leman Street, and called out an inspector. I did not notice the appearance of the young woman, because the sight of the blood upset me, and I could not look at it.
Isaac M. Kozebrodski, a young Russian Pole, who spoke the English language perfectly, gave the following information:-
I was in this club last night (Saturday.) I came in about half past six in the evening, and I have not been away from it since. About twenty minutes to one this (Sunday) morning Mr. Diemshitz called me out into the yard. He told me there was something in the yard, and told me to come and see what it was. When we had got outside he struck a match, and when we looked down on the ground we could see a long stream of blood. It was running down the gutter from the direction of the gate, and reached to the back door of the club. I should think there was blood in the gutter for a distance of five or six yards. I went to look for a policeman at the request of Diemshitz or some member of the club, but I took the direction towards Grove Street and could not find one. I afterwards went into the Commercial Road, and there, along with Eagle, found two officers. The officers did not touch the body, but sent for a doctor. A doctor came, and an inspector arrived just afterwards. While the doctor was examining the body I noticed that she had some grapes in her right hand and some sweets in her left. I think she wore a dark jacket and a black dress. I saw a little bunch of flowers stuck above her right bosom.
Joseph Lave, a man just arrived in England from the United States, and who is living temporarily at the club until he can find lodgings, says:-
I was in the club yard this (Sunday) morning about twenty minutes to one. I came out first at half past twelve to get a breath of fresh air. I passed into the street but did not see anything unusual. The district appeared to be quiet. I remained out until twenty minutes to one, and during that time no one came into the yard. I should have seen anybody moving about there.
Several members of the club, including the steward, stated that the yard adjoining the building has never been used for evil purposes. The traffic there is constant, and continues almost all the night through.
DESCRIPTION OF A SUSPECT
The following is a description of a man who was seen in the company of the woman found murdered in Berners Street a short time before the commission of the crime; aged about 28, and in height 5 feet 8 inches or thereabouts, complexion dark and wearing a black diagonal coat and hard felt hat, collar and tie, and was carrying a newspaper parcel. The man was also of a respectable appearance.
THE SCENE OF THE FIRST MURDER
The yard in which the body was found is (says the Central News) about ten feet wide. This width is continued for a distance of eight or ten yards, at which point there occurs on the left hand side a small row of houses, which are set back a little, so that the width is increased by two feet or more. The extreme length of the court is 30 yards, and it terminates in a workshop, which is at present used as a dwelling house. The spot where the murder was committed, therefore, is overlooked on three sides; and, inasmuch as the gates were open on Saturday night, any casual pedestrian might easily have seen the commission of the crime. The windows of the club room are within ten feet of the spot, while the cottages stand almost opposite, and command a complete view of it. None of the occupants of these houses, however, heard the faintest noise in the course of Saturday night or Sunday morning. The residents in the yard are tailors and cigarettes makers, and they are not in the habit of retiring very early. A reporter who made inquiry amongst them, however, was unable to find any person who had either seen or heard anything suspicious. The club spoken of is occupied by what is known as the National Workmen's Educational Society, and is affiliated to the Socialist League, of which it is a foreign branch. Its members seem to be largely composed of Russian Jews, and Jews of other nationalities also find a welcome there. Many of them live on the premises, which, however, are not extensive. At the back there is a fair sized hall made by demolishing the partition between two rooms, and here on Saturday night the members gathered for the purpose of debate and amusement. On Saturday last the debate was largely attended by Germans, nearly a hundred being at one time in the room, and the subject of discussion, which was "Is it necessary that a Jew should be a Socialist?" proved so interesting that it was carried on to a late hour. After it had terminated there was a concert, at which thirty persons remained. There was considerable singing, and there is no doubt that the noise would have drowned any outcry which might have been made by the wretched creature who was being murdered in the yard beneath.
Berners Street is in a very notorious part of Whitechapel. It is close to a district which was formerly known as "tigers' bay," because of the ferocious character of the desperadoes who frequented it. A few yards distant is the house wherein Lipski murdered Miriam Angel, and the neighbourhood generally has an evil repute. During the course of yesterday thousands of persons congregated in the vicinity of the scene of the crime, and it was with the greatest difficulty that the police could keep the street clear. The bulk of the residents are Jews. At the back of the Workmen's Club there is a Jewish paper published, called The Workmen's Friend, which is printed in Hebrew, and shops and lodging houses kept by Jews are very frequently met with.
The body of the murdered woman, which now lies in St. George's mortuary, close to St. George's parish church, presents a dreadful spectacle. It is that of a woman about forty years of age, and as it lies on the slab it exhibits prominently a fearful wound on the throat. The head is slightly thrown over to the right, and the gaping orifice is so clearly scooped out that the divisions of the jugular vein and the windpipe can be easily seen. The knife or other implement with which the deed was committed must have been of large size, and very keen, and the wound is so wide that there is room for the supposition that after the blade had been inserted it was partially turned, and then drawn with great force from left to right. In the pockets were found two handkerchiefs - one a man's, the other a woman's - and a thimble and a skein of black worsted. There were no rings on the fingers. The height of the deceased is about 5 feet 5 inches. In her jacket was pinned a small bunch of roses and ferns. Her hair was matted with wet dirt, showing that a struggle had taken place on the ground. It is not believed, however, that the woman was in a recumbent position when attacked, the theory being that the murderer was standing with his left arm around her neck, and that while so placed he drew his knife and inflicted a mortal wound. The position of the body when found favours this view, inasmuch as no attempt had been made to disarrange the clothing, and the woman was lying in an almost natural attitude, with her head towards the bottom of the yard at 40 Berners Street, and the legs towards the gates.
After the police authorities had been notified of the murder the case was given into the hands of Chief Inspector Swanson and Inspector Abberline, of Scotland Yard. In the first instance, the police turned their attention to the Working Men's Club. The doors were guarded, and no person was allowed egress. After the body had been removed to St. George's mortuary the detectives entered the club and made a careful examination of the inmates. Their pockets were searched, their hands and clothing particularly scrutinised, and some of them allege that they were made to take off their boots. All knives had to be produced, and each man had to give an account of himself before he was allowed to depart. Some of the members say that the detectives treated them badly, swearing at them, and shouting, "You're no foreigners, or else where's your knives." As a matter of fact, however, the police found nothing suspicious in the club or upon its members. Some of the neighbours were also subjected to investigation, but no clue was found. It may be mentioned here that the police discovered no blood splashes upon the wall in the yard. They caused the blood which had flown down the gutter to be removed at an early hour. The information of the crime reached Leman Street police station at ten minutes past one o'clock, and Dr. Phillips, of 2 Spital Square, the divisional police surgeon, was immediately communicated with. After he had made an external examination of the body, it was removed to St. George's mortuary, where the post mortem will be made today. In the course of yesterday Sir Charles Warren, Chief Commissioner of Police, visited the scene of the murder. A woman's apron was yesterday found in Glouston (sic) Street, which is believed to have belonged to the deceased. It is suggested, therefore, that the murderer travelled to Mitre square, the scene of the second murder, by way of Glouston Street, and took away the apron for the purpose of cleaning his weapon upon it. The police of the district believe that the woman formerly walked the streets about St. George's, but they have lost sight of her in the last eighteen months. In consequence of the many murders in the locality, the police force at Leman Street and Commercial Street stations has recently been augmented from King Street, Scotland Yard, and other centres. This has been done as a matter of precaution, as in some quarters a disposition is manifested to cast upon the Jewish population of the neighbourhood the responsibility for the murders.
The following is a description of a man stated to have been seen in company with the woman murdered in Berners Street, and for whom the police are looking:-
Age 28, height 5ft. 8in., complexion dark, no whiskers, black diagonal coat, hard felt hat, collar and tie; carried newspaper parcel; was of respectable appearance
Interesting to see the misinterpretation of the apron in Goulston Street. This article states that the portion of apron belonged to Stride and this showed the murderer had passed along Goulston Street on his way from Berner Street to Mitre Square. This interpretation was obviously in error, but I wonder how widepsread this idea was.
This article will be going into the Press Reports section.
Chris
Londoners awoke yesterday morning to find themselves confronted by the intelligence of two more ghastly and atrocious crimes, both of them similar in their fiendish details to the recent tragedies that have created widespread panic throughout the United Kingdom. The East End, and, indeed, the whole of the Metropolis, in a few hours rang with the sensational intelligence that two more women, both of them of the lower class, both middle aged, and, apparently, possessed of nothing that could tempt a person actuated by motives of gain, had been brutally murdered; and in one of the cases most horribly mutilated. Both murders have taken place in what may be broadly spoken of as the East End. The one occurred within the City bounds; the other in that part of London allotted to the division of the Metropolitan force which has its headquarters in Leman Street, and is technically known as the H Division. So far from displaying a less daring method than the crimes that have preceded them, those of yesterday morning indicate a far greater desperation, combined with cunning, than either the murder of Annie Chapman or that of Mary Ann Nicholls. For both of the tragedies were committed within an hour and three quarters of midnight in thoroughfares not a stone's throw removed from Aldgate and Commercial Road, where people were busily passing to and fro, and where some thousands of persons were standing at their doors chatting prior to retiring to rest.
The scene of the first discovered tragedy was Berners (sic) Street, Commercial Road. This street is situated but a few hundred yards along the busy east End thoroughfare, turning down to the right opposite No. 57. It is a narrow street, occupied by small dwellings, in which reside a number of artisans, and is by no means of the low description of thoroughfare common in the neighbourhood. Next to the Socialist Club is a yard entered by two large wooden gates, which always remain open. Up this yard on one side is a row of small, dirty looking houses, each of which is tenanted. The other side is skirted by the premises of the club, to which there is a side entrance. At the time the murder was committed some of the people in the small houses had not gone to bed, yet none of them can state that they heard any noise or noticed anything unusual. This is not surprising, since during the time in question the members of the club, who are mostly foreign Jews, were singing songs and making sufficient disturbance to drown any sound the poor woman may have made. Those who know the yard say it would be the last place to select for either evil purpose or for murder, as people are constantly passing up and down. At about one o'clock, when numerous people were walking briskly about, the lights in the house windows indicated that the occupants had not retired to rest, a policeman passed on his beat from Commercial Road down Berners Street, and observed nothing whatever of a suspicious character. Shortly before one o'clock a hawker named Diemshitz, who had just returned from market, entered the yard, and in the shadow came upon the body of a woman. The woman, who was poorly clad, lay on the ground dead, a fearful gash almost severing her head from her body. Apparently she was about 35 years of age. The body was found a considerable distance from any common lodging house, and the supposition is that the poor creature was decoyed from the public thoroughfare to a less frequented spot and brutally murdered. Death must have been instantaneous. The hawker lost no time in communicating with the police. When the officer who was called arrived on the scene he found the poor woman lying on her back in the passage, only a few yards distant from the street pavement. Her throat, as has been said, was cut from ear to ear, and her head and hair lay daffling in a pool of blood. Evidently the assassin had been disturbed in his horrible work, for there can be little doubt that the woman's actual murder would have been followed by an atrocious form of mutilation which was discovered later to have been perpetrated in a second case. Superintendent Arnold, Chief Inspector West, Inspector Pinhorn, and others, accompanied by a medical man, were speedily on the spot. An ambulance was obtained, and the body of the victim was conveyed to the City mortuary, in Golden Lane, while the spot where the body was found was minutely inspected by the officers. On the discovery of the murder the police closed the wooden gates, and barred any one from going either out of the club or the houses. Such of the members of the club as were present at the time were immediately subjected to a minute inspection, their pockets being turned out and their hands looked at for traces of blood. Those residing opposite in the houses also went through the same test.
Lewis Diemshitz, steward of the International Working Men's Club, and the finder of the body, says -
I am a traveller by trade, and go to different markets to sell my goods. Yesterday (Saturday) I went to Westow Hill. As the night was so wet I did not stay quite as late as usual. On driving into the yard my pony shied a little in consequence of my cart coming in contact with something on the ground. On looking down I saw the ground was not level, so I took the butt end of my whip and touched what appeared to me in the dark to be a heap of dirt lately placed there - a thing I was not accustomed to see. Not being able to move it I struck a match, and found it was a woman. First of all I thought it was my wife, but I found her inside the club enjoying herself. I said to some of the members, "There is a woman lying in the yard, and I think she is drunk." Young Isaacs, a tailor machinist, went to the door and struck a match, and, to our horror, we saw blood trickling down the gutter, almost from the gate to the club. I and Isaacs ran out for a policeman, but could not find one after traversing several streets; but in the meantime another man from the club, Eagle, ran to the Leman Street Police Station and fetched two policemen, who arrived about seven minutes after the discovery. I discovered the body about one o'clock.
Mr. Eagle says he went to the club about twenty minutes to one o'clock, or twenty minutes before Diemshitz passed up the yard, but did not notice anything. Still, as he stated, he walked quickly and proceeded up the centre of the yard, so, possibly, had the woman been lying there he might not have noticed her.
The Policeman who was upon duty at the time affirms that as he passed up Berners Street he noticed a man and a woman talking together not far from the yard. The man he did not see, but the woman he fancies he might identify.
Dr. Blackwell says - At about ten minutes past one I was called to 40 Berners Street by a policeman, where I found a woman who had been murdered. Her head had been almost severed from her body. She could not have been dead more than twenty minutes, the body being perfectly warm. The woman did not appear to be a Jewess, but more like an Irish woman. I roughly examined her, and found no other injuries but this. I cannot definitely state until I have made a further investigation of the body. She had on a black velvet jacket and black dress of different material. In her hand she held a box of cachous, whilst pinned in her dress was a flower. Altogether, judging from her appearance, I should say she belonged to the immoral class; at least her general get up would lead me to suppose that. I have no doubt that the same man committed both this and the murder that was discovered later, and should say he is a maniac, but one at least who is accustomed to use a heavy knife. I should say that as the woman held sweets in her left hand, that her head was dragged back by means of a silk handkerchief she wore round her neck, and her throat was then cut. One of her hands, too, was smeared with blood, so she may have used this in her rapid struggle. I have no doubt that the woman's windpipe being completely cut through, she was unable to make any sound. I might say it does not follow that the murderer would be bespattered with blood; for, as he is sufficiently cunning in other things, he could contrive to avoid coming in contact with the blood by reaching well forward.
FURTHER STATEMENTS AS TO THE FIRST MURDER
Abraham Hershburg, a young man living at 28 Berner Street, says:-
I was one of those who first saw the murdered woman. It was about a quarter to one o'clock, I should think, when I heard a policeman's whistle blown, and came down to see what was the matter in the gateway. Two or three people had collected, and when I got there I saw a short, dark young woman lying on the ground with a gash between four and five inches long in her throat. I should think she was from 25 to 28 years of age. Her head was towards the north wall, against which she was lying. She had a black dress on, with a bunch of flowers on her breast. In her hand there was a little piece of paper containing five or six cochous (sic). The body was not found by Koster, but by a man whose name I do not know - a man who goes out with a pony and barrow, and lives up the archway, where he was going, I believe, to put up his barrow on coming home from market. He thought it was his wife at first, but when he found her safe at home he got a candle and found this woman. He never touched it till the doctors had been sent for. The little gate is always open, or, at all events, always unfastened; but I don't think the yard is one which is used by loose women. There are some stables in there - Messrs. Duncan Woollatt & Co.'s, I believe - and there is a place to which a lot of girls take home sacks which they have been engaged in making, none of them, though, about after one o'clock on Saturday afternoon. None of us recognised the woman, and I don't think she belongs to this neighbourhood. She was dressed very respectably. There seemed to be no wounds on the body. About the club? Oh yes; it would be open till two or three this (Sunday) morning. I suppose it is a Socialist club, and there are generally rows there. Both men and women go there. They have demonstrations up there, and concerts, for which they have stage and piano. There was a row there last Sunday night. It went on till about two in the morning, and in the end two people were arrested.
The house which adjoins the yard on the south side, No 38, is tenanted by Barnett Kentorrich who, interrogated as to whether he had heard any disturbance during the night, said -
I went to bed early and slept till about three o'clock, during which time I heard no unusual sound of any description. At three o'clock some people were talking loudly outside my door, so I went to see what was the matter and learned that a woman had been murdered. I did not stay out long, and know nothing more about it. I do not think the yard bears a very good character at night, but I do not interfere with any of the people about here. I know that the gate is not kept fastened. The club is a nasty place. In this view Mrs. Kentorrich, who had come up from the underground kitchen to take part in the colloquy, thoroughly agreed, and both she and her husband, in reply yo further questions, corroborated Heshburg's statement as to women and girls being taken to the Club, and as to disorders which sometimes took place there. In order to inquire further into these matters the Central News representative next visited the club referred to - a rather low class little building covered with posters, most of them in the Hebrew language.
Mrs. Lewis, wife of the steward, as she explained, was standing at the door the centre of a knot of people, but she declined to call up her husband, who had been up all night, and had only just gone to bed. Pressed to speak as to the character of the club, Mrs. Lewis was inclined to be reticent; but a young man in the crowd volunteered an explanation of the ill feeling which existed in the district as to the institution. "You see," he explained, "the members are 'bad' Jews - Jews who don't hold their religion - and they annoy those who do in order to show their contempt for the religion. At the black fast a week or two ago, for instance, they had a banquet and ostentatiously ate and drank, while we might do neither. They have concerts there till early in the morning, and women and girls are brought here."
"Were any here last night?" asked the reporter.
"No," said Mrs. Lewis; "there were only a concert and discussion on last night."
The young fellow who had previously spoken gave some further details at second hand as to the finding of the body by Lewis, but he could add no further facts to those given in the above statements.
Morris Eagle, a Russian Jew, says:-
I frequent this club, and I was passing into it so late as twenty minutes to one this (Sunday) morning, which was just twenty minutes before the body was discovered. I had been there earlier in the evening, but left about twelve o'clock in order to take home my young lady. When I returned I came along by the small streets in this district, but noticed nothing unusual. There were a number of men and women about, as there always are about that time, but the streets were not more lively than usual, and I saw nothing suspicious. When I got back to the club in Berner Street the front door was closed, and so I passed through the gate on the left hand side of the house to get in by the side door. I went over the same ground as Diemshitz did later on, but I saw nothing on the ground. The gates were thrown wide; in fact, it is very seldom that they are closed. It is customary for members of the club to go in by the side door, to prevent knocking at the front. There is no light in the yard, but, of course, there are lamps in the street. After I got into the club there was some singing, and after I had been in twenty minutes a man came in and said something about a woman being in the yard. I went into the yard and struck a match, and then I could see that there was blood on the ground. I heard Diemshitz calling for the police, and I ran into Commercial Road. I found two officers at the corner of Christian Street, and told them what was the matter. When one of the policemen saw the blood he sent his companion for a doctor. In the meantime I went straight to Leman Street, and called out an inspector. I did not notice the appearance of the young woman, because the sight of the blood upset me, and I could not look at it.
Isaac M. Kozebrodski, a young Russian Pole, who spoke the English language perfectly, gave the following information:-
I was in this club last night (Saturday.) I came in about half past six in the evening, and I have not been away from it since. About twenty minutes to one this (Sunday) morning Mr. Diemshitz called me out into the yard. He told me there was something in the yard, and told me to come and see what it was. When we had got outside he struck a match, and when we looked down on the ground we could see a long stream of blood. It was running down the gutter from the direction of the gate, and reached to the back door of the club. I should think there was blood in the gutter for a distance of five or six yards. I went to look for a policeman at the request of Diemshitz or some member of the club, but I took the direction towards Grove Street and could not find one. I afterwards went into the Commercial Road, and there, along with Eagle, found two officers. The officers did not touch the body, but sent for a doctor. A doctor came, and an inspector arrived just afterwards. While the doctor was examining the body I noticed that she had some grapes in her right hand and some sweets in her left. I think she wore a dark jacket and a black dress. I saw a little bunch of flowers stuck above her right bosom.
Joseph Lave, a man just arrived in England from the United States, and who is living temporarily at the club until he can find lodgings, says:-
I was in the club yard this (Sunday) morning about twenty minutes to one. I came out first at half past twelve to get a breath of fresh air. I passed into the street but did not see anything unusual. The district appeared to be quiet. I remained out until twenty minutes to one, and during that time no one came into the yard. I should have seen anybody moving about there.
Several members of the club, including the steward, stated that the yard adjoining the building has never been used for evil purposes. The traffic there is constant, and continues almost all the night through.
DESCRIPTION OF A SUSPECT
The following is a description of a man who was seen in the company of the woman found murdered in Berners Street a short time before the commission of the crime; aged about 28, and in height 5 feet 8 inches or thereabouts, complexion dark and wearing a black diagonal coat and hard felt hat, collar and tie, and was carrying a newspaper parcel. The man was also of a respectable appearance.
THE SCENE OF THE FIRST MURDER
The yard in which the body was found is (says the Central News) about ten feet wide. This width is continued for a distance of eight or ten yards, at which point there occurs on the left hand side a small row of houses, which are set back a little, so that the width is increased by two feet or more. The extreme length of the court is 30 yards, and it terminates in a workshop, which is at present used as a dwelling house. The spot where the murder was committed, therefore, is overlooked on three sides; and, inasmuch as the gates were open on Saturday night, any casual pedestrian might easily have seen the commission of the crime. The windows of the club room are within ten feet of the spot, while the cottages stand almost opposite, and command a complete view of it. None of the occupants of these houses, however, heard the faintest noise in the course of Saturday night or Sunday morning. The residents in the yard are tailors and cigarettes makers, and they are not in the habit of retiring very early. A reporter who made inquiry amongst them, however, was unable to find any person who had either seen or heard anything suspicious. The club spoken of is occupied by what is known as the National Workmen's Educational Society, and is affiliated to the Socialist League, of which it is a foreign branch. Its members seem to be largely composed of Russian Jews, and Jews of other nationalities also find a welcome there. Many of them live on the premises, which, however, are not extensive. At the back there is a fair sized hall made by demolishing the partition between two rooms, and here on Saturday night the members gathered for the purpose of debate and amusement. On Saturday last the debate was largely attended by Germans, nearly a hundred being at one time in the room, and the subject of discussion, which was "Is it necessary that a Jew should be a Socialist?" proved so interesting that it was carried on to a late hour. After it had terminated there was a concert, at which thirty persons remained. There was considerable singing, and there is no doubt that the noise would have drowned any outcry which might have been made by the wretched creature who was being murdered in the yard beneath.
Berners Street is in a very notorious part of Whitechapel. It is close to a district which was formerly known as "tigers' bay," because of the ferocious character of the desperadoes who frequented it. A few yards distant is the house wherein Lipski murdered Miriam Angel, and the neighbourhood generally has an evil repute. During the course of yesterday thousands of persons congregated in the vicinity of the scene of the crime, and it was with the greatest difficulty that the police could keep the street clear. The bulk of the residents are Jews. At the back of the Workmen's Club there is a Jewish paper published, called The Workmen's Friend, which is printed in Hebrew, and shops and lodging houses kept by Jews are very frequently met with.
The body of the murdered woman, which now lies in St. George's mortuary, close to St. George's parish church, presents a dreadful spectacle. It is that of a woman about forty years of age, and as it lies on the slab it exhibits prominently a fearful wound on the throat. The head is slightly thrown over to the right, and the gaping orifice is so clearly scooped out that the divisions of the jugular vein and the windpipe can be easily seen. The knife or other implement with which the deed was committed must have been of large size, and very keen, and the wound is so wide that there is room for the supposition that after the blade had been inserted it was partially turned, and then drawn with great force from left to right. In the pockets were found two handkerchiefs - one a man's, the other a woman's - and a thimble and a skein of black worsted. There were no rings on the fingers. The height of the deceased is about 5 feet 5 inches. In her jacket was pinned a small bunch of roses and ferns. Her hair was matted with wet dirt, showing that a struggle had taken place on the ground. It is not believed, however, that the woman was in a recumbent position when attacked, the theory being that the murderer was standing with his left arm around her neck, and that while so placed he drew his knife and inflicted a mortal wound. The position of the body when found favours this view, inasmuch as no attempt had been made to disarrange the clothing, and the woman was lying in an almost natural attitude, with her head towards the bottom of the yard at 40 Berners Street, and the legs towards the gates.
After the police authorities had been notified of the murder the case was given into the hands of Chief Inspector Swanson and Inspector Abberline, of Scotland Yard. In the first instance, the police turned their attention to the Working Men's Club. The doors were guarded, and no person was allowed egress. After the body had been removed to St. George's mortuary the detectives entered the club and made a careful examination of the inmates. Their pockets were searched, their hands and clothing particularly scrutinised, and some of them allege that they were made to take off their boots. All knives had to be produced, and each man had to give an account of himself before he was allowed to depart. Some of the members say that the detectives treated them badly, swearing at them, and shouting, "You're no foreigners, or else where's your knives." As a matter of fact, however, the police found nothing suspicious in the club or upon its members. Some of the neighbours were also subjected to investigation, but no clue was found. It may be mentioned here that the police discovered no blood splashes upon the wall in the yard. They caused the blood which had flown down the gutter to be removed at an early hour. The information of the crime reached Leman Street police station at ten minutes past one o'clock, and Dr. Phillips, of 2 Spital Square, the divisional police surgeon, was immediately communicated with. After he had made an external examination of the body, it was removed to St. George's mortuary, where the post mortem will be made today. In the course of yesterday Sir Charles Warren, Chief Commissioner of Police, visited the scene of the murder. A woman's apron was yesterday found in Glouston (sic) Street, which is believed to have belonged to the deceased. It is suggested, therefore, that the murderer travelled to Mitre square, the scene of the second murder, by way of Glouston Street, and took away the apron for the purpose of cleaning his weapon upon it. The police of the district believe that the woman formerly walked the streets about St. George's, but they have lost sight of her in the last eighteen months. In consequence of the many murders in the locality, the police force at Leman Street and Commercial Street stations has recently been augmented from King Street, Scotland Yard, and other centres. This has been done as a matter of precaution, as in some quarters a disposition is manifested to cast upon the Jewish population of the neighbourhood the responsibility for the murders.
The following is a description of a man stated to have been seen in company with the woman murdered in Berners Street, and for whom the police are looking:-
Age 28, height 5ft. 8in., complexion dark, no whiskers, black diagonal coat, hard felt hat, collar and tie; carried newspaper parcel; was of respectable appearance
Comment