Mr Blotchy

[Chava]

I’m seriously surprised Mr Blotchy is not being looked at as the #1 candidate for the Whitechapel Murderer. Here is Ada Wilson’s description of her attacker:
Height 5’6. Sunburnt face. Fair moustache. Dark coat, wideawake hat.

Here is Lawende’s description of the man seen with Catherine Eddowes before her death:
Height 5’ 7-9. Fair complexion. Small fair moustache. Red necktie. Rough/shabby. Wearing a loose pepper and salt jacket and grey cloth cap. Slightly later versions have the moustache as ‘full’.

Here is Mary Cox’s description of the man seen going into her room at Millers Court with her:
Short, stout shabby man with a blotchy face and full carroty moustache. Billycock hat.

These descriptions all sound very similar.

The argument against Mr Blotchy is that Kelly was clearly alive and singing for an hour after she went into her room with him. However we don’t know what the killer’s MO was. He must have killed Eddowes fairly shortly after meeting her. But we have no idea how long he spent with the others. There are fairly large gaps in Nichols’ timeline and in Chapman’s and a reasonably large gap in Stride’s. We can’t extrapolate a pattern of behaviour from one murder in the series. I think it’s entirely possible that he spent time with them before the killings. And even if his intent was to kill Kelly immediately, he had been seen by a witness entering her room. So it’s in his best interest to leave her demonstrably alive for a while. Either that or move on. Which I don’t think he wanted to do. Also I think Ada is the reason for the double slash on the throat. Which I am given to understand is called the ‘insurance cut’ among pathologists. Wilson lived to tell the tale. He didn’t want any other inconvenient survivors.

[Damaso Marte]

If Mary Cox wanted to be discussed on this forum more frequently, she should have introduced some inconsistencies into her story, or acted more suspiciously in her dealings with the press and the police. Then she would have many threads, like Hutchinson or Schwartz.

I agree that Blotchy is one of the more credible eyewitness sightings.

[Michael W Richards]

I’m seriously surprised Mr Blotchy is not being looked at as the #1 candidate for the Whitechapel Murderer. Here is Ada Wilson’s description of her attacker:
Height 5’6. Sunburnt face. Fair moustache. Dark coat, wideawake hat.

Here is Lawende’s description of the man seen with Catherine Eddowes before her death:
Height 5’ 7-9. Fair complexion. Small fair moustache. Red necktie. Rough/shabby. Wearing a loose pepper and salt jacket and grey cloth cap. Slightly later versions have the moustache as ‘full’.

Here is Mary Cox’s description of the man seen going into her room at Millers Court with her:
Short, stout shabby man with a blotchy face and full carroty moustache. Billycock hat.

These descriptions all sound very similar.

The argument against Mr Blotchy is that Kelly was clearly alive and singing for an hour after she went into her room with him. However we don’t know what the killer’s MO was. He must have killed Eddowes fairly shortly after meeting her. But we have no idea how long he spent with the others. There are fairly large gaps in Nichols’ timeline and in Chapman’s and a reasonably large gap in Stride’s. We can’t extrapolate a pattern of behaviour from one murder in the series. I think it’s entirely possible that he spent time with them before the killings. And even if his intent was to kill Kelly immediately, he had been seen by a witness entering her room. So it’s in his best interest to leave her demonstrably alive for a while. Either that or move on. Which I don’t think he wanted to do. Also I think Ada is the reason for the double slash on the throat. Which I am given to understand is called the ‘insurance cut’ among pathologists. Wilson lived to tell the tale. He didn’t want any other inconvenient survivors.

Hi Chava,

The part I highlighted is countered by some of the circumstantial evidence. I think the initial encounter was made brief while still in the public view, he had no way of knowing whether someone might enter the street, or yard, at any moment. I think that's why the Nichols murder alone does give us at least one element of the killers profile...his urges outweighed any sense of self protection or self preservation. His madness was winning. The fact that he repeats the act less than 2 weeks later shows his eagerness, but this time finds a spot off the main beaten track to complete his desired activities, shows that at some point he rationalized about his approach and hopes for success.

This was someone whos madness was peeking through the cracks, so I believe the most probable place to find him is within statements and reports of individuals acting uncharacteristically unstable before the murders.