Was Annie Austin a Ripper Victim?

[The Macdonald Triad]

Due to the lack of discussion of this murder and my interest in it I thought I would ask for everyone's opinions on this curious case. Was Austin a victim of JTR years after the main killings? It was the same doss house (35 Dorset St) Chapman stayed at before her death, she [Austin]was attacked while asleep or choked out into unconsciousness (like Chapman possibly was in the Hanbury Street yard) and her private parts attacked. To me it seems the killer may have choked Austin while she was asleep but when he started ripping the pain woke her up. Also, there seems to be a discrepancy regarding what cubicle she was actually in. Another interesting point for those that like John McCarthy as the Ripper. He owned the doss house at 35 Dorset St where Austin was attacked. Any opinions or new info would be appreciated. This link from a competitor site is pretty good for those unfamiliar with the case.

[Abby Normal]

Due to the lack of discussion of this murder and my interest in it I thought I would ask for everyone's opinions on this curious case. Was Austin a victim of JTR years after the main killings? It was the same doss house (35 Dorset St) Chapman stayed at before her death, she [Austin]was attacked while asleep or choked out into unconsciousness (like Chapman possibly was in the Hanbury Street yard) and her private parts attacked. To me it seems the killer may have choked Austin while she was asleep but when he started ripping the pain woke her up. Also, there seems to be a discrepancy regarding what cubicle she was actually in. Another interesting point for those that like John McCarthy as the Ripper. He owned the doss house at 35 Dorset St where Austin was attacked. Any opinions or new info would be appreciated. This link from a competitor site is pretty good for those unfamiliar with the case.

nah. way too far out in time

[The Macdonald Triad]

nah. way too far out in time

Really? Thirteen years is still the same generation assuming JTR wasn't dead, committed, or in jail. McCarthy was still alive. I'm not sold either way, just hoping someone is knowledgeable on this murder and can offer me ideas.

[Losmandris]

Possibly stretching it a little too far I am afraid. Maybe an attempted copy cat?

[The Macdonald Triad]

Possibly stretching it a little too far I am afraid. Maybe an attempted copy cat?

I'm inclined to agree but the connections are remarkable. The assailant could have been one of the three supposed young attackers of Emma Smith in 1888 who by 1901 would be all grown up. Her privates were attacked first, much like Annie Austin.

[Losmandris]

I'm inclined to agree but the connections are remarkable. The assailant could have been one of the three supposed young attackers of Emma Smith in 1888 who by 1901 would be all grown up. Her privates were attacked first, much like Annie Austin.

Interesting. There was quite a spate of similar attacks at the time. To me this speaks a lot to Victorian attitudes towards repression!

[MrBarnett]

Due to the lack of discussion of this murder and my interest in it I thought I would ask for everyone's opinions on this curious case. Was Austin a victim of JTR years after the main killings? It was the same doss house (35 Dorset St) Chapman stayed at before her death, she [Austin]was attacked while asleep or choked out into unconsciousness (like Chapman possibly was in the Hanbury Street yard) and her private parts attacked. To me it seems the killer may have choked Austin while she was asleep but when he started ripping the pain woke her up. Also, there seems to be a discrepancy regarding what cubicle she was actually in. Another interesting point for those that like John McCarthy as the Ripper. He owned the doss house at 35 Dorset St where Austin was attacked. Any opinions or new info would be appreciated. This link from a competitor site is pretty good for those unfamiliar with the case.

35, Dorset Street was owned by William Crossingham, although by 1901 he had retired to Romford.

[MrBarnett]

The case is one that Rob Clack has researched and written about.

https://www.jtrforums.com/forum/the-victims/other-possible-victims/the-file-on-mary-ann-austin/31791-the-files-on-mary-ann-austin-the-discussion-thread

[MrBarnett]

The McCarthy sign on the building next door (no. 36) identifies the shop run by Anne McCarthy, William Crossingham’s daughter and Jack McCarthy’s sister-in-law - the widow of his brother Daniel.

[MrBarnett]

Anyone interested in this case will find this essay by Rob Clack of interest.

https://www.casebook.org/dissertations/rn-mary-ann-austin.html

[MrBarnett]

Local Inspector Thomas Divall, who investigated the Austin murder, believed the staff and residents at 35, Dorset Street were covering for a ‘well-known local character’.

No one fitted that description better than this man.

https://www.jtrforums.com/forum/the-...-william-maher

[MrBarnett]

Here’s where it gets a bit complicated/interesting. Billy Maher was Ann McCarthy’s minder. He lived next door to her in Paternoster Row, a few feet away from the entrance to 35, Dorset Street.

Annie was Bill Crossingham’s daughter by his first wife who would be cheated out of her inheritance by Crossingham’s second wife, Maggie Sullivan. The bulk of Crossingham’s fortune went Maggie’s two children, Jeremiah and Matilda, whose father, it seems, was a vicious Ratcliffe Highway thug named Jeremiah McCarthy (no relation to Jack).

In the immediate aftermath of the Austin murder it was Maggie’s brother, Daniel, who apparently misled the police about exactly where the murder had taken place.

[MrBarnett]

William Crossingham died in 1907 and left most of his estate - several thousands of pounds - to his second wife, Maggie. His daughter by his first wife, Annie received £250. Maggie died a few months later, leaving a mere £25 to Annie and most of the rest to her own children. While Maggie was on her death bed, unable to sign it, an amendment was made to her will to show that Annie was her stepdaughter.

Maggie’s daughter, Matilda, had married in Romford in 1906 and was described at the time as the only daughter of William and Margaret Crossingham.

[The Macdonald Triad]

Anyone interested in this case will find this essay by Rob Clack of interest.

https://www.casebook.org/dissertatio...nn-austin.html

Thanks Mr Barnett, I have read that dissertation years ago and I believe it probably caused the spark of interest.

[The Macdonald Triad]

Local Inspector Thomas Divall, who investigated the Austin murder, believed the staff and residents at 35, Dorset Street were covering for a ‘well-known local character’.

No one fitted that description better than this man.

https://www.jtrforums.com/forum/the-...-william-maher

"Annie Baker's statement to the police on 31st May, adds a bit more detail to Mary Ann Austin's clothing that was left in the Cubicle:

I also found and [sic] old green petticoat, it was ripped down from the back seam and lying on the floor, one black stocking covered with human soil, also a dark red handkerchief, such as women wear round their necks, they were also on the floor."

Another instance of a red handkerchief..