Why is There Little Interest in the Nichols Murder?

[Barnaby]

As I write this, the post count in the Victim's Section of the message boards among the canonical five is as follows:

Nichols: 373
Chapman: 848
Stride: 4814
Eddowes: 1,780
Kelly: 7,563

And... there are 2,802 posts on Tabram.

Why is there so little interest in Nichols? There are a number of reasons to be interested:

1. She may have been the first victim of JTR. If this is the case she becomes especially important.
2. Even if she wasn't the first, most would agree that she was one of the first, and almost all accept that she is a Ripper victim.
3. Two men (Cross and Paul) stumbled upon her body very shortly after the attack. She may have been still alive. It is possible that the killer was interrupted. The fact that the killer may have been interrupted with Stride is the subject of great debate; it hardly is discussed with respect to Nichols.
4. Given this timeline, it is possible that at least Cross should be regarded as a suspect.
5. There was a slaughterhouse nearby. More suspects?
6. There was a railway station nearby. Getaway?
7. There was a huge dock fire that night. Did this excite Jack?

Why isn't there more of a focus on this murder?

[The Good Michael]

Barnaby,

There is virtually no arguing going on with regards to Nichols. That saves a lot of posting.

Cheers,

Mike

[kensei]

Another reason to discuss Nichols would be that her murder site is the most intact today the way it was back then, and a sinister place to visit to this day. But reasons why the other victims get discussed more might include:

Tabram- spirited debate on whether she was a Ripper victim or not.

Chapman- all the witness statements, the first time the Ripper was seen, the ultra-close proximity to so many people and confined space in which the murder took place, the curiosity of Annie's possessions arranged at her feet, the first victim to have organs removed and show just how grotesque this case was going to get.

Stride & Eddowes- All the facets of the Double Event are just so convoluted and exciting they could be debated forever.

Kelly- Time to point a finger at ourselves maybe, and say what no one wants to admit? Why does MJK have the most posts? I think it is a subconscious thing but is probably because she was the most physically attractive victim and the most savagely mutilated and that that amounts to the most morbid fascination and titilation.

Polly, on the other hand, is the most straightforward and least mysterious victim. A downtrodden prostitute, a dark lonely street, a sudden and vicious attack by the Ripper and a minimum of classic Ripper-style injuries. Ok, she gets the story rolling. What more is there to discuss? But don't forget to pray for her.

[DVV]

Hi Barnaby,

And... there are 2,802 posts on Tabram.

Why is there so little interest in Nichols? There are a number of reasons to be interested:

1. She may have been the first victim of JTR. If this is the case she becomes especially important.

That's logical: the question of Nichols being, or not, the first victim, is actually discussed on the Tabram's threads.

3. Two men (Cross and Paul) stumbled upon her body very shortly after the attack. She may have been still alive. It is possible that the killer was interrupted. The fact that the killer may have been interrupted with Stride is the subject of great debate; it hardly is discussed with respect to Nichols.
4. Given this timeline, it is possible that at least Cross should be regarded as a suspect.

In fact, Cross (Lechmere) has been regarded as a suspect, but there is nothing against him.
The question of a possible interruption is fascinating... But since there is no witness to support it, perhaps Jack wasn't yet ready for what he was soon to accomplish.

5. There was a slaughterhouse nearby. More suspects?

Tomkins and Co have been suspected and cleared by the investigation.

I think Nichols is less discussed for 3 main reasons:

- no witness has seen her with a possible suspect (which is unique, from Tabram to Kelly)

-no organ missing

-no doubt about her canonicity

Amitiés,
David

[JTRSickert]

Kensei,

one of the reasons that the Nichols murder is probably not discussed very much is because we don't really know what happens to her before she is murdered. The last time she is seen was by her friend Amelia. Afterwards, she is found brutally murdered. Unlike Chapman, Stride, Eddowes, and Kelly, there are no witnesses or statements from any individuals who claim to have seen the victim in the company of suspicious individuals at around the sites of the murder. So, it sort of doesn't have any "allure" or rather "suspense", for lack of a better word. We can theorize what happened, but without any corroborating statements, it's all just a bunch of guesswork. Also, since there are no witness statements to debate, it leaves us with rather little to talk about.

[Addy]

This murder has indeed the least "mystery" around it. However, I find the idea of JtR being disturbed in this case interesting too. A night watchman nearby said someone said to him Watchmen, old man, I believe someone is murdered down there. He saw Nichols surrounded by police. Whitehead and Rivett suggest this (not the nightwatchman!) might have been the Ripper.

[DVV]

Hi Addy,

I too "like" Mulshaw's suspect.
Problem is that we know too little about him, and haven't the slightest description.
However, Abberline admitted at the inquest that they had tried to trace him.

Amitiés,
David

[JTRSickert]

This murder has indeed the least "mystery" around it. However, I find the idea of JtR being disturbed in this case interesting too. A night watchman nearby said someone said to him Watchmen, old man, I believe someone is murdered down there. He saw Nichols surrounded by police. Whitehead and Rivett suggest this (not the nightwatchman!) might have been the Ripper.

Hmmm, I'm not so sure. It is interesting, but I have my doubts. While it is true that the killer may not have had much blood on himself, his hands may have very well been blood stained and, if I was the killer, I wouldn't want to draw attention to myself by going to someone to tell them about the murder. I would just get as far away as possible and not look back.

[DVV]

Hi JTRS,

the man apparently didn't stop. He took absolutely no risk passing by and uttering his strange sentence to Mulshaw.
Elusive and unlikely as he may be, he is still the only suspect seen by a witness that night.

Amitiés,
David

[Addy]

Hi JTRS,

He could also have bumped into the night watchman by accident and thought it would look suspicious if he didn't comment on something that would be known within minutes in the whole area. And in the dark/halflight you probably couldn't see his hands. Or he kept them in his pockets.

greetings,

Addy

[sdreid]

I think there is importance and then interest. In a serial killer case, most would agree that the first, the second and the last murders are usually the most important and there's a very large chance that she was one of those first two. Regarding interest, as has been stated here, we don't know what really transpired after she spoke with her friend so there's not as much to discuss or argue about.

[Sam Flynn]

Also, there's a distinct lack of hard facts about her injuries - and what little we have from Dr Llewellyn is somewhat confusing, to say the least. As it was, the papers couldn't have anticipated what was about to hit them within a week of Nichols' death, so their coverage is understandably patchy.

[Tom_Wescott]

Here's a link to my favorite essay on Nichols.

http://www.casebook.org/dissertations/rn-old-wounds.html

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[KatBradshaw]

I think it is a real shame that she is not given more attention.
We know so much about her history in comparison to the others which is probably why there is so much less to debate. We don't have to wonder if she is actually someone else or if she really is a Ripper victim. She isn't killed in an especially interesting place or at an interesting time.
But we must not forget that as much as the rest of the C5 she was a victim of Jack the Ripper.

[DVV]

She isn't killed in an especially interesting place or at an interesting time.

What do you mean, Kate ?

Amitiés,
David