"Murder...!" cry

[Wickerman]

We do not know how partially digested the food was and how much.Reading about it could take 2-4-6 hours to empty the stomach before death.So Kelly could have ate at around 11:00 PM or 1 or 2 AM if murder time was 3-4 AM.
Ex.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/58814666.cms

Which demonstrates that any capable physician will need a 'time of consumption' from the police in order to offer an estimated time of death.
The fact he was able to provide the latter means he must have been given the former. Whether the time he was given was correct or not is another debate. (My view is that the time he was given was incorrect).

The alternative is to risk professional criticism from his peers for his attempt to offer a conclusion for which he did not possess the necessary input.

[Varqm]

We do not know how partially digested the food was and how much.Reading about it could take 2-4-6 hours to empty the stomach before death.So Kelly could have ate at around 11:00 PM or 1 or 2 AM if murder time was 3-4 AM.
Ex.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/ias-officer-murder-undigested-food-in-body-points-at-death-around-2am/articleshow/58814666.cms

[Varqm]

No witness at Miller's court said he/she was expecting a guest/friend/relative at that early morning hour,so what was that lurking man doing?
He was returning to Kelly's room,either with appointment with Kelly or not,cautious and up to no good.
Or an innocent bystander,perhaps homeless,and something caught his eye in the court and Lewis's "he seemed to be waiting or looking for some one" was a misinterpretation or perhaps he was a potential client looking if Kelly was available.This view is suggested by the theories that the killer was a client inside the room,perhaps brought by Kelly,and the around 10 AM murder time
(Caroline Maxwell).
I believe in the former.

[Sam Flynn]

Narrowing down Kelly's time of death was of huge importance for the police to pursue the correct suspect.

Absolutely, it's just that any evidence for the police acting on the potential clue of the "partly-digested fish" seems not to have survived.

[Wickerman]

Wasn't it described as oiled leather, or similar? I think I might mistake greasy newspaper for that, but perhaps someone of Hutch's observational skills wouldn't have. I'd probably have noticed the aroma, though.

What is being described is oilcloth, it was a substitute for leather.
Basically it is cotton soaked in oil, we still wear it today as waterproof clothing. It was popular as motorcycle clothing back in the 50's/60's.

[Robert]

"You will be all right for what I have told you. I have a Jumbo saveloy."

[Joshua Rogan]

If he had been carrying a newspaper parcel, maybe

Wasn't it described as oiled leather, or similar? I think I might mistake greasy newspaper for that, but perhaps someone of Hutch's observational skills wouldn't have. I'd probably have noticed the aroma, though.

[Wickerman]

....True, but assuming the ~4AM cry of "Murder" was indeed hers, we can propose that she had been out and about at around 2AM, at which time she probably ate her last meal.

This is consistent with another press report that surfaced on the 13th. That the police returned to Millers Court to speak to the inhabitants. Several other witnesses did claim to see Kelly out after 2:00 am.
It is probably fair to say this return visit was prompted by Hutchinson's story received by the police the evening before.

[Wickerman]

Could Astrakhan man's small parcel have contained a portion of cod and chips?

If he had been carrying a newspaper parcel, maybe

[Wickerman]

I'm not so sure. I don't think there was a scramble to find out which purveyor of cheese, potatoes and "farinaceous edibles" might have fed Liz Stride her last meal.

Stride's time of death was known within a few minutes, it was not an issue. In Kelly's case there are several hours to consider, which means several suspects.
Narrowing down Kelly's time of death was of huge importance for the police to pursue the correct suspect.

The Star, following the inquest on the 12th were still suggesting the police believed Kelly was murdered in daylight. I don't know if that is a reflection of the typical inaccuracies of the press, or the true situation.

[jason_c]

I haven't been following the thread in great detail, and tbh I have forgotten more about the Kelly timeline than I now remember. However, from memory I came to the conclusion a long time ago that there are enough inconsistencies in the Kelly timeline that it's impossible to come to a firm conclusion. We only have fleeting glimpses and earwitnesses to her movements that night. We also dont know for sure just how drunk she was, how well she could hold her drink, or how desperate she was about the collection of next days rent? I mean was Kelly just drunk & desperate enough that night that it loosened her inhibitions on which clients to accept, or had she reached the drunken "I dont give a f*ck about the rent" stage? I know when I drink it leads me to a variety of emotions and actions, not all of them in my own best self interest.

[Joshua Rogan]

Well since Mary didn't have a car and was therefore walking and since it was late at night a reasonable assumption would be that it was somewhere close. It does not seem an insurmountable task to find out where she went.

c.d.

Not sure about that.... I think one police officer said Whitechapel was referred to as "Fried Fish and Fights", due to the popularity of the dish (and the frequent violence) in the area. The food needn't have been purchased ready to eat, either - it could have been cooked in the kitchen of any local doss-house. Or bought by someone before they shared it with Mary.

[Joshua Rogan]

...we can propose that she had been out and about at around 2AM, at which time she probably ate her last meal.

Could Astrakhan man's small parcel have contained a portion of cod and chips?

[Sam Flynn]

I'll bet if the stomach contents had been made public, the press would have found where/when she last ate in no time flat.

I'm not so sure. I don't think there was a scramble to find out which purveyor of cheese, potatoes and "farinaceous edibles" might have fed Liz Stride her last meal.

[Wickerman]

Just as an idle thought, Blotchy seems a pretty distinctive individual. I wonder if places where he might have bought the beer could have been checked?

c.d.

That search was reported by the press.

" Inquiry has equally failed to obtain evidence of Kelly or any person similar to the man described having bought beer at any of the neighbouring public-houses."
Daily Telegraph, 13th Nov. 1888.

Though whether this was a police inquiry, or press inquiry is not known.