"Murder...!" cry

[David Orsam]

Ok, thankyou David.

From what you say above then, it would appear there is no indication that the police provided the doctor with a time Emily Dimmock last ate, which leads to the drawing of conclusions.
Should such an indication be evident?

I have not had much success with Kindle books, old habits die hard I'm afraid, you cannot beat a good old reliable book.
(Every Kindle I have ever bought, against my better judgement I might add, has been lost to the ether - yes, even the back-ups)

Yes, there's no material to suggest that the doctor's belief about the time of Dimmock's last meal was anything other than an assumption. Yet, as you may know, the time of death in this particular case was crucial for a number of reasons, not least of which being that the prime suspect manufactured himself a false alibi up until midnight, while the doctor estimated time of death well after midnight.

Until a couple of years ago I would have agreed with you about kindles but I've been converted and now find them very useful (which is why I've produced a kindle version). But my book is also available in old school hard copy form too!

[Wickerman]

Did Michael just ask, 'Why would a prostitute go out after midnight?'
Does that really need an answer?

Prostitutes still go out after midnight today Michael, even when the pubs are closed.


Hey Michael, something has been bugging me over the past few days. You seem so certain that Kennedy was really Lewis, but you never explained why it matters to you that it needs to be Lewis (as Kennedy) who saw Kelly outside the Britannia, and not some other woman?

Is there a significance there that is not obvious?

[John G]

Assuming they knew about the "window trick"; were brave enough to stick their arm past the jagged shards of a broken pane of glass in the dark; that they could open the door from inside the court without it banging against the furniture; that they had time to scoot around the corner to enter said door, without alerting Kelly and risking her screaming her head off (to more than the tune of a cry of "Oh, murder"). That's one savvy and confident killer.

Good points. However, JtR was clearly a bit of a risk taker, although not necessarily "savvy"!

[John G]

There is ample evidence that she was facing the wall when her throat was cut John, and since no sounds were heard after the cry out that was heard "as if from the court", not as if within the house, ...supported of course by the fact that Sarah heard it as if "at her door",..a scenario which has perhaps reluctant granted access and Mary sliding over to the right side of the bed, on her right side, after letting the late night visitor in is quite plausible. I suspect that not long after the cry out she began to doze again, and began to flail as she was woken by the feeling across her throat.

The problem with the latch and the broken panes is this....how much light was available to see the potential latch access, and how does he get in and close the door without waking someone who is a few mere feet away. All of this taking place on creaky floorboards, that Elizabeth heard whenever Mary moved things about in her room.

The presumption that Mary went out again after 11:45 is all well and good, we even have some witnesses who claim to have seen her out. None of which we can be sure knew Mary at all or even what she looked like. The question is why. Why would she go out? Pubs are closed, she has no money that we know of, and she has for some time been reluctant to go out and earn money, (the arrears), and Joe acknowledges she needed whatever coins he could spare almost daily. Add to that she has evidently already gotten drunk that night, and perhaps had a nosh. Then entertained someone in her room for over an hour. Whether Blotchy is still there when the lights go out is questionable, but the fact that the room does quiet down to silence, and darkness, is suggestive of a completed act for me.

Does your scenario, Michael, imply the Kelly knew her killer? I certainly wouldn't rule that out, particularly as I see John McCarthy as a bit of a long shot!

[Wickerman]

Yes, there's no material to suggest that the doctor's belief about the time of Dimmock's last meal was anything other than an assumption. Yet, as you may know, the time of death in this particular case was crucial for a number of reasons, not least of which being that the prime suspect manufactured himself a false alibi up until midnight, while the doctor estimated time of death well after midnight.

It's years since I read anything about that case, I could do with an update.

[kjab3112]

Or somebody who knew the layout: either invited then or before

[Robert St Devil]

if she had still been alive wickerman and cried "oh murder" right before having her throat ripped, would you expect to find blood in her (or any of these women,s) mouth? like, she coughed some up, or reflex pushed some up and splattered her tongue and teeth...

[Wickerman]

Hi Robert.

I'm not convinced it was Kelly who cried out.

[GUT]

Hi Robert.

I'm not convinced it was Kelly who cried out.

Nor am I.