The Night She Died

[Ben]

Quite so, Ben - but that pales somewhat when one considers the fact that there is no evidence at all that anyone broke in or doorstepped her.

I'd say the fact that she was found murdered in her room coupled with the evidence of someone skulking fixatedly outside her room shortly before her murder would more than qualify as circumstantial evidence on that score, Gareth, and the behaviour of other serial killers also lend weight to it. Jack's later form must have been conditioned to a large extent by the increasing police presence on the streets, which could easily have prompted him to revise his tactics.

Since we know he was capable of revising the venue type, I'd say he was equally capable of altering the way in which he approached the venue.

Best regards,
Ben

[Sam Flynn]

The "prostitute takes client" home premise is weakened, in the minds of some, on the grounds that we have no reliable evidence that she ventured out again after 1.00am.

Quite so, Ben - but that pales somewhat when one considers the fact that there is no evidence at all that anyone broke in or doorstepped her. Indeed, the "prostitute takes client home" premise is at least supported by Mary's "prior form" on that night and - I dare say - on many other nights during her tawdry career. It also receives some oblique support from Jack's behaviour of finding his quarry on the street and scuttling off with her to a nearby enclave to do the dirty deed.

[Ben]

Hi Gareth,

As far as option (a) goes, I'd argue that it requires no more external factors or whiffle-dust to be in place than the assumption that he noticed Kelly out on the streets. If he was on the prowl and in search of prostitutes to kill, it follows logically that he must have been in a position to be drawn to any situation that allowed for a victim to be dispatched, and noticing a prostitute on the streets takes no more "effort" than noticing one going into a small hovel.

The "prostitute takes client" home premise is weakened, in the minds of some, on the grounds that we have no reliable evidence that she ventured out again after 1.00am. Interminable debates have often ensued as a consequence, and there's certainly nothing hugely improbable about Kelly venturing out again, but I'm inclined to see their point. On balence, I believe that the intruder premise is just that bit closer to the "null hypothesis".

All the best,
Ben

[Sam Flynn]

The intruder/doorstepper hypothesis would only necessitate some from of prior surveillance outside the crime scene

Indeed, Ben - and criminals of all types (not just "serial killers", NB) do just that. However, prior surveillance requires either (a) something to draw the killer's attention to the venue - such as, for example, his seeing her on the street and tracking her home; (b) specific targeting of the victim, as in a "domestic" or "jealous lover" scenario; or (c) sufficient knowledge of the victim to know where she lived and that she'd be alone.

In other words, these pre-reqs of the "intruder/doorstepper" hypotheses need a fair sprinkling of whiffle-dust before they can overtake "known street-whore takes client home" in the probability stakes.

[Chava]

...and we're still left with someone 'looking up the court' at 2.30 am. I, too, am going to avoid Kudzu. But one could construe that person as a lookout making sure that whatever is going on at #13 is going on privately. Or one could construe that as someone making sure the coast is clear before he walks in on Kelly.

I'll tell you this, the Kelly murder doesn't just have kudzu, it's got enough Spanish moss to entangle us for days! Anomaly upon anomaly.

[Ben]

Hi Robert,

That's another possibility, certainly, and when we remind ourselves of Richard Trenton Chase and his grisly ilk, certainly not one without precedent.

[Robert]

Hi Ben

Why couldn't it have been a nutter walking in, or maybe someone who thought he could reach the shed that way?

[Robert]

Hi Gareth

Yes, of course, but I myself am a creature of habit and like doing things with my "usual" hand in the usual way. I wouldn't have liked having to switch to backhand for the throat cut. The main thing, I think, is if she'd got up naked to let him in, and he'd attacked her while she was still standing, then why not lay her down the other way round?

[Ben]

Hi Gareth,

allied to the fact that it can be proven she brought at least one man home with her on the night she died.

That's true, although strictly speaking, we don't know if that individual was a client or casual drinking acquaintance. Certainly, there are many prostitutes who prefer to keep their living space seperate from their working space, and there's a case to be made that Mary Ann Cox, at least, was one such prostitute.

It has been argued extensively that the "went out again and procured a client" premise also requires the added je ne sais quoi of having Kelly venture out again, despite the lack of any reliable evidence that she did. Not that I'd wish to get bogged down in that point since it entails more kudzu than the entire state of South Carolina.

The intruder/doorstepper hypothesis would only necessitate some from of prior surveillance outside the crime scene, and considering that we've evidence of serial killers resorting to precisely that sort of tacitc and crime scene evidence of someone (of strictly unproven identity!) apparently doing just that, I don't think that's too great a stretch.

All the best,
Ben

[Sam Flynn]

Re. "the wrong side", Rob - as he seems to have made his move whilst she was on the bed, it would have been tricky to have cut her anywhere else.

[Robert]

Chava, I don't think we get that kind of spurting in any other murder. Add to that the murder cry, the fact that the throat was cut from the wrong side, and the fact that she seems to have put up a struggle, however brief, and I'd say that Jack wasn't on top form with this one.

[Sam Flynn]

I don't see why it should be considered a "far greater probability" that she encountered her killer as a client on the streets...

I think the fact that she was a known street-whore might have something to do with it, Ben, allied to the fact that it can be proven she brought at least one man home with her on the night she died.

The alternatives - the "breaking-and-entering" and the "doorstepper" theories, if you like - require some extra je ne sais quoi to make them work - for example, "Jack knew enough about her in advance to know that she'd be sleeping on her own", "Jack knew her well, and hence she'd have been unfazed when he turned up unannounced", or "Jack didn't know her, but just happened to strike it lucky when he chose Kelly's room".

Seen in that light, the "street-whore who picked up a customer and brought him back to her room" scenario would seem to have the upper-hand in terms of likelihood, based as it is on two demonstrable (and straightforward) biographical facts rather than happenstance and conjecture.

[Chava]

I don't think that murder was bungled. There were people in very close proximity who didn't hear a thing. The blood up the wall would have been unavoidable. She wasn't out on the street with a trick who wants anal sex so she turns her back. She was in bed--possibly with a trick who wants anal sex so she turns her back, possibly with someone she knew and trusted so she turns her back to go to sleep...

[Robert]

I think Michael feels that if the murder cry was from Kelly, then those who overheard it - especially Prater - should have then heard a tremendous struggle going on, bed creaking, perhaps kelly's right leg kicking against the partition etc. While it does appear that the murder was bungled, with the blood spurting up the wall, we should remember that Kelly had been drinking, it was very late, and she was used to getting up late - so maybe she wasn't exactly primed for action.

[Ben]

Hi Richard,

Factors such as a rolled up "bedroll" (which I heavily dispute), the boots and the lit fire no more announce "getting ready for a client" than they do "getting ready for bed".

JTR. was proberly seen by two witnesses , Mrs Long [Hanbury street] and Mrs Maxwell [ Dorset street] that being the case a shortish man, around 50years old would be suspect.

You'd have to be pretty selective witn the eyewitness evidence to decide on a man of around "50 years old" as the most likely culprit. Mrs. Long was the only witness to describe a man over 40, and she only acquired a rear view of the suspect. You'd also have to ignore all the other eywtiness sightings which, with some uniformity, suggest as age around 30.

Best regards,
Ben