The missing key?

[lynn cates]

A fine hiding.

Hello Natasha. If the killer were hiding in the room, there would be some difficulty, given the small space. If he were to REMAIN hidden, then she must have undressed in the dark and lain down the same.

Cheers.
LC

[Natasha]

Hi All

I mentioned in another thread that perhaps Kelly changed the locks, maybe to avoid being flung out by McCarthy, because of the rent arrears.

If the key was lost then recovered perhaps by the ripper, do you think it possible that the killer may have hid in the room, and then killed Kelly?
It could be another way of determining why there was no noise (apart from the cry of 'oh murder'), ie the door being opened etc

[Abby Normal]

IMHO the missing key and locked door is another obvious indicator that Mary Kelly and the ripper knew each other.

[DVV]

So presumably MJK had found the key?

Possible.
I which case, the murderer must have locked the door and gone with the key.
But my take is that he had the key already.

[Sally]

Or try this:

http://forum.casebook.org/showthread.php?t=2983

[IchabodCrane]

Hello Harry,

below are some earlier threads that have already covered this topic quite extensively:

http://forum.casebook.org/showthread.php?t=595

http://www.casebook.org/forum/messages/4922/10202.html

http://www.casebook.org/forum/messages/4921/6424.html

All the best
IchabodCrane

[Harry D]

I read that MJK had lost her room key and had resorted to bolting and unbolting the door through a broken window beside it. However, after her body had been found, the police were eventually forced to smash the door down with an axe because it was locked. So presumably MJK had found the key? Was it ever recovered from the scene of the crime? And if not, does this implicate Joseph Barnett?