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Dear Mary Kelly,
You can rest in peace now, Mary. Your killer has been identified, and his name is being revealed. Justice didn’t come in the time you were so horribly killed and mutilated, but at least now, after so many years, it is known who killed you. Your instincts may have told you the man looked familiar. He looked so much like Theo, and he had the same Dutch accent. You asked, but he lied and said he didn’t have a brother named Theo. You were previously in love with Theo, and you almost married him, but the depression from your husband’s death still haunted you, and you couldn’t allow yourself to risk experiencing such joy again.
You met Theo in a West End brothel a few years before. He was there on a business trip from Paris. He was smitten with you instantly, and he wanted to help you and take you away from your life as a prostitute. He said he would pay for an operation on your foot to remove a tumor which was causing you trouble. You couldn’t pass on the offer, and you went with him to Paris. You allowed yourself to be playful like you used to be, and you told Theo since you were in Paris, he should call you Marie Janette Kelly, instead of Mary Jane Kelly. He loved the idea. Being a Dutchman living in France, he also liked to think of himself as a Frenchman.
Because Theo was in love with you, he placed you on a pedestal and put you up in a hotel room instead of moving you into his apartment. But you knew it was also because he was the manager of a well-known art gallery known as Goupil’s, and he couldn’t risk having the owners find out he had a prostitute living with him.
Theo then took you to a hospital and introduced you to a surgeon who said he could remove the tumor from your foot. You agreed to have it done, and Theo agreed he would pay for it, and soon after, you were in the hospital having the operation. You had to stay in the hospital a little longer, but when you were released, Theo brought you back to his apartment. He said you were going to get back to being a respectable woman and be his girl.
As your foot healed, Theo only fell in love with you more, and he wanted to marry you. He was worried about what his family would think, though. His father was a preacher, and Theo knew he would have to tell them the truth about your past. He believed they would forgive your past and approve of your marriage, but they didn’t approve.
Because of this, you knew it would only bring trouble to Theo if you married him, and besides, you feared going through what you had gone through with your husband, who was the love of your life, who was killed in a mine explosion so soon after being married, could in some way happen again. What if Theo died soon after you married? It would be too much to take, so you started drinking more and partying in Paris, and the inevitable happened. Theo broke it off, and he paid for you to travel back to London.
You returned to your old life, but now you had the pain of realizing you couldn’t hope for the life you once had, and you spiraled down further and ended up in the East End. But Theo would still write and send you money, always hoping you would give up your lifestyle and return to him.
When you were in Paris, Theo had talked regularly about his brother Vincent, who was pursuing a life as a painter, and how he was sending him money to live off. He had spoken about how he had to send Vincent less because he had to pay for your operation and take care of you. He noted because of this Vincent had to leave behind a prostitute and her two children, who were living with him, and move back in with his parents. But you didn’t think much about it.
You couldn’t have known that for several years Vincent would hold a grudge because of you entering Theo’s life and causing Theo to send him less money. No normal person would. You didn’t know Vincent was a serial killer who had made his first kill when he was 20 while living in London. Theo had told you Vincent lived in London in the past and that it was where everything went wrong for him. How Vincent had fallen in love with an English girl and pinned all his hopes on her becoming his wife and being accepted by English society and succeeding as an art dealer working for Goupil’s. But that she rejected Vincent and he then went into a deep depression that caused him to change his course in life and become a preacher, which he failed at and then turned to art.
Theo told you that he wrote Vincent about you and used your new French name, Marie, and told him you were from Brittany. There was no way he could tell Vincent he found a girl in London who he was going to marry. He noted Vincent was very sensitive about his time in London and being rejected. Someday, after they were married and she met Vincent, they could tell him the truth, and it might not be as bad for him.
You could never have guessed that Vincent would have moved in with Theo in Paris and Theo would tell Vincent he found you in London and was still writing and sending money to you. You had no way of knowing Vincent then looked at your return letters and found your address at 13 Miller’s Court. Or that Vincent finding out you were in London and Theo was still sending you money increased his perception of you still taking money that belonged to him, and that his revenge grew even hotter.
And when prostitutes were being murdered in the East End and the name Jack the Ripper was on the trembling lips of every prostitute who warned each other to be careful, you could never have guessed it was Vincent and that he was working his way up to killing you.
And when you met a man on the street who said he would pay you more to go back to your room and you had that glimmer of instinct telling you he looked familiar and you asked if he had a brother named Theo, you couldn’t have known he would lie to you and give a different name.
And on that fateful night of November the 8th, when he again approached you on the street and said he would pay extra to go back to your room, it didn’t even cross your mind that he could actually be the killer everyone was talking about. He brought you beer, and you were already feeling good, and you felt comfortable with him because he had been a customer before. Nothing to fear, and the extra money could catch up your rent.
You felt so comfortable, you decided to sing. This was partly because being around a Dutchman who looked so much like Theo reminded you of a joyful time. You even told kind little Mary Cox as she passed your door you would have a song. You thought the scowl on your customer’s face after Mary Cox looked at him was just a common annoyance. You lit a candle and then lit the fire in the fireplace and began singing a beautiful song.
Your customer told you your voice was heavenly and to keep singing. He said he had been trying to learn how to draw, and he pulled out a small notebook and pencil from his coat pocket and asked if he could draw you. Your instincts were dulled by alcohol, so it didn’t cross your mind that perhaps this was Theo’s brother, Vincent, and he was lying to you, because you knew Vincent was an artist. But that would seem impossible, anyway.
And your customer drew a couple of sketches of you, one by the fireplace as you sang, and another afterwards while you were sitting on the bed. He showed them to you, and you thought they were very good. He said he would like to try to paint you sometime, and you laughed.
The two of you drank a little more, and then you knew you had to perform for your money, so you blew out the candle and changed into your nightgown and crawled into bed, the light from the fireplace now dimming. The customer removed his clothes and crawled in next to you. You would have been happy to just go to sleep, but he nudged your shoulder for you to roll over onto your stomach, and you did.
You caught a glimpse of his hands moving down either side of your face, but you didn’t think anything of it. But then the abrupt and violent pull of a cord around your neck shocked you into a horrific reality. The name Jack the Ripper immediately came to mind. You grabbed at the cord and kicked your feet, but he was pulling tight and sitting on you. There was no way to break free. Your early life and the magical time with your husband flashed before your eyes. Could it all be over now? And your customer leaned down next to your ear and whispered that he was Theo’s brother Vincent, and that you were getting what you deserved. And the little light that remained in the room dimmed further, and then further, and then you were gone.
So, all this time, you’ve known who killed you. You knew who Jack the Ripper was, but no one could hear your pleas to uncover the truth. But now they have. Sleep peacefully, dear Mary.
Respectfully,
Dale Larner
You can rest in peace now, Mary. Your killer has been identified, and his name is being revealed. Justice didn’t come in the time you were so horribly killed and mutilated, but at least now, after so many years, it is known who killed you. Your instincts may have told you the man looked familiar. He looked so much like Theo, and he had the same Dutch accent. You asked, but he lied and said he didn’t have a brother named Theo. You were previously in love with Theo, and you almost married him, but the depression from your husband’s death still haunted you, and you couldn’t allow yourself to risk experiencing such joy again.
You met Theo in a West End brothel a few years before. He was there on a business trip from Paris. He was smitten with you instantly, and he wanted to help you and take you away from your life as a prostitute. He said he would pay for an operation on your foot to remove a tumor which was causing you trouble. You couldn’t pass on the offer, and you went with him to Paris. You allowed yourself to be playful like you used to be, and you told Theo since you were in Paris, he should call you Marie Janette Kelly, instead of Mary Jane Kelly. He loved the idea. Being a Dutchman living in France, he also liked to think of himself as a Frenchman.
Because Theo was in love with you, he placed you on a pedestal and put you up in a hotel room instead of moving you into his apartment. But you knew it was also because he was the manager of a well-known art gallery known as Goupil’s, and he couldn’t risk having the owners find out he had a prostitute living with him.
Theo then took you to a hospital and introduced you to a surgeon who said he could remove the tumor from your foot. You agreed to have it done, and Theo agreed he would pay for it, and soon after, you were in the hospital having the operation. You had to stay in the hospital a little longer, but when you were released, Theo brought you back to his apartment. He said you were going to get back to being a respectable woman and be his girl.
As your foot healed, Theo only fell in love with you more, and he wanted to marry you. He was worried about what his family would think, though. His father was a preacher, and Theo knew he would have to tell them the truth about your past. He believed they would forgive your past and approve of your marriage, but they didn’t approve.
Because of this, you knew it would only bring trouble to Theo if you married him, and besides, you feared going through what you had gone through with your husband, who was the love of your life, who was killed in a mine explosion so soon after being married, could in some way happen again. What if Theo died soon after you married? It would be too much to take, so you started drinking more and partying in Paris, and the inevitable happened. Theo broke it off, and he paid for you to travel back to London.
You returned to your old life, but now you had the pain of realizing you couldn’t hope for the life you once had, and you spiraled down further and ended up in the East End. But Theo would still write and send you money, always hoping you would give up your lifestyle and return to him.
When you were in Paris, Theo had talked regularly about his brother Vincent, who was pursuing a life as a painter, and how he was sending him money to live off. He had spoken about how he had to send Vincent less because he had to pay for your operation and take care of you. He noted because of this Vincent had to leave behind a prostitute and her two children, who were living with him, and move back in with his parents. But you didn’t think much about it.
You couldn’t have known that for several years Vincent would hold a grudge because of you entering Theo’s life and causing Theo to send him less money. No normal person would. You didn’t know Vincent was a serial killer who had made his first kill when he was 20 while living in London. Theo had told you Vincent lived in London in the past and that it was where everything went wrong for him. How Vincent had fallen in love with an English girl and pinned all his hopes on her becoming his wife and being accepted by English society and succeeding as an art dealer working for Goupil’s. But that she rejected Vincent and he then went into a deep depression that caused him to change his course in life and become a preacher, which he failed at and then turned to art.
Theo told you that he wrote Vincent about you and used your new French name, Marie, and told him you were from Brittany. There was no way he could tell Vincent he found a girl in London who he was going to marry. He noted Vincent was very sensitive about his time in London and being rejected. Someday, after they were married and she met Vincent, they could tell him the truth, and it might not be as bad for him.
You could never have guessed that Vincent would have moved in with Theo in Paris and Theo would tell Vincent he found you in London and was still writing and sending money to you. You had no way of knowing Vincent then looked at your return letters and found your address at 13 Miller’s Court. Or that Vincent finding out you were in London and Theo was still sending you money increased his perception of you still taking money that belonged to him, and that his revenge grew even hotter.
And when prostitutes were being murdered in the East End and the name Jack the Ripper was on the trembling lips of every prostitute who warned each other to be careful, you could never have guessed it was Vincent and that he was working his way up to killing you.
And when you met a man on the street who said he would pay you more to go back to your room and you had that glimmer of instinct telling you he looked familiar and you asked if he had a brother named Theo, you couldn’t have known he would lie to you and give a different name.
And on that fateful night of November the 8th, when he again approached you on the street and said he would pay extra to go back to your room, it didn’t even cross your mind that he could actually be the killer everyone was talking about. He brought you beer, and you were already feeling good, and you felt comfortable with him because he had been a customer before. Nothing to fear, and the extra money could catch up your rent.
You felt so comfortable, you decided to sing. This was partly because being around a Dutchman who looked so much like Theo reminded you of a joyful time. You even told kind little Mary Cox as she passed your door you would have a song. You thought the scowl on your customer’s face after Mary Cox looked at him was just a common annoyance. You lit a candle and then lit the fire in the fireplace and began singing a beautiful song.
Your customer told you your voice was heavenly and to keep singing. He said he had been trying to learn how to draw, and he pulled out a small notebook and pencil from his coat pocket and asked if he could draw you. Your instincts were dulled by alcohol, so it didn’t cross your mind that perhaps this was Theo’s brother, Vincent, and he was lying to you, because you knew Vincent was an artist. But that would seem impossible, anyway.
And your customer drew a couple of sketches of you, one by the fireplace as you sang, and another afterwards while you were sitting on the bed. He showed them to you, and you thought they were very good. He said he would like to try to paint you sometime, and you laughed.
The two of you drank a little more, and then you knew you had to perform for your money, so you blew out the candle and changed into your nightgown and crawled into bed, the light from the fireplace now dimming. The customer removed his clothes and crawled in next to you. You would have been happy to just go to sleep, but he nudged your shoulder for you to roll over onto your stomach, and you did.
You caught a glimpse of his hands moving down either side of your face, but you didn’t think anything of it. But then the abrupt and violent pull of a cord around your neck shocked you into a horrific reality. The name Jack the Ripper immediately came to mind. You grabbed at the cord and kicked your feet, but he was pulling tight and sitting on you. There was no way to break free. Your early life and the magical time with your husband flashed before your eyes. Could it all be over now? And your customer leaned down next to your ear and whispered that he was Theo’s brother Vincent, and that you were getting what you deserved. And the little light that remained in the room dimmed further, and then further, and then you were gone.
So, all this time, you’ve known who killed you. You knew who Jack the Ripper was, but no one could hear your pleas to uncover the truth. But now they have. Sleep peacefully, dear Mary.
Respectfully,
Dale Larner