Location of Annie Millwood's attack

[JeffHamm]

Hi,

Annie Millwood lived at 8 White's Row, which is the next street south of where Mary Kelly was killed. However, I can find nothing with respect to where she was at the time she was attacked? Has this information ever been recorded? If so, could you please let me know both the location and where that was documented? I'm assuming this has been lost to us as it doesn't appear in Sudgen or A-Z, both of which are pretty thorough, but I'm hoping something has been uncovered since my copies were published (both from the mid 1990s). Thanks.

- Jeff

[JeffHamm]

The reason I'm asking is I'm considering how her case might fit into the pattern. I know there is lots of room for debate concerning what victims should be grouped as JtR, and those that should be set aside as "murder by someone else". Also, while I do not have any strong stance on this (I can see the logic behind including or excluding Stride, and for including or excluding Tabram, etc). For the purpose of my thinking here, I'm considering the implications that follow if includes Tabram.

Then, what we see is an evolving killer, learning from prior crimes, and an escalation in the amount of mutilation. Tabram appears to have been strangled (silenced; nobody in the building heard anything;etc) and then repeatedly stabbed in the breasts, stomach, and genital regions. One wound much larger than the rest (so, if that's the first wound, then we have strangulation -> major injury designed to kill -> additional injuries designed to satisfy some need to mutilate). Stabbing would result in a fair amount of blood on the killer (even if not from arterial spray, from the repeated drawing and stabbing motion there would be cast off, etc). Nichols, we see a change to strangulation -> throat cutting -> cutting mutilations of abdominal regions; then with Chapman, Eddowes, and Kelly there's a progression to organ harvesting (womb, kidney, and heart, respectively), with Eddowes we see the first signs of taking clothing from the victim to clean up (learning to reduce his risk while in public), and with Kelly a move to an indoor location. All of these suggest a progression in terms of learning how to change his behaviours to increase his ability to engage in satisfying a need to mutilate/destroy his victims. (yes, this presentation can be argued against, but I'm just setting the premises here, and ones that while not agreed upon by all, are not novel either). (This progression isn't mine, but comes from The Jack the Ripper Murders: A Modus Operandi and Signature Analysis of the 1888-1891 Whitechapel Murders" - Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling 2: 1-21 (2005) - Robert D. Keppel, Joseph G. Weis, Katherine M. Brown and Kristen Welch).

So, if JtR is learning how to commit his crimes more effectively as the series progresses (and that's going to happen; criminals learn from their past crimes), then if Tabram was part of the series, but not his first attack, we would expect to find an earlier attack that is a less skillfully committed version. And to me, Annie Millwood's injuries (what little we know of them) could fit the bill.

She was stabbed in the legs and around her groin, by a man she did not know, etc. She escaped without being killed, however, and would have screamed and called for help, he would have gotten blood on his clothes as he stabbed her while she was standing (I'm assuming she was). So, if that were JtR's first attack, then Tabram's assault is JtR's "improvement" version. He realizes he has to silence the victim first, so he strangles her and then makes sure she's dead. And while he is then able to engage in his sexualiaed attacks on her, he still gets more blood on him than he wants (increases his risk of detection), and switches to cutting rather than stabbing.

His fear of getting caught after Millwood survived her attack would be very high, hence the long delay between her attack and that on Tabram (and that gives him the time to work out how to improve his technique).

So, there is a line of reasoning one could follow that suggests that if you include Tabram, you have to seriously consider the possibility that Millwood should be included as well (but of course, one has to be cautious as we know so little about her case).

Finally, one of the areas that I am doing research in (in my real job), is geographical analyses of crime locations. The first step, of course, is knowing what crimes to link. But, even if we link Millwood to the series, which one could argue for (as per above - note again, arguing for doesn't mean you're right, just that there are reasons to consider the possibility as a reasonable one), then it becomes important to know where the crime took place. It's not enough to know where the victim lived if the attack didn't take place there, it's where the attack occurred that is the geographical location of interest.

But if this information is lost to us, or is at least unknown to us, I would really like to know that. Even better would be finding out that the attack location has been discovered, of course.

- Jeff

[JeffHamm]

Oh, just to add, the Keppel et al, 2005 article doesn't mention the learning to "clean up" aspect of the progression (just something I thought of, and it could be wrong as there is evidence that JtR looked through Chapman's posessions so maybe he was looking for something to do the same then, but that's speculation on my part). Also, the article also considers the Smith murder (earlier), and the Pinchin Street torso murder, Mylett, McKenzie, and Coles and all of these they dismiss as part of the series. They didn't, however, consider Millwood.

you can find their publically available article here: https://rdcu.be/blxik

[John Malcolm]

Jeff, thanks for the link to the article. The very well-researched article Who Was Annie Millwood? by Mark Ripper (The Whitechapel Society Journal #22, 2008 - also reprinted in the book 21 Years of Jack the Ripper and the Whitechapel Society) is worth a look. The answer as to where her attack occurred still seems to be a mystery though.

[Abby Normal]

The reason I'm asking is I'm considering how her case might fit into the pattern. I know there is lots of room for debate concerning what victims should be grouped as JtR, and those that should be set aside as "murder by someone else". Also, while I do not have any strong stance on this (I can see the logic behind including or excluding Stride, and for including or excluding Tabram, etc). For the purpose of my thinking here, I'm considering the implications that follow if includes Tabram.

Then, what we see is an evolving killer, learning from prior crimes, and an escalation in the amount of mutilation. Tabram appears to have been strangled (silenced; nobody in the building heard anything;etc) and then repeatedly stabbed in the breasts, stomach, and genital regions. One wound much larger than the rest (so, if that's the first wound, then we have strangulation -> major injury designed to kill -> additional injuries designed to satisfy some need to mutilate). Stabbing would result in a fair amount of blood on the killer (even if not from arterial spray, from the repeated drawing and stabbing motion there would be cast off, etc). Nichols, we see a change to strangulation -> throat cutting -> cutting mutilations of abdominal regions; then with Chapman, Eddowes, and Kelly there's a progression to organ harvesting (womb, kidney, and heart, respectively), with Eddowes we see the first signs of taking clothing from the victim to clean up (learning to reduce his risk while in public), and with Kelly a move to an indoor location. All of these suggest a progression in terms of learning how to change his behaviours to increase his ability to engage in satisfying a need to mutilate/destroy his victims. (yes, this presentation can be argued against, but I'm just setting the premises here, and ones that while not agreed upon by all, are not novel either). (This progression isn't mine, but comes from The Jack the Ripper Murders: A Modus Operandi and Signature Analysis of the 1888-1891 Whitechapel Murders" - Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling 2: 1-21 (2005) - Robert D. Keppel, Joseph G. Weis, Katherine M. Brown and Kristen Welch).

So, if JtR is learning how to commit his crimes more effectively as the series progresses (and that's going to happen; criminals learn from their past crimes), then if Tabram was part of the series, but not his first attack, we would expect to find an earlier attack that is a less skillfully committed version. And to me, Annie Millwood's injuries (what little we know of them) could fit the bill.

She was stabbed in the legs and around her groin, by a man she did not know, etc. She escaped without being killed, however, and would have screamed and called for help, he would have gotten blood on his clothes as he stabbed her while she was standing (I'm assuming she was). So, if that were JtR's first attack, then Tabram's assault is JtR's "improvement" version. He realizes he has to silence the victim first, so he strangles her and then makes sure she's dead. And while he is then able to engage in his sexualiaed attacks on her, he still gets more blood on him than he wants (increases his risk of detection), and switches to cutting rather than stabbing.

His fear of getting caught after Millwood survived her attack would be very high, hence the long delay between her attack and that on Tabram (and that gives him the time to work out how to improve his technique).

So, there is a line of reasoning one could follow that suggests that if you include Tabram, you have to seriously consider the possibility that Millwood should be included as well (but of course, one has to be cautious as we know so little about her case).

Finally, one of the areas that I am doing research in (in my real job), is geographical analyses of crime locations. The first step, of course, is knowing what crimes to link. But, even if we link Millwood to the series, which one could argue for (as per above - note again, arguing for doesn't mean you're right, just that there are reasons to consider the possibility as a reasonable one), then it becomes important to know where the crime took place. It's not enough to know where the victim lived if the attack didn't take place there, it's where the attack occurred that is the geographical location of interest.

But if this information is lost to us, or is at least unknown to us, I would really like to know that. Even better would be finding out that the attack location has been discovered, of course.

- Jeff

hi jeff
I think millwood and tabram were ripper victims and yes-shows a progression and escalation as the ripper is working out what is most efficiant way to kill and what exactly he wants to do.

also re progression: millwood was attacked with a small clasp knife which he took out of his pocket. realizing this small knife is not enough next time out with tabram he brings a larger one too-there is evidence that tabram was stabbed by two different knives-a smaller one and a larger one.

[Darryl Kenyon]

Oh, just to add, the Keppel et al, 2005 article doesn't mention the learning to "clean up" aspect of the progression (just something I thought of, and it could be wrong as there is evidence that JtR looked through Chapman's posessions so maybe he was looking for something to do the same then, but that's speculation on my part).

It's possible that the killer was looking for the money he had given Annie when he was looking through her possessions as I doubt she would go into the corner of a backyard without a transaction having taken first.

[JeffHamm]

Hi Abby Normal,

Yes, I think if one includes Tabram as a Ripper victim then Millwood becomes a very plausible as well. I like your observation of the knife progression as well.

- Jeff

[JeffHamm]

Hi Darryl,

Yes, looking to regain his money seems very likely and more plausible (although the pocket was under her dress and sounds sort of like a larger money belt arrangement to me so she may have kept the money in a more accessible location, which he retrieved already. He may just have found the pocket around her waist after lifting her dress and was looking for more money perhaps? Given a piece of muslin was found with Annie, either she had more cloth and he took some, or my speculation is wrong.

- Jeff

[Stephen Lee]

I always thought the stabbing happened in Whites Row also. Though it isn't very clear as she was lodging in White's Row as well. The JTR map (by Geoff Cooper) has the attack being committed there. Sugden says she was brought to the infirmary from White's Row, and Eddleston in his Encyclopedia say she was brought in after being found stabbed in White's Row.
It is made a bit blurry because of where she was lodging so it may have happened elsewhere.

[JeffHamm]

In my copy of Sudgen it reads "At 5:00 pm that day Annie Millwood, widow of Richard Millwood, a soldier, was admitted to the Whitechapel Workhouse Infirmary from 8 White's Row, Spitalfields." A-Z indicates that was her residence, so I took Sudgen to mean just that so it's not entirely clear to me that the attack happened there, but of course, it could have.

[JeffHamm]

Ok, if I include Annie Millwood's attack as occurring in White's Row, here's the output of the geographical profiling program I'm working on. The pinkish areas are "zone 1" (so start searching here) and each contour line marks off another zone. Basically, and without getting into too much detail, I work out how big an area one would have to search by chance to locate the offender's anchor point (usually their home). This area is 1/2 the area of the circle defined by the maximum distance between two crimes (Eddowes and Nichols) x 1.25 - this is based on the finding that 80% or more offenders tend to live within in that circle. The red bits are all better than chance searching (given the map I have here, it's a bit too small and the area calculations get off some, but the location of the hot spots wouldn't change), which means, if JtR lives in there the profile is better than random searching. Each zone is 5% of this chance area (so if JtR did live within the pink zone, that means we've reduced the search required to 5% of a random search). This program located BTK in Zone 1, Ted Bundy and also the Golden State Killer in zone 2, and McArthur (in Toronto) was located in zone 7 (for this last one it locates the house he used to store his tools and where the bodies were kept rather than his residence). That doesn't mean it always gets it right, the Boston Strangler was in zone 20 (which is no better than chance), for example, and Son of Sam is way out as he was a commuter (lives outside the circle where most are located).

anyway, both hotspots are in interesting locations. The graffito is right in the middle of the lower one, and the upper one around Hanbury Street makes some sense as if JtR killed Chapman close to 5:30, after the sun was coming up, he might only have felt sure enough to do so because he had very little distance to go to wash up and change clothes, etc. Mind you, one can always make sense of any location, so take this with a very large grain of salt.

[Sam Flynn]

Fascinating stuff, Jeff. Out of curiosity, what does the picture look like if we exclude Stride?

[JeffHamm]

Oh, ignore the coloured dots, those are not crime locations but are locations that get calculated and used in the maths.

[JeffHamm]

Here's what we get if we ignore Stride. Shifts things a bit, but the lower area, while not in the exact same place, is still favoured.

[JeffHamm]

Oops, forgot to turn off some of the graphics used in the calcuations. The red and green lines are estimates of general optimal routes of travel.