Galloway and the Blotchy Faced Man

[Ben]

Indeed, Robert, and then shortly thereafter that appeared to have been reversed, with renewed interest in Cox and Hutchinson seemingly dropping off the map.

[Robert]

According to one account I read, the police were going with Hutchinson's man rather than Cox's. Yet, as was pointed out at the time, you'd have thought that the police would still have been interested in talking to Cox's man, even if they didn't wish to arrest him.

[DVV]

Hi Alex,
as far as I understand, nothing explains why Galloway's statement should throw doubts on Cox'.

Amitiés,
David

[alex]

Evening All

A full account of Galloway’s claims appeared in The Star, 16th Nov. 1888 and, as I see it, Chris is absolutely correct in his reply to Martin.

If this account is to be believed then it seems to suggest that, by the time of Galloway’s encounter, either the police in general, or this constable in particular were not interested in anyone matching Mrs Cox’s description. Whatever the reasons for this apparent disregard of Mrs Cox’s description are not explained in the reports of Galloway’s claims.

Best wishes
alex chisholm

[Chris Scott]

Hi Martin
many thanks for the message
I must admit to being puzzled by this point. The only construct I could put upon it was based on the sentence
The constable positively declined to arrest the man, saying that he was looking for a man of very different appearance
This would suggest that any man resembling the blotchy faced man (as not matching the current description in the frame) had been effectively discounted from the investigation. As Mary Cox's testimony featured a man of just this description it would have no bearing on the Kelly death as he did not match the appearance to which the police were then working.
Chris

[fido]

I don't understand why the Hampshire Telegraph says Galloway's statement means no reliance can be placed on Mrs Cox's evidence.
Martin F

[Chris Scott]

In the thread at
http://forum.casebook.org/archive/index.php/t-592.html
there is mention of a Mr Galloway as follows:
"police referred to Blotchy Man as the suspect wanted in connection with Marys murder. He may well have been seen and slipped away some days later when a Mr Galloway spotted him by his description, and an officer who was approached declined to follow him as he fled."
(posted by perrymason)
I had seen mention of this before but have only just found the text of Galloway's statment. This is below.
Chris


Hampshire Telegraph
17 November 1888

Judging from a communication made to a news agency by Mr Galloway, a clerk employed in the City, and living in Stepney, no reliance is now placed upon the statement made by the woman Cox.
Mr Galloway's statement is as follows:-
"As I was going down the Whitechapel Road in the early hours of Wednesday morning on my way home, I saw a man coming in the opposite direction, about fifty yards away. We both crossed the road simultaneously and came face to face. The man had a very frightened appearance, and glared at me as he passed. I was very much struck with the man's appearance especially as he corresponded in almost every particular with the man described by Mary Anne Cox. He was, in fact, short, stout, about 35 to 40 years of age. His moustache, not a particularly heavy one, was of a 'carrotty' colour, and his face was blotchy, not, as far as I could see, from disease, but through drink and dissipation. He wore a long, dirty, brown overcoat, and altogether presented a most villainous appearance. I stood still, and watched him. He darted back almost immediately to the other side of the road, and then apparently to avoid a group of women a litttle further on, crossed the road again. I determined to follow him, and just before reaching the coffee stall, past the church, he again crossed the road. On reaching George Yard he crossed over and entered a small court. He reappeared in a couple of minutes, crossed Whitechapel Road for the sixth time, and proceeded up Commercial Street. Up to this point he had walked along briskly, but directly he got into Commercial Street he slackened speed, and accosted the first woman whom he met alone, but was repulsed. On approaching Thrawl Street, a policeman on point duty suddenly appeared. The man was evidently startled, and for a moment it looked as though he would turn back or cross the road. He recovered himself, however, and went on. I then informed the constable of what I had seen, and pointed out the man's extraordinary resemblance to the individual described by Cox. The constable positively declined to arrest the man, saying that he was looking for a man of very different appearance."