Would a man who didn't go to #29's backyard early that morning and sit on the step with a knife in his hand lie and say he did, just because he didn't want his mom to be annoyed with him for not bothering to check the lock that day- despite the fact that such a lie could possibly backfire by getting him named as a Ripper suspect and maybe even lynched by his nervous neighbors??
His first story involved NO knife...NO cutting...just that he'd checked the lock...and I suspect he agreed only to that because his mum had already dropped him in it ("My boy checks the yard every morning") and he lacked the confidence to contradict her...
Later he says he KNOWS there was no body there because he sat on the step and trimmed some leather from his boot with the knife that was on him because he'd used it to slice rabbit food...
Finally when challenged at the inquest to produce said knife he gets it into his thick head he may've talked himself into trouble...and so produces a rusty old relic that wouldn't cut anything more resistant than cheese...(probably not even carrots)...
When challenged on this point he abruptly changes his story and says he tried to trim the bit of leather off his boot, failed, and eventually completed the job at work...
Does this realistically sound like a witness who thinks ahead? I don't think so...Does this sound like a reliable witness? I don't think so...
He also, had been a coroner long enough to understand the variables involved in ascertaining time of death, which the practical Phillips readily admitted. Phillips was not adament in his belief and this very experienced solicitor saw that. If he had only Richardson's testimony to contradict the surgeon's findings on that matter, he probably would have sided with Mr. Phillips
I understand fully if people disagree with the foregoing...and I understand (for the most part) their reasons...I myself don't like the discounting of witness testimony to more conveniently fit a pet theory. But in this case I don't really have a pet theory to fit in with...just a straightforward instinct warning me to distrust this man's shifting testimony...
All the best
Dave
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