Originally posted by Herlock Sholmes
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Read the press reports of the interviews with Diemshitz by the Times, the Daily News and the Echo on 1 October. They are a mish mash of contradictions and obvious errors. In addition to the ones listed by NBFN, here are a few more:
He entered the club by the side door higher up the court, and informed those in the concert-room upstairs that something had happened in the yard. A member of the club named Kozebrodski returned with Diemsschütz into the court, and the former struck a match while the latter lifted the body up. The body was still warm, and the clothes enveloping it were wet from the recent rain. Both men ran off without delay to find a policeman.
Diemshitz: "When the first doctor arrived, he undid the buttons of her dress at the neck. He also put his hand on her bosom, and said she was quite warm." This was Johnson, not Blackwell.
Blackwell to Coroner: The clothes were not wet with rain.
One of them was sent for a doctor. Dr. Phillips, the police surgeon, of Spital-square, and Dr. Kaye, of Blackwall, both came.
Several members were on the ground floor, and I told them there was a woman, but I could not tell them whether she was drunk or dead. I got a candle, and at once went into the yard, where I saw a quantity of blood near the body. I did not touch the body.
Diemschitz being then asked to describe the body as well as he could, said: "In my opinion the woman was about 27 or 28 years old. Her skin and complexion were fair. (This is not correct, according to the latest accounts that we have received, but the man was evidently too frightened at the time to be able to remember.)
And there it is - too frightened at the time to remember.
Herlock - Nice try, but I can't let you get away with starting your clock at 1:00 with Diemshitz finding the body. All the inquest statements having him reaching Berner St at that time. Before he finds the body he has to drive down Berner St, turn into the yard, prod about with his whip, alight from the cart and light a match. Then he has to run inside searching for his wife, alert club members on both floors, return with Kozebrodski, light another match and lift up the body.
What time is your clock showing at this point?
Then he told the Morning Advertiser that Kodebrodski and he "both ran off without delay to find a policeman, and at the same time other members of the club, who had by this found their way into the court, went off with the same object in different directions. The search was for some time fruitless. At last, however, after a considerable delay, a constable, 252 H, was found in Commercial road".
IMHO, Diemshitz was a confused and totally unreliable witness who tidied up his story for the inquest. He had no need at all to look at the clock (for which he gave 2 different locations) to determine the time because as far as he was concerned it was his "usual" time. For Smith and Lamb, given the circumstances, there was an imperative to look at the clock. It wouldn't need to be cited as it would have been taken for granted that it would have been a dereliction of duty for them to fail to do so. As far as his time not being challenged at the inquest, it was just another issue in a sea of contradictions.
I agree that these issues have been gone over to many times, and accept that those who disagree with my opinions are as unlikey to change their minds as I am, unless of course I see dramatic evidence to persuade me otherwise. I have so far seemed to have sustained a degree of civility with those with whom I disagree and I hope that will continue. I have been researching JtR since the 1970's and joined the forum for an amical and non-combative exchange of ideas. I'm not proposing any plot and don't know the content of any plots or cospiracies on this subject that may be being promoted.
Enough said.
Cheers, George
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