Would we have suspected Maxwell?

[Diddles]

Hi everyone,

I have a question I would like to ask your opinion about: If Caroline Maxwell had been a man would she have been suspected (like Hutchinson) by Ripper researchers?

Do we give more creedence to her story since she couldnt have been the Ripper (unless she was Jill the Ripper)?

Thoughts?

[Fisherman]

Hi everyone,

I have a question I would like to ask your opinion about: If Caroline Maxwell had been a man would she have been suspected (like Hutchinson) by Ripper researchers?

Do we give more creedence to her story since she couldnt have been the Ripper (unless she was Jill the Ripper)?

Thoughts?

Nobody walks away when it comes to Ripper accusations, Diddles. Well, Diddles the cat perhaps, but thatīs about it. If we can accuse 73-year old men who had had a serious fit the year before, workhouse inmate imbeciles and depressed painters, then whatīs to stop us from accusing a physically fit woman in her prime?

Iīm afraid you ar working from the wrong premises here. Sadly.

All the best,
Fisherman

[Jon Guy]

Hi Diddles

I have seen it suggested that Mrs Maxwell was covering for her husband with her story of seeing Kelly alive that morning.

Mr Maxwell worked nights in the building opposite Millers Court.

[Diddles]

Diddles is not the cat who will be blamed for nothing

Well, I asked the question more on the grounds of her gender. Few doubt Prater or other womens observation, but what if they had been men? Or if Hutchinson was a woman would we have put more creedence to the Astrakhan-observation?

[Stephen Thomas]

I'm afraid you are working from the wrong premises here.

Yes, Christer

Diddles needs to get a job in a different building.

[Fisherman]

Di
Well, I asked the question more on the grounds of her gender.

Point taken - and of course you are correct, generally speaking. The chances that the Whitechapel killer was a woman are anorectically small. But the world of ripperology is a truly whacky one, and in it, nothing is impossible.

On your point of whether Astrakhan man would have stood a better chance of being believed in if Hutchinson was a woman, Iīd personally say no - the many tales told by the women of Millerīs court regarding the "Murder" outcry vouches for this.

In a sense, though, one has to weigh in the time perspective. In 1888, I think female witnesses were regarded as less credible witnesses than men, representing the "weaker gender", as they were. Now, donīt come crashing down on me for this view - I ascribe it to the time, not to myself. In times and cultures gone by, women were sometimes not even allowed to witness!

All the best,
Fisherman

[Diddles]

Thank you for the reply!

I tend to agree with you, Fisherman, in that women were taken less seriously back in the day. But nowadays, on looking back, it is usually the men who get the 'suspicious character' treatment, and more often disbelieved, like Hutchinson, Cross and even Richardson with his boot.

[Fisherman]

Thank you for the reply!

I tend to agree with you, Fisherman, in that women were taken less seriously back in the day. But nowadays, on looking back, it is usually the men who get the 'suspicious character' treatment, and more often disbelieved, like Hutchinson, Cross and even Richardson with his boot.

Given the statistics of who kills and who does not, itīs small wonder, Iīd say!

The best,
Fisherman

[lynn cates]

testimony

Hello Diddles. That's an interesting question.

What, specifically, in her testimony would cause suspicion?

Cheers.
LC

[Diddles]

Hi Lynn,

I suppose Maxwell would be accused of lying about meeting Kelly that morning. And had she been a man, would have gotten the Hutchinson-treatment. Liar=killer, or something to that effect.

[lynn cates]

under the suspicions

Hello Diddles. Thanks.

But would not her testimony be more suspicious with "MJK" alive, if only because it draws attention to herself?

Cheers.
LC

[Diddles]

Lynn: I just find it strange that very few people see her testimony as being a lie, or hiding something. It is always "poor Maxwell" being confused of the day, or the person she spoke with. Had she been a man there probably would have been more theories.

Generally we tend to be biased (I am at least) in what the gender of the person giving the testimony is. Therefore I wondered if Maxwell would have been suspected had she been a man.

What her reason for lying would be, is beyond me Cause confusion? Screw up the time-line? Maybe she didn't know that doctors could determine the approx. time of death..

[The Good Michael]

Hi everyone,

I have a question I would like to ask your opinion about: If Caroline Maxwell had been a man would she have been suspected (like Hutchinson) by Ripper researchers?

Do we give more creedence to her story since she couldnt have been the Ripper (unless she was Jill the Ripper)?

Hi Dids,

Firstly, Hutchinson wasn't suspected. That means we have to compare him to modern thought about Maxwell. In that case, she seems to most to be unreliable, but not murderous. If we go back to 1888, I suppose she would have been thought to have been just a simple woman whose testimony was either wrong or she made up stuff. Either way, because she was a woman, I don't believe contemporary authorities would have suspected her of anything else.

Mike

[lynn cates]

veritas

Hello Diddles. Thanks.

That's all possible. However, there is yet another one. Perhaps she told the truth?

Cheers.
LC

[lynn cates]

insistence

Hello Michael. Does her insistence at inquest, in spite of being cautioned, mean anything?

Cheers.
LC