Was She Wrong?

[The Rookie Detective]

Yes. Or with the key he said he didn't have. Hard to say. Or he never entered at all. But he did send Bowyer away and came several minutes behind him to the station. So he did something during that time.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

Mccarthy had a physical deformity with his foot/feet, meaning he likely moved slower than Bowyer.

Some of the newspaper illustrations of Bowyer and Mccarthy looking through the window of Kelly's room feature a walking stick.

That walking stick was Mccarthy's, not Bowyers.

It seems likely that Mccarthy followed Bowyer to the police station, but arrived later due to his slower pace.

[Tom_Wescott]

Interesting. So McCarthy entered the room after he sent Bowyer on to the police station? How did he get into the room? Reaching through the broken window to pull back the door bolt?

Yes. Or with the key he said he didn't have. Hard to say. Or he never entered at all. But he did send Bowyer away and came several minutes behind him to the station. So he did something during that time.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[c.d.]

I am not suggesting he was the Ripper, but the murder of Kelly stinks of some kind of cover up.

In what way, R.D.?

c.d.

[FrankO]

I am suggesting that Mccarthy was trying to give the impression to the police that he had no way of entering the room, and therefore trying to rule himself out as a suspect.

What gives you the impression that McCarthy would have wanted to let the police think he had nothing to do with Mary Jane's murder? Why do you think he needed to give the police that impression?

By using a pickaxe and not having a key; it's his way of letting the police know that he couldn't have got into Kelly's room to murder her.

Whereas if he DID have a key, then the police would regard him as a suspect because he had a means of access to the murder room.

If it was normal for slumlords to have keys to every house they rented, then it might have been seen as an odd coincidence, to say the least, that not only the renters lost their key, but also the landlord. If, on the other hand, it wasn't normal for landlords to have spare keys, then it would not have raised any eyebrows that McCarthy didn't have one for room no. 13.

It's as with Lechmere/Cross: if he was known as Cross at Pickford's, then the fact that he only used that name would be no issue, whereas if he wasn't known as Cross anywhere, that might have made the police think twice.

PS I see you've already answered my question(s). Thanks for that, RD, very informative.

[The Rookie Detective]

And here he is...

(image originally submitted by another over on Forums)



Notice the scar/mark/pox/ indentation on his left cheek...

it matches the wepp known sketch of Mccarthy.

I am not suggesting he was the Ripper, but the murder of Kelly stinks of some kind of cover up.

And the reason why he was slow moving...he had a walking stick.

I discovered a document last year that proves he had a physical deformity with the feet (one foot in particular but can't recall which one) that required intervention when he was a young man.

It likely meant he walked with a limp or gait of some kind.


There's so much more if only we choose to open our eyes and look.


Is that Maybrick's watch in the photo?!

haha! Can you imagine!


"I am Jack!"

[The Rookie Detective]

Let's also not forget that Mccarthy was the big dog of the neighbourhood.

Dorset Street was his territory.

Arnold and Abberline attended "charity" events that Mccarthy attended, along with the likes of Crossingham, Gehringer etc...

Mccarthy was highly regarded in Dorset Street; which is another way of saying that he was feared.

He was a boxing promoter for over 40 years, had 17 kids and was involved heavily with the theatre and entertainments.

Crossingham himself was Godfather to several of Mccarthy's kids.

So I would regard Mccarthy with extreme caution when looking at the role he played around the time of the murder.

You can be sure as anything that IF Astrakhan existed, he was a boxer/pugilist/actor/entertainer etc...

And Kelly was closely involved with the theatre; whoever she was, her connection to the theatre has always been underestimated.


It's therefore no wonder that Caroline Maxwell comes forward to say she witnessed Kelly alive and well. Her husband Henry was a lodging house keeper in Dorset Street...and who ran Dorset Street?


John Mccarthy aka "Jack McCarthy"

[The Rookie Detective]

I am suggesting that Mccarthy was trying to give the impression to the police that he had no way of entering the room, and therefore trying to rule himself out as a suspect.

By using a pickaxe and not having a key; it's his way of letting the police know that he couldn't have got into Kelly's room to murder her.

Whereas if he DID have a key, then the police would regard him as a suspect because he had a means of access to the murder room.

[FrankO]

The landlord should have been included in that shortlist of individuals who could have accessed the room to murder Kelly.

Any man who could have posed as a punter should have been on that list, RD.

[FrankO]

By proxy it then rules him out as the killer.

What are you saying here, RD? That the killer couldn't have entered her room together with her or after a knock on her door whereupon she let him in?

[FrankO]

If Kelly had left the door unlatched when Mary Cox saw Kelly and Blotchy enter the room, then how was the door locked when Mccarthy discovered Kelly?

This could have only been done by the killer after he left.

Yes, or by Mary Jane herself before he left.

[FrankO]

But the flint lock mechanism surely made the door lock automatically once it was closed?

I may be wrong of course.

As I understand it, this would depend on whether the bolt was engaged & fully out or not. If engaged, it would automatically lock once it was closed; if not engaged, it would not automatically lock (this would be the 'on the latch' position of the bolt).

[Herlock Sholmes]

Hi Herlock,

I suppose that even with a very short time gap, he could have gone into the room very briefly, but he wouldn't have wanted to be seen doing that, and I doubt that he had a compelling reason to do it.

Same here Lewis.

[Lewis C]

Hi Lewis,

In a dissertation on here Don Souden suggested, based on the assumption that there was a gap between Bowyer going for the police and McCarthy following, that McCarthy needed to get into Kelly’s room to remove something incriminating. I believe that he felt that it could have been something that showed that he was receiving ‘immoral earnings’ from Kelly. There’s no evidence for this though and I’m wary of assuming any real gap. Wording can be misleading. Maybe he just felt that Bowyer could get there quicker and he followed on (although, if I recall correctly, and it’s possible that I’m not, there is some dispute about Bowyer’s age?) Or as I said earlier, maybe he needed to go and tell his wife and get her to mind the shop while he was away?

Hi Herlock,

I suppose that even with a very short time gap, he could have gone into the room very briefly, but he wouldn't have wanted to be seen doing that, and I doubt that he had a compelling reason to do it.

[Herlock Sholmes]

Might The Star have got it right?

McCarthy: “Then I said, "Harry, don't tell anyone; go and fetch the police." As he was going I recovered myself, and thought I had better go with him, and followed him down the court, and we both saw Inspector Back, who returned with us at once.”


Sometimes the simple answers are the actual answers. Did McCarthy, feeling a bit ‘groggy’ after seeing the body, send his servant to the police station. He then realised that he should also go so he pulled himself together and followed him. Maybe he caught up with him?

[Herlock Sholmes]

I have a feeling that evidence for "immoral earnings" would have been of absolutely no concern to the police at this time. Or McCarthy either for that matter.

c.d.

I have a feeling that you’re absolutely right c.d.