"Expedition Files" JtR was Hyams??

[Pcdunn]

"Expedition Files" is a new Discovery Channel show from my favorite explorer, Josh Gates.
It usually does short segments on three mysteries.

On the episode "Monsters Unmasked", there's a story about Jack the Ripper possibly being identified as Hyam Hyams.

Researcher Sarah Bax Horton is the great-great-grand-daughter of a Victorian policeman, Harry Garrett. Apparently she had access to his reports which provide details I've never heard before, such as a description of a suspect with a stiff arm and leg. She also researched Colney Head Asylum and found reports on Hyams.

This is all new information to me. What does the Ripperologist community think??.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt34237752/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

[Lewis C]

"Expedition Files" is a new Discovery Channel show from my favorite explorer, Josh Gates.
It usually does short segments on three mysteries.

On the episode "Monsters Unmasked", there's a story about Jack the Ripper possibly being identified as Hyam Hyams.

Researcher Sarah Bax Horton is the great-great-grand-daughter of a Victorian policeman, Harry Garrett. Apparently she had access to his reports which provide details I've never heard before, such as a description of a suspect with a stiff arm and leg. She also researched Colney Head Asylum and found reports on Hyams.

This is all new information to me. What does the Ripperologist community think??.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt34237752/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

Hi PAt,

I think Hyams is a viable suspect, but not one of the very best suspects. I first herd about Horton's book about a year ago I guess, but haven't read it. I'll watch the video - thanks for the link. I'm especially curious about the witness description of a suspect with a stiff arm and leg, because I don't know of any witness that said that. Schwartz said that BS man walked like he may have been drinking, so it is possible that he was seeing someone that always walked in that manner.

[Doctored Whatsit]

"Expedition Files" is a new Discovery Channel show from my favorite explorer, Josh Gates.


Researcher Sarah Bax Horton is the great-great-grand-daughter of a Victorian policeman, Harry Garrett. Apparently she had access to his reports which provide details I've never heard before, such as a description of a suspect with a stiff arm and leg.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt34237752/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

I've never heard of a policeman called Harry Garrett, and he isn't in my A-Z. It seems a little odd that a totally unknown copper was involved in the investigation and had additional original information that is new to ripperology, but he never gets a mention anywhere.

[Barnaby]

I like Josh Gates and his shows, but this episode was extremely disappointing. It presents a theory that hasn't gained much traction (compare it to Kosminski, Lechmere, Levy, etc.) as blowing the case wide open. I wonder why he chose to focus on this particular theory? It's not the first thing someone would find when they start investigating the case.

[Pcdunn]

I like Josh Gates and his shows, but this episode was extremely disappointing. It presents a theory that hasn't gained much traction (compare it to Kosminski, Lechmere, Levy, etc.) as blowing the case wide open. I wonder why he chose to focus on this particular theory? It's not the first thing someone would find when they start investigating the case.

I think his angle was that a descendant of an original copper on the case has come up with a (the?) solution. Horton seemed emotional about her ancestor's contribution.

But honestly, doesn't his claim to have once "moved on" Mary Kelly, not long before the Nichols murder, sound like some random family story? Something a policeman *would* say to make his story about being one of the many constables searching for Jack seem more important?

Interesting, but I'll have to investigate Horton's book before I judge her veracity. She seemed pretty straight-forward about how she got access to this info. If Harry kept his own copies of reports that later went missing from the official files, well, maybe...