Patricia Cornwell - Walter Sickert - BOOK 2

[John G]

All she "established" is that someone with the same mtDNA profile as Sickert wrote one of the Ripper letters. Which sounds good, but then you realise there are hundreds if not thousands of potential matches. And that's assuming the DNA testing was accurate in the first place.

Actually, possibly millions of individuals.

[Pcdunn]

Time to head to Letters and Communications

I've always had a "soft spot" for From Hell, still on the fence but think there's a chance.

Now if it was then in my opinion "Openshaw" must be a good chance.

I like "From Hell" as well, but haven't given much thought to the Openshaw letter. Think I'll do some reading...

[Geddy2112]

Did Sickert own the same brand/type of paper used in the diary?

[dantheman]

Thanks, GUT. Well, I don't think Sickert wrote ALL the letters, but he was enough of a crime buff that he may well have written some of them.

I'm a huge crime buff but I don't write letter's to the police claiming to be the killer, especially during on ongoing investigation. Huge red flag if you ask me. It baffling how people blow off the probability that he was sending in letters to the police claiming to be Jack. And those that accept that he sent letters have the attitude of "just because he sent them doesn't make him a suspect, he was just a crime buff". Come on get real, he needs to be taken serious as a suspect. Or at least a person of interest.

-Dan

[GUT]

I'm a huge crime buff but I don't write letter's to the police claiming to be the killer, especially during on ongoing investigation. Huge red flag if you ask me. It baffling how people blow off the probability that he was sending in letters to the police claiming to be Jack. And those that accept that he sent letters have the attitude of "just because he sent them doesn't make him a suspect, he was just a crime buff". Come on get real, he needs to be taken serious as a suspect. Or at least a person of interest.

-Dan

That's as Ma be but it doesn't make "Case Closed".

There are lots who deserve to be POIs they can't all be Jack.

[dantheman]

That's as Ma be but it doesn't make "Case Closed".

There are lots who deserve to be POIs they can't all be Jack.

Definitely not Case Closed but he should be rated high among POI and maybe even suspects.

-Dan

[GUT]

Definitely not Case Closed but he should be rated high among POI and maybe even suspects.

-Dan

Why, bloke wrote letters sent messages in Yorkshire Ripper, wasn't him though. No reason to rate aletter writer high when there were literally hundreds of letter writers.

(have you read letters from hell).

[ChrisGeorge]

It boils down to this.

Proof of being the writer of a letter does not prove the same person being a killer.
If Kosminski, Druitt and Co wrote one of the letters.. it would mean..
They wrote a letter. Thats all.

As long as there is no tangible link to the act of murder.. Which there isn't.. then this isnt even circumstantial evidence.

The craving to find "guilt" must be tempered methinks.


Just my opinion.



Phil

Well said, Phil!

I am always writing letters, admittedly not "Dear Boss" and "From Hell" letters . . . but as far as I know I have never killed anyone, except in print. Ha ha.

Cheers

Chris

[Phil Carter]

Well said, Phil!

I am always writing letters, admittedly not "Dear Boss" and "From Hell" letters . . . but as far as I know I have never killed anyone, except in print. Ha ha.

Cheers

Chris

Hello Chris,

Many thanks ����

Maybe I'm being simplistic in my approach.
Maybe I can see something very simple that many choose to ignore or simply don't want to see.

Anyone writing a book..employing researchers at high rates to enhance the theory that has basically ignored rule no.1 (a letter is not anything but a letter)..is contributing only to one thing.
Keeping a myth going. And the paid researchers are doing exactly the same thing. Scruples? None, it seems. Sorry. I see things very clearly. As long as it makes a bit of money.. why not cash in syndrome.
It is sadly repeated time and time again in this subject.
Enhancing towards the goal of finding an answer has been demoted behind enhancing myths in order to keep the game going.
Sad.
Imho.



Phil

[Abby Normal]

I've always had a "soft spot" for From Hell, still on the fence but think there's a chance.

Now if it was then in my opinion "Openshaw" must be a good chance.

wasn't it the Openshaw letter the one she had tested and claimed sickerts DNA was found?

[dantheman]

Why, bloke wrote letters sent messages in Yorkshire Ripper, wasn't him though. No reason to rate aletter writer high when there were literally hundreds of letter writers.

(have you read letters from hell).

I do see your point, but any detective interested in catching the killer would want to speak to the author of the letters...right? Ok, so that makes him a POI.

Doubt's I have about WS being Jtr is that he would have stopped killing after MJK and lived out the remainder of his life dying at an old age. That to me is the most damaging when trying to pin the killings on WS. As we all know these type of serial killers (usually) don't stop until their dead or in jail..

-Dan

[PaulB]

Well said, Phil!

I am always writing letters, admittedly not "Dear Boss" and "From Hell" letters . . . but as far as I know I have never killed anyone, except in print. Ha ha.

Cheers

Chris

I wouldn't dignify Carter's post with a response, but I'm surprised that you miss the point, Chris. Patricia Cornwell isn't claiming that Walter Sickert was the murderer because he wrote a letter purporting to be from Jack the Ripper. That letter is simply part of an accumulation of evidence which she sincerely believes points to a specific conclusion. Whether she's right or not remains to be seen, but it doesn't stand or fall just on the letter.

[John G]

I would focus on this basic fact: all of the so-called Whitechapel Murders took place within a remarkably small area-wasn't it around one square mile? And this area was, in itself, a complete labyrinth: http://www.casebook.org/press_report...l?printer=true. In other words, a non local would surely keep getting hopelessly lost.

Therefore, I don't think you need to be an eminent geographical profiler to conclude that the odds of the killer being a local are overwhelming; and that, of course, was John Douglas' conclusion.

Now, as far as I'm aware Sickert had no known connection to Whitechapel, and might even have been in France at the relevant time. Hence, on geographical grounds alone I would say that he was highly unlikely to have been the killer.

That said, I believe he had rooms in Mornington Crescent, where part of the Tottenham Torso was discovered!

[Abby Normal]

I wouldn't dignify Carter's post with a response, but I'm surprised that you miss the point, Chris. Patricia Cornwell isn't claiming that Walter Sickert was the murderer because he wrote a letter purporting to be from Jack the Ripper. That letter is simply part of an accumulation of evidence which she sincerely believes points to a specific conclusion. Whether she's right or not remains to be seen, but it doesn't stand or fall just on the letter.

Hi Paul
Good to see you posting again!

It was the Openshaw letter that she claims has Sickerts DNA on it correct?

[Abby Normal]

I would focus on this basic fact: all of the so-called Whitechapel Murders took place within a remarkably small area-wasn't it around one square mile? And this area was, in itself, a complete labyrinth: http://www.casebook.org/press_report...l?printer=true. In other words, a non local would surely keep getting hopelessly lost.

Therefore, I don't think you need to be an eminent geographical profiler to conclude that the odds of the killer being a local are overwhelming; and that, of course, was John Douglas' conclusion.

Now, as far as I'm aware Sickert had no known connection to Whitechapel, and might even have been in France at the relevant time. Hence, on geographical grounds alone I would say that he was highly unlikely to have been the killer.

That said, I believe he had rooms in Mornington Crescent, where part of the Tottenham Torso was discovered!

totally agree