Ripper Confidential by Tom Wescott (2017)

[David Orsam]

Very reasonable observation on your part, if I may say so

If you find Martin's observation very reasonable, Tom, does that mean you wish to revise your statement, which you made in your book, that Mallows must not have been far from the London Hospital when she sustained her injury "or else she likely would have bled to death"?

And do you think that the London Hospital at about 3am on a Thurday night/Friday morning in August 1888 would have been "a madhouse"?

[Tom_Wescott]

If you find Martin's observation very reasonable, Tom, does that mean you wish to revise your statement, which you made in your book, that Mallows must not have been far from the London Hospital when she sustained her injury "or else she likely would have bled to death"?

And do you think that the London Hospital at about 3am on a Thurday night/Friday morning in August 1888 would have been "a madhouse"?

I remain open to all possibilities.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[Sleuth1888]

Hi Tom.

I've read both your books and find both of them to be thoroughly entertaining, and most of all exciting and engaging in terms of research and potential avenues opened for further discussion.

Top quality stuff and look forward to your third book on Charles Le Grand, which although a "person of interest" especially in the Stride Case, at the moment I don't share your view in regarding him as an out-and-out suspect for the whole series of murders.

[Tom_Wescott]

Hi Tom.

I've read both your books and find both of them to be thoroughly entertaining, and most of all exciting and engaging in terms of research and potential avenues opened for further discussion.

Top quality stuff and look forward to your third book on Charles Le Grand, which although a "person of interest" especially in the Stride Case, at the moment I don't share your view in regarding him as an out-and-out suspect for the whole series of murders.

Hi Sleuth, many thanks both for reading my books and for saying what you did about them. I'm not sure I personally view Le Grand as a suspect in the Ripper murders, but at least one copper at the time did and he knew more than we would have. I do agree he's a very viable suspect in the Stride murder, maybe Eddowes as well. My Le Grand book will not be a typical suspect book.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[Sam Flynn]

None of your books are "typical", Tom. That's what makes them such interesting reads.

[MrBarnett]

I must admit I thought I detected a shadowy Grand-like figure behind the Tabram murder and the 'framing' of Pizer in TBHM: someone who read the Times, carried a swordstick and could write an anonymous letter in decent English to the press. Someone of a higher social class than that brute Daniel Sullivan. I thought Tom even gave him a name: Shadow Man.

Was my imagination playing tricks on me?

Tom's work is always 'typically Tom', and none the worse for that. Most of the other Ripper suspect/theory books I have bought in recent years warrant only one read and are then consigned to the bookshelf to gather dust. Tom's books are always worth a second, third, fourth... read. They can easily be recognised when they are on the shelf by their plume of day-glo post-it notes.

I wish him every success with his forthcoming Grand book.

[Tom_Wescott]

Why, thank you for that, Mr. Barnett.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[Tom_Wescott]

None of your books are "typical", Tom. That's what makes them such interesting reads.

Thanks, Gareth. That means a lot coming from you.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[Lewis C]

Hi Tom. I'm in the process of reading Ripper Confidential, and I'm finding it an interesting and usually convincing book that is causing me to consider things about the case that I hadn't previously considered.

Last night, I read part of the book that considered the question of who might have killed Stride if JtR didn't. (Like you, I think that Stride was a JtR victim.) I didn't read the whole section, so I might have missed it, but I don't think that you discussed the possibility of Louis Diemshutz as her killer. If so, is this because you believe he's less likely to be her killer than any of the other people you discussed?

I don't have any one person that I consider the clear top suspect, but rather there are several men that I think are all viable suspects. So for me, another possibility is that one of my suspects was JtR, and another killed Stride. For example, maybe Jacob Levy was JtR, but George Chapman killed Stride. Or maybe George Hutchinson was JtR, but William Bury killed Stride. I think I remember seeing a dissertation on this web site that argues that Francis Tumblety was JtR, but Aaron Kosminski killed Stride.

Again, all of this is if JtR didn't kill Stride, but I think that he probably did.

[Scott Nelson]

...or Jacob Issenschmid killed Nichols and Chapman.

[PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR 1]

Diemschutz being Stride's killer is as farfetched as Lechmere being Nichols' killer.

In real life, innocent people really do find murder victims.

In crime fiction and books about the Whitechapel murders, it's a different story.

[Lewis C]

I agree that Diemshutz is unlikely to be Stride's killer, but I think that Tom's intent in this part of the book is to take a look at people that he considers longshots to be Stride's killer. Is Diemshutz any more of a longshot than James Johnson, Mr. Harris, or Israel Schwartz?

[PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR 1]

I agree that Diemshutz is unlikely to be Stride's killer, but I think that Tom's intent in this part of the book is to take a look at people that he considers longshots to be Stride's killer. Is Diemshutz any more of a longshot than James Johnson, Mr. Harris, or Israel Schwartz?

Charles Lechmere could simply have passed Nichols' body and continued on his way to work.

Israel Schwartz could have simply passed by without reporting anything.

Louis Diemschutz could have gone into the club building without reporting anything.

[Tom_Wescott]

Hi Tom. I'm in the process of reading Ripper Confidential, and I'm finding it an interesting and usually convincing book that is causing me to consider things about the case that I hadn't previously considered.

Last night, I read part of the book that considered the question of who might have killed Stride if JtR didn't. (Like you, I think that Stride was a JtR victim.) I didn't read the whole section, so I might have missed it, but I don't think that you discussed the possibility of Louis Diemshutz as her killer. If so, is this because you believe he's less likely to be her killer than any of the other people you discussed?

I don't have any one person that I consider the clear top suspect, but rather there are several men that I think are all viable suspects. So for me, another possibility is that one of my suspects was JtR, and another killed Stride. For example, maybe Jacob Levy was JtR, but George Chapman killed Stride. Or maybe George Hutchinson was JtR, but William Bury killed Stride. I think I remember seeing a dissertation on this web site that argues that Francis Tumblety was JtR, but Aaron Kosminski killed Stride.

Again, all of this is if JtR didn't kill Stride, but I think that he probably did.

Hi Lewis, thanks for the kind words, and I'm aware that I'm responding months after you asked your question. Because I do not know who killed Stride, I cannot exclude Diemshitz. However, I am unaware of any reason to cast suspicion on him for any of the murders.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[Lewis C]

Hi Lewis, thanks for the kind words, and I'm aware that I'm responding months after you asked your question. Because I do not know who killed Stride, I cannot exclude Diemshitz. However, I am unaware of any reason to cast suspicion on him for any of the murders.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

Fair enough, thanks Tom.

I have a couple of questions now about the young couple that Mortimer talked to. One is, do we really know for sure that the young woman who was interviewed who said that she said good night to her sweetheart at 12:30 is the same young woman that Mortimer talked to? The second is that if she is the same woman, why would she have been there for Mortimer to talk to after the murder, meaning after 1:00, if she had said good night to her sweetheart and gone home at 12:30?