Jack The Ripper - Double Cross (Grzegorz Brzęczyszczykiewicz)

[Geddy2112]

The Year is 1888. Ask a good number of people if they know of any historical events that took place that year. Do they mention the Lawn Tennis Association being founded; do they mention Carl Benz being issued with the World’s first ‘permit’ driving licence. Does anyone mention the first six games of the newly founded Football League are played. Does anyone mention that John Boyd Dunlop patents the pneumatic bicycle tyre in the United Kingdom?
I would suggest that if you mention 1888 to most adults in their 40s or above in the UK, they mention Whitechapel and Jack The Ripper. Jack the Ripper the most infamous unknown serial killer of all time who 130 or so years ago embarked on the ‘Autumn of Terror’ in the East End of London. He butchered at least five poor women on the streets of Whitechapel and has gone down in history. These murders caused outrage at the time and have become the focus of many hundreds of books being written on the subject with ranging theories of who murderer was. I believe at the time of writing we have had over 200 suspects put forward, some far more ridiculous than others. We have had Queen Victoria’s Doctor William Gull, Walter Sickert the Artist, Lewis Carroll the writer and a whole slew of local men of various ages, occupations and ethnicity. All without any actual facts pointing to their guilt. There has been a huge industry evolved from these horrendous crimes which maybe started with cunning journalists themselves writing ‘fake’ letters to aid newspaper sales. In fact on the 27th of Sept 1888 the Central News Agency received such a correspondence, in bold red ink addressed to ‘Dear Boss’ and infamously signed ‘Jack The Ripper.’ Thus the legend was born.
On the 31st of Aug 1888, according to his testimony carman Charles Allen Cross left his home about 3:30am to walk to work at Pickfords on Broad Street. His route took him along a quiet echoing street know as Bucks Row. A street encased on the North side with the Browne and Eagle Wool Warehouse and the South side with terrace housing. Today the street is called Durward Street, a narrow street with residences on the South side. As he was approaching Brown’s Yard on the North side of the street, he noticed what he thought was a tarpaulin on the opposite side of the road in the gateway to Brown’s Yard. At first, he was not sure what it was so crossed to the middle of the road for a better look and realised it was a woman lying there. At this point he heard another man, approximately 40 yards away approaching from the direction he had come and turned back to the North pavement and tried to address him. This man Robert Paul tried to avoid Cross as he was very wary of people being attacked in the area and tried to give him a wide berth. Cross tapped him on the shoulder and exclaimed “Come and look over here; there is a woman lying on the pavement.” Cross thought the woman was dead or drunk, Robert Paul after touching her chest thought maybe she was still alive due to him thinking there was a slight breath. Charles Cross suggested, according to his account at the inquest that they should prop her up, but Paul refused. Neither man could see any obvious injury to the woman as it was very dark so left the scene to find and alert a Policeman and tell him of their discovery. They found PC Mizen at the end of Hanbury Street in Baker’s Row and told him there was a woman lying in Bucks Row whom they thought was either dead or drunk. After relating their concerns to PC Mizen Paul and Cross continued along Hanbury Street, ironically the scene of the next Jack The Ripper murder. Once at Corbet’s Court the men parted company and went to their respective workplaces.

This has been, give or take the sequence of events surrounding the discovery of Polly Nichol’s body that Autumn morning for over 120 years or so.
In the Summer of 2000, David Osborne published a piece in Ripperana No 33 entitled ‘The Man Who Was Jack The Ripper.’ This article explored the possibility of Charles Cross being the man responsible for the Whitechapel Murders....

(This is in the final edit hopefully and being checked and double checked before heading out for publication, all being well and hoping for a Summer release. Thanks.)

[Herlock Sholmes]

Congratulations Geddy

[Scott Nelson]

David Osborne published a piece in Ripperana No 33 entitled ‘The Man Who Was Jack The Ripper.’

Shouldn't his first name be Derek?

[The Baron]

Shouldn't his first name be Derek?

Incredible attention to detail! If they can’t even get the author’s name right, just imagine the rock solid research behind the rest. Truly groundbreaking stuff!



The Baron

[Geddy2112]

Shouldn't his first name be Derek?

No it's a book about false names you see.

[Herlock Sholmes]

No it's a book about false names you see.

It’s irony of absolutely humongous proportions Geddy when we consider that the entire ‘case’ against Cross was manufactured by the deliberate omission of a vital word out of a book and a documentary, which ‘supporters’ have turned a blind eye on simply because they’ve fallen hook, line and sinker for the non-case against this feeble suspect. And yet we get derogatory comments for a mere typo which has no material effect on the content of a book (which some won’t bother to read because it won’t tell them what they want to hear.)

If I intend to criticise a book or a theory I tend to read it first. An old fashioned approach maybe.

[Geddy2112]

It’s irony of absolutely humongous proportions Geddy when we consider that the entire ‘case’ against Cross was manufactured by the deliberate omission of a vital word out of a book and a documentary, which ‘supporters’ have turned a blind eye on simply because they’ve fallen hook, line and sinker for the non-case against this feeble suspect. And yet we get derogatory comments for a mere typo which has no material effect on the content of a book (which some won’t bother to read because it won’t tell them what they want to hear.)

If I intend to criticise a book or a theory I tend to read it first. An old fashioned approach maybe.

Indeed, I mean it was clearly stated it was in the checking and double checking stages. Typos do happen but no excuses it was a mistake deliberate or not and will be corrected along with a good list of other typos, spelling mistakes and errors. However on last look I'm sure it does not out and out lie about what time certain folks left home that Aug morning. At least I'm 'having a go' so to speak.

[Geddy2112]

Incredible attention to detail! If they can’t even get the author’s name right, just imagine the rock solid research behind the rest. Truly groundbreaking stuff!

Indeed I should have gone for this perhaps...

When we think about murder, especially in the case of Jack the Ripper, we’re not just dealing with the facts. We’re stepping into the psychology of crime itself, the way it unfolds in the shadows.
Crime isn’t neat, predictable, or logical. It’s chaotic. It’s driven by emotion, impulse, and, often, a deep psychological need for control, the ultimate power over life and death.
Serial killers don’t just commit crimes, they evolve. They adapt, learn from mistakes, and refine their methods over time.
The real mystery isn’t just the act of murder itself but the mind that orchestrates it.
If Lechmere was the Ripper, then what we’re looking at isn’t just a crime, it’s a moment of interruption. A murder thrown off course.
When Paul arrives at the scene, the killer is suddenly forced into a position of vulnerability. It’s in moments like this, when a murderer is caught between finishing the act and needing to escape, that we see their true nature.
Time distorts in such moments. What should have been a controlled, deliberate killing becomes rushed, frantic.
Decisions are made in seconds, how to hide the evidence, how to reshape the story.
Look at Nichols’ wounds. Why weren’t they as brutal as later victims’? Why did the Ripper leave the scene without fully displaying his 'work'? Because he didn’t have time. He was interrupted. The satisfaction he might have sought was cut short by reality crashing in, by the sudden need to cover his tracks.
That’s why Lechmere stepping forward to meet Paul isn’t the act of an innocent man. He understands how perception works, how appearances can be manipulated.
Serial killers thrive on control, control over their victims, over their environment, and, most crucially, over the story that will be told about them.

Or maybe this....

"Constable, there’s a woman in Bucks Row who might be dead or drunk, you’re expected there, best not to lose time."
Read that again. Let it sink in. That one sentence is a masterpiece of deception, a quiet stroke of brilliance.

Or even this amazing few lines...

Lechmere, in his casual, almost indifferent demeanor, fits that profile. Not just because he had the opportunity, but because his mindset suggests he saw himself as untouchable. The streets were his stage, and he was directing the play.
By positioning himself as the one who “found” the body, he wasn’t just giving a statement, he was shaping the narrative.
And for a police force desperate for answers, it was easy to let that version of events slide. Had Paul never spoken up, Lechmere might have faded into the background, an unnoticed figure in a case that remains unsolved.
When we stop looking at the case as a list of events and start seeing it as a psychological puzzle, a story of control, timing, and human behavior, the idea that Lechmere was the Ripper doesn’t just make sense...
It becomes the most logical answer.
The real question isn’t could he have done it? It’s, when you look at the psychology of it all...
How could he not have been the one to do it?

Maybe you should just take some 'advice' from Keith Whitley

[John Wheat]

The Year is 1888. Ask a good number of people if they know of any historical events that took place that year. Do they mention the Lawn Tennis Association being founded; do they mention Carl Benz being issued with the World’s first ‘permit’ driving licence. Does anyone mention the first six games of the newly founded Football League are played. Does anyone mention that John Boyd Dunlop patents the pneumatic bicycle tyre in the United Kingdom?
I would suggest that if you mention 1888 to most adults in their 40s or above in the UK, they mention Whitechapel and Jack The Ripper. Jack the Ripper the most infamous unknown serial killer of all time who 130 or so years ago embarked on the ‘Autumn of Terror’ in the East End of London. He butchered at least five poor women on the streets of Whitechapel and has gone down in history. These murders caused outrage at the time and have become the focus of many hundreds of books being written on the subject with ranging theories of who murderer was. I believe at the time of writing we have had over 200 suspects put forward, some far more ridiculous than others. We have had Queen Victoria’s Doctor William Gull, Walter Sickert the Artist, Lewis Carroll the writer and a whole slew of local men of various ages, occupations and ethnicity. All without any actual facts pointing to their guilt. There has been a huge industry evolved from these horrendous crimes which maybe started with cunning journalists themselves writing ‘fake’ letters to aid newspaper sales. In fact on the 27th of Sept 1888 the Central News Agency received such a correspondence, in bold red ink addressed to ‘Dear Boss’ and infamously signed ‘Jack The Ripper.’ Thus the legend was born.
On the 31st of Aug 1888, according to his testimony carman Charles Allen Cross left his home about 3:30am to walk to work at Pickfords on Broad Street. His route took him along a quiet echoing street know as Bucks Row. A street encased on the North side with the Browne and Eagle Wool Warehouse and the South side with terrace housing. Today the street is called Durward Street, a narrow street with residences on the South side. As he was approaching Brown’s Yard on the North side of the street, he noticed what he thought was a tarpaulin on the opposite side of the road in the gateway to Brown’s Yard. At first, he was not sure what it was so crossed to the middle of the road for a better look and realised it was a woman lying there. At this point he heard another man, approximately 40 yards away approaching from the direction he had come and turned back to the North pavement and tried to address him. This man Robert Paul tried to avoid Cross as he was very wary of people being attacked in the area and tried to give him a wide berth. Cross tapped him on the shoulder and exclaimed “Come and look over here; there is a woman lying on the pavement.” Cross thought the woman was dead or drunk, Robert Paul after touching her chest thought maybe she was still alive due to him thinking there was a slight breath. Charles Cross suggested, according to his account at the inquest that they should prop her up, but Paul refused. Neither man could see any obvious injury to the woman as it was very dark so left the scene to find and alert a Policeman and tell him of their discovery. They found PC Mizen at the end of Hanbury Street in Baker’s Row and told him there was a woman lying in Bucks Row whom they thought was either dead or drunk. After relating their concerns to PC Mizen Paul and Cross continued along Hanbury Street, ironically the scene of the next Jack The Ripper murder. Once at Corbet’s Court the men parted company and went to their respective workplaces.

This has been, give or take the sequence of events surrounding the discovery of Polly Nichol’s body that Autumn morning for over 120 years or so.
In the Summer of 2000, David Osborne published a piece in Ripperana No 33 entitled ‘The Man Who Was Jack The Ripper.’ This article explored the possibility of Charles Cross being the man responsible for the Whitechapel Murders....

(This is in the final edit hopefully and being checked and double checked before heading out for publication, all being well and hoping for a Summer release. Thanks.)

Well done Geddy2112