Donald Rumbelow and Ripper Suspects

[Batman]

The author of The Complete Jack the Ripper and co-author of Jack the Ripper: Scotland Yard Investigates is a very important modern day JtR researcher because he was able to copy many of the whitechapel documents that have since been stolen/misplaced and found important photos/documents in old museum storage.

However I was somewhat surprised to read that Rumbelow now doesn't believe Mary Kelly was a ripper victim and that Barnett is responsible for her death.

In 'Complete' on p. 262 he alludes to the possibility that Mary Kelly was a copycat.

In Scotland Yard Investigates he seems to hold the opinion that Kelly is not a ripper victim and that Barnett did it.

Is this the case? That Rumbelow no longer accepts Mary Kelly as a ripper victim?

[Tom_Wescott]

The author of The Complete Jack the Ripper and co-author of Jack the Ripper: Scotland Yard Investigates is a very important modern day JtR researcher because he was able to copy many of the whitechapel documents that have since been stolen/misplaced and found important photos/documents in old museum storage.

However I was somewhat surprised to read that Rumbelow now doesn't believe Mary Kelly was a ripper victim and that Barnett is responsible for her death.

In 'Complete' on p. 262 he alludes to the possibility that Mary Kelly was a copycat.

In Scotland Yard Investigates he seems to hold the opinion that Kelly is not a ripper victim and that Barnett did it.

Is this the case? That Rumbelow no longer accepts Mary Kelly as a ripper victim?

Hi Bat. Scotland Yard Investigates was largely if not entirely written by Stewart Evans and frankly I don't offhand recall the conclusion about Kelly presented in it, although Stewart first suggested that Kelly might not have been a Ripper victim in his first book, The Lodger, on account of the fact that suspect Tumblety might have been in jail at the time of her murder. As for Rumbelow, the last two editions of his own book are not reliable on many counts. As you note, his earlier work is among the most important conducted by any person outside of the original investigators themselves.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[Batman]

Ah yes. Evans believes this but Rumbelow stays neutral. That makes sense.

[Tom_Wescott]

Ah yes. Evans believes this but Rumbelow stays neutral. That makes sense.

Does he stay neutral? My understanding is that he accepts Kelly as a Ripper victim. But who knows. What does it matter?

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[Batman]

Does he stay neutral? My understanding is that he accepts Kelly as a Ripper victim. But who knows. What does it matter?

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

Well since The Complete JtR he has mentioned that Kelly may be by another hand and gives a few suspects. So in that context it would make sense why Evans would find common ground with him, although Evans seems committed to Kelly being by another hand for the American JtR hypothesis.

[Tom_Wescott]

Well since The Complete JtR he has mentioned that Kelly may be by another hand and gives a few suspects. So in that context it would make sense why Evans would find common ground with him, although Evans seems committed to Kelly being by another hand for the American JtR hypothesis.

Evans is by no means committed to that. He explored that theory for the Tumblety book and believes it a possibility.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[Batman]

It's in the Scotland yard investigates book which is a newish book compared to the others.